
                         THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
                 Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: FRIDAY, June 24, 1994                    TAG: 9406230026 
SECTION: DAILY BREAK                     PAGE: E1    EDITION: FINAL  
SOURCE: BY MONIQUE WILLIAMS, SPECIAL TO THE DAILY BREAK 
DATELINE: 940624                                 LENGTH: Medium

COOL FASHIONS FOR A HOT SUMMER

{LEAD} SUMMER'S SWELTERING days and sticky nights have forced themselves upon us. There isn't much one can do to stop its relentless march - the only antidote is to grin and bare it.

Summer fashions aren't about looking perfectly polished. They are about filmy gossamer fabrics that float around you, skimpy shorts, tie-up tops and bare legs.

{REST} Crystal Powell, 14, a rising freshman at Churchland High School in Portsmouth, plans to be a beach potato this summer. She'll spend a week in North Carolina and the rest of the summer as close to the waters in Hampton Roads as possible.

``I'll do anything to stay cool - even going to the neighbor's sprinkling system,'' she says.

In swimwear this season, the cool fashions are triangle bikinis in tie-dye, '50s checks, crochet suits in natural tones and sleek one-piece maillots with psychedelic prints. (Suits cost from $25 to $40.)

For 18-year-old Remy Hankins, a rising senior at Kempsville High in Virginia Beach, summer is the season to relax and go barefoot.

To keep cool, Remy favors shorts and T-shirts and anything that has an air of freedom. ``I don't like things that constrict me,'' she said, ``I like free-flowing things.''

But summer is more than swimsuits and sprinkling systems. Now and then, you'll have to don some clothes that can get you to the mall or to a party. This summer, you'll find many great looks. Most dominant is the retro look. Name your decade - you'll find it.

Longing for the Depression era? No problem. You'll find floaty depression dresses that are as tender as the soft, Lilliputian flowers that adorn them.

The '60s? There are short-shorts with lace, hip-hugging miniskirts, crop tops in soft baby rib and enough sunflowers to fill a garden. Tie one around your ponytail, decorate your hat or just buy one for fun.

If your budget won't allow for retail '60s, try the real thing at thrift stores. That's where Remy - who describes her style as eclectic - shops for '60s and '70s styles. She mixes them with contemporary pieces.

``I don't try to follow any particular style,'' she says. ``I like putting things together my own way.''

We asked Remy to select some summer fashions from Up Against the Wall in Lynnhaven Mall. She chose a hip-hugging miniskirt in black and white by Mondorama ($48) paired with a matching cropped top by Wild Fire ($15) and knockout thigh-high leggings for a complete '60s look.

For dress-up occasions, Remy picked a dress - a slinky long one with thin spaghetti straps. It's as cool as a summer breeze and as carefree as her style (Spot Girl, $80).

What you'll find a lot of this season are shortalls - Crystal's choice for hanging around. Loose, baggy and worn with a baby T, they are a great choice for casual wear (Squeeze, $29). Dress up your feet with thick-soled Puma tennis shoes (they are hot!) and you're all set for that mall hike ($49, Bakers Shoes at Lynnhaven Mall).

For dress-up, Crystal, too, picked a dress - a baby doll. She wore hers (Soda Blue, $39) with a baby-T. ``I think it's cool,'' she says.

The perfect go-with for a little dress is the French canvass espadrille which ties around the ankle ($29, Bakers).

What's new this season and promises to become hotter than Hampton Roads this summer is the racer look. It's a sleek, athletic look. With fitted tops and bottoms and black and white racing stripes running on the sides, it's a look that's smashing if you're thin. Otherwise, skip it.

This summer you'll also find lots of reruns. The kilt is one of them. This time it comes with many variations on the theme - in plaids or flowers - but the most innovative ones come in gleaming silver. Silver is one color you're not going to want to miss this fall.

For now, though, neutrals are a better choice. They are found in deconstructed pants and tops and in fabrics that look as if they have been washed in the sea and dried in the sun. With coarse texture and raw edges, it's either the primitive look or eco-fashion - you decide. Accessorize those with fisherman's sandals with straps and lug soles ($34, Bakers).

But whatever you do this summer, remember that clothes should be nothing but accessories to your personal style.

by CNB