
DATE: Wednesday, September 10, 1997         TAG: 9709090110

SECTION: DAILY BREAK             PAGE: E4   EDITION: FINAL 
SOURCE: BY SUE VanHECKE, CORRESPONDENT 

                                            LENGTH:   97 lines

RETROFIT IT!WITH INGENUITY AND AN INEXPENSIVE TRIP TO THE TAILOR, AN OUTDATED SUIT CAN BE REMADE INTO A WHOLE NEW OUTFIT.

So you blew a month's salary a few years back on that gotta-have-it suit. But it's not looking quite so current these days.

Or maybe you just found a bargain at the outlet mall, but you wish it looked a bit more luxe.

With just a little creativity, you - or your tailor - can retrofit the deadly duds in your wardrobe to fit today's fashion pages.

If it's a jacket that needs the makeover, something as simple as ``changing the buttons can make a really big difference,'' says Norfolk dressmaker Lynanne Gornto. ``You can trim around the collar, do a contrast on the collar and maybe the cuffs. Add a belt.''

Complicated alterations that would probably require the skills of a professional include nipping in the jacket at the waist and adding darts for shaping if the garment is very boxy, Gornto suggests.

``You could possibly even add cuffs, a fold-up cuff with buttons, for example,'' she adds.

Other options include narrowing lapels or adding a button at the top; both impart a slimming look. ``Dynasty''-style, '80s shoulder pads can be removed or replaced with a subtler shape. Choose au courant velvet or fur for trim at collar, cuffs and pocket flaps.

Gornto advises that ``I would probably shorten most skirts because sometimes you get that length just below the knee that's just real frumpy, that needs to come up a little.

``Even a lot of fuller skirts are sometimes too full - the side seams could be taken in so it's more form-fitting, skims the body a little bit more. And you could always add a slit or put some kind of belt around the top.''

Options for a trouser refitting, on the other hand, are fairly limited.

``You can straighten a wide leg, make it a little straighter,'' Gornto says.

``And you can always change the waistband around or add belt loops or a belt. But with pants, it depends on how they fit as to what you can really do with them.''

Before attempting an alteration, consider the fabric you'll be grappling with. Some fabrics are easier to work on than others.

Gornto - who's been sewing since age 12, dressmaking professionally for a year a half and will be heading to New York City by year's end for a job in the fashion industry - likes working with wool.

``It works with you. You can shape it however you want. Natural fibers are like that, cotton and linen and wool. Polyesters are really difficult - it's real hard to work with.'' These fabrics, she says, are best left to the professionals.

Even shoes can get a whole new look. A good cobbler can add ornamentation, such as rivets, or even replace last season's oversized chunk heels with slender, narrower ones, says Jeff Evans, owner, along with his wife Jane, of Hall's Shoe Repair in Norfolk.

``They come in a plastic stack,'' Evans says of the new svelte heels, ``so a lot of times we re-cover using whatever color leather the uppers are made of or something in a corresponding color.

``A couple of years ago we were taking old shoes and making platform shoes out of them. Now we're going back the other way.''

Handbags can be altered as well; a clutch can get a shoulder strap or a shoulder bag can become a clutch.

But some changes to shoes could be wildly expensive, if not impossible, Evans says, like transforming last year's blunt, square toe into this season's rounder look.

What's the best way to find a good tailor or cobbler? Get recommendations from your friends, ask to see samples of the craftsman's work or request references from satisfied customers. ILLUSTRATION: New life...

[BILL TIERNAN

The Virginian-Pilot]

Don't throw out that old suit. Retrofit it!

Jacket:

Change or add buttons.

Add trim at collar, cuff or pocket.

Add a belt.

Have your tailor shape it at the waist.

Add cuffs.

Narrow the lapels.

Change the shoulder pads.

Skirt: