Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, April 2, 1995 TAG: 9504050005
SECTION: EXTRA PAGE: 1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: KATHLEEN WILSON STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Long
Don't tell a soul, but we've unlocked the vault that holds the cryptic secrets, the whims, the whys, the justification and all the bull, er, hype behind the fashion industry.
Here it is: Nothing is new. Nothing. Nada. Zilch.
For years now we've been cheering, ``The '20s are back!'' Then a few months later, we`re cheering, ``The '40s are back!''
Just a year ago we were cheering - well, maybe cheering is pushing it a bit; scratching our puzzled heads is more like it - when the fashion industry announced, ``The '70s are back.''
Truth is, fashion is the definitive recycled product.
That's right. What's in is what was out decades ago. Pick a decade. Any decade. It won't matter.
You'll find it - or at least some version of it - hanging somewhere in a department store or a boutique.
Maybe it's just too early, but we haven't stopped the presses yet to announce ``The '80s are back!''
By the way, can you recall a piece of fashion that defined the '80s? We sure can't.
No. Wait.
Actually, the '80s may very likely be defined as most important era of fashion.
Why?
Because it was the decade the fashion industry and the fashion press gave up telling us how short or how long our hemlines should be.
In the past, the big news was always hemlines. Miniskirts. Maxi skirts. (Are we the only ones who remember the midi skirt?)
Somehow in the '80s, designers gave up telling us how long or short to wear our dresses. Free at last! Free at last!
Hemlines? Schmemlines.
Well, except they are saying those oh-so innocuous things like, ``I'm seeing a lot of skirts to the midknee.''
(Have you ever noticed how fashion poohbahs always begin their grand statements with: ``I'm seeing a lot of ... .)?
Well, count us out on those midknee things. They may have looked great on Mary Tyler Moore, but they're not for us.
And maybe not for you, either.
That's really the excitement in fashion this year: Anything goes.
How will we look back on the '90s a decade from now?
Who knows? We're still working on the '80s.
Our guess is it will be the classic pants, blazer and vest.
We're not designers, but during the '90s, designers sure have been ``seeing a lot of'' pants and jackets.
Everything is retro. No matter how new the clothing, it has a past. A history. It's certainly evocative of something you've seen before, only now it's sporting an updated look.
But, psst!
Just remember, you didn't hear that here.
by CNB