DATE: Wednesday, September 10, 1997         TAG: 9709090107

SECTION: DAILY BREAK             PAGE: E2   EDITION: FINAL 

SOURCE: BY SUE VanHECKE, CORRESPONDENT 

                                            LENGTH:  110 lines

BOY MEETS GIRL "MENSWEAR" IS THE THING FOR FALL, BUT ACCENTS LIKE SILK SCARVES OR CAMISOLES SOFTEN THE LOOK.

TOUGH AND TENDER. Strong and seductive.

This fall, women's fashion takes its cue from his closet, co-opting menswear's strong shoulders, power-meeting fabrics and structured tailoring, and combining them with the downright feminine - wispy camisoles, sexy skirts, higher heels.

Manly style with feminine flair reveals the dichotomy - and diversity - in today's fashion choices.

The suit is emerging as the season's most important investment. Jackets, often double-breasted, sport high lapels and a well-defined shoulder - yes, those pads are back, but, thankfully, not the fullback variety of the '80s - and supple tailoring. The assertive shoulder supports a slouchier silhouette, a comfortable wearability, though the proportions are definitely womanly, never baggy or boxy.

Trousers are wider-legged, though straight, and relaxed in fit - go up a size if you must so they'll fall flat in front. Skirts appear in a range of lengths, though the shorter hem remains the focus. Leg-baring slits keep longer lengths from looking dowdy.

The total look is bold, powerful - but never harsh. And it's so easy to wear.

``It's the one thing you can't avoid for fall,'' Leon Hall says of the boy-meets-girl fashion phenomenon. Hall is a television fashion critic and spokesman for the American designers' promotion group the Fashion Association.

But make no mistake: We're not going to see Annie Hall all over again.

``It should be softly, gently tailored, feminine clothes,'' Hall explains. It shouldn't look masculine - you shouldn't be wearing a white shirt and a man's tie with it.

``It's the idea of doing an elongated, soft, drapeable jacket like Armani would do, but you would do that over a silk or satin blouse, lace camisole or stretch lace turtleneck, so there's always that feminine element.

``The belt you wear is going to be very feminine; the shoes you're going to wear would be a strappy heel or a high heel pump. Keep it soft with hair and makeup, the blouse, jewelry and shoes, so the rest can be slightly hard-edged.

``Short skirts are also terribly important. Most women of any size and age still have good legs, so it's a part of themselves they want to feature.''

Fabrics - in suits and separates - are richly textural: blended wools and boucles, velvet and chenille, buttery suede and leather. Decorative trims are luxurious as well, from fur to velvet. Houndstooth and pinstripes abound, glen plaids are paired with cable knits and tweeds team up with silks. Also, watch for manmade microfibers and Tencil, fiber made from wood pulp, to weave their way into the fall wardrobe.

``Fabrics are more luxurious and high-end, even the polyesters and microfibers,'' says Henry Fawcett, owner of Statement, Ltd. in Virginia Beach.

``We are strong on career dressing this season. Suits may be masculine in fabrication but they have feminine touches. Most women are loving the return of the shoulder pad because it is more slenderizing. And the monochromatic and tone-on-tone look is particularly strong in the grays.''

Indeed, gray makes an indelible impression this season in fabric, shoes and even makeup. But other colors in the spotlight include reinterpretations of green and red, especially when paired with neutrals like navy, charcoal, brown and camel.

``Colors for fall '97 are complex and sophisticated,'' states Leatrice Eiseman, executive director of the Pantone Color Institute. ``They are an evolution of the colors from previous seasons, rather than a revolution.

``We are still seeing green, but this fall it is a sophisticated moss tone rather than a strident lime. Red is everywhere in refined shades of brick, claret, cranberry and burgundy. And the turquoise of spring has developed into the teal of fall.''

The masculine-meets-feminine look, with its emphasis on pieces - the jacket, the pant, the skirt - is not only easy to wear, but simple to put together. Separates purchased this season and paired with old favorites can effortlessly update your closet.

``It's a look of being put together and also getting multiple use out of clothes,'' Hall says. ``Buy a suit, a jacket and a pant. You can take that jacket and put it with a velvet skirt from last season and a little lace camisole and that's as dressy as a woman, say, in Norfolk would need to go to a cocktail party.

``But that jacket's going to go to work tomorrow over a camel turtleneck and a pair of gray flannel pants. Or it has a matching skirt and it becomes a totally matched suit.''

Or, Hall suggests, place this season's gently tailored, elongated jacket over last year's slip dress, add a thin leather, chain or metallic belt on top - and instantly you have what looks like a new satin skirt and camisole under that jacket. Larger women can belt the dress under the jacket instead for a slimmer silhouette.

``Women are simple in their needs, not simple in their heads,'' Hall opines. ``Women only want three things (from fashion): They want to look younger and thinner and prettier. They don't want to look funny - they want people to `ooh' and `aah' when they walk in, not giggle. They want to wear clothes they can sit in, they can get into an automobile in.''

And work in. And the new menswear-inspired suit - with its authoritative lines, easy confidence yet undeniable femininity - is the perfect workwear choice.

``The suit, despite predictions of its demise, has expanded on itself,'' muses Alan Flusser, one of America's foremost menswear designers and renowned author of ``Style And The Man,'' which explores the subject of suits. ``There's something almost hierarchical about a suit. It's an icon.

``Like any classic wearable, it falls in and out of favor. Women who want to dress well own a couple of suits or jackets. If they want versatility and authority, then a legitimate suit offers a kind of continuity. This type of fashion is relevant to careerwear. The issue is not to look like a man.'' MEMO: Correspondent Kim Wadsworth contributed to this story. ILLUSTRATION: Gray matters...

[BILL TIERNAN

The Virginian-Pilot]

Boy meets girl... KEYWORDS: FALL FASHION PREVIEW AUTUMN SERENADE

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