ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Sunday, March 31, 1996 TAG: 9603290022
SECTION: EXTRA PAGE: 7 EDITION: METRO
TYPE: SPRING FASHION
SOURCE: KAREN ADAMS STAFF WRITER
This spring, the lovely silken fabric that slides over your skin and keeps you cool may turn out to be ... polyester.
That's right. Once the hot potato of the fashion world, polyester has landed squarely in the middle of fashion as a respectable, sophisticated and highly flexible fabric, one that's been trained to feel and act natural.
Anyone perusing the shops this year, from bargain basements to fancy boutiques, will find a tactile extravaganza to delight the fingers. Shopkeepers may present fabrics and urge, ``Touch it! Touch it!'' with amazement in their voices.
Panache, in boutique downtown Roanoke, sells a pantsuit of polyester microfiber by Votre Nom of Paris that is ooh-la-la soft.
``When people come in and feel that fabric, they think it's silk,'' says owner Dorothy Osborne. ``I ask them, `What do you think that is?' and they can't believe it's polyester.''
Microfiber is the most popular fabric in Europe this year, she says. ``Polyester has come a long way, hasn't it?''
John Norman at Tanglewood Mall likewise sells microfiber clothing, mostly men's suits and raincoats that are packable, washable and comfortable. How do those customers react to polyester?
``People love it,'' says president/CEO Jeff Wendell. ``People don't often need to wash a suit, but it's nice to know you could if you had to,'' he says. What's more, it breathes.
Teflon
Here's another astonishing fact about modern fabrics. You (or someone you know) may soon be wearing Teflon. That familiar, repellent polymer, long our friend in the kitchen, has woven its way into the hearts - and fabrics - of some of the finest designers around.
Making headlines in menswear, Teflon-treated fabrics are - as you would expect - stain- and water-resistant. They also are surprisingly comfortable and pleasing to the touch.
John Norman at Tanglewood sells a suit made of a soft Teflon-treated Italian wool, which is attractive to customers even before they discover its secret.
When they find out it's treated with Teflon, Jeff Wendell says, ``Their reaction is `You've got to be kidding.' And of course the next line is, `You should have it on ties, too!'''
Two other notable synthetics making serious waves this season are ultrasuede - in the hippest shapes and wildest colors - and matte jersey, that knitted polyester and viscose miracle that clings and moves like disco music.
Silk shantung
Lovely and polished, silk shantung is perhaps the most elegant of the spring fabrics. Known mostly as luxe, for evening wear, slubbed silk shantung is now surfacing during daylight. It lends a classy finish to suits, pants, shells and shifts, and is strikingly understated in coats and shoes.
Silk shantung is a nice, subtle alternative to synthetics, if you want to wear citrus colors but don't necessarily want to vibrate. It's a very proper way to go wild.
Satin
Satin, a veteran of the past few seasons, still comes shining through from head to toe: from blouses to pants to handbags to shoes. It can be dressed up or down, and always feels wonderful against the skin. And, surprisingly enough, satin is starting to find itself the fabric of choice for men's ties. (Perhaps if it can be treated with Teflon it'll really take off.)
Tencel
Dorothy Osborne also sells clothes made of Tencel, an environmentally friendly fabric made from wood pulp. Osborne says it feels like silk; she can barely keep it in the store. ``It's a very refined fabric that breathes,'' she says. ``And it's made from the pulp of a tree!''
Like the styles they represent, this season's fabrics are plentiful, marvelous and something to behold.
While shopping, don't be alarmed by the exclamations of polyester converts or silk groupies. Just step around them and try to be understanding.
Tomorrow that beatific expression may be yours.
LENGTH: Medium: 91 lines ILLUSTRATION: PHOTO: STEPHANIE KLEIN-DAVIS/Staff. 1. Well-blended is the key:by CNBMerrily (left) wears an acetate, rayon and cotton jacket and pants
with an acetate/viscose vest from the Worth Collection. Shoes are by
Seychelles, sold at LaDeDa. 2. Muyeria sports a silk print pantsuit
by G.W. Design Studio and a lacy black nylon blouse by FY2,
available at Stein Mart. Her Seychelles shoes are from LaDeDa. 3.
Jennifer's textured nylon sweater is by X.ES.NY, her beads by M.E.
Stewart and her snakeskin sandals by Stuart Weitzman, all available
at E.I. Randle. Her microfiber slacks are by Votre Nom of Paris from
Panache. color.