Hemlines—higher and higher

Press, 6 October 1987, Page 26

Hemlines—higher and higher

By

PAULA RYAN

NO “IFS” OR “BUTS.” Hemlines are going up and there is no fooling around with choices. Designers showing winter collections in Europe came out squarely for short skirts. Most of them, especially the French, are not hedging their bets. They show few trousers or near ankle length skirts to cover themselves. Everything is short What looked extreme to audiences in Milan became familiar three weeks later in Paris. Which proves ... it does not take the eye a long time to get accustomed to a fresh look in fashion especially when it is practically the only look. In addition, the clothes were pretty. They are not the spare, angular sometimes “super slut” mini styles of the 19605. They are serious designs with curves that scream ... all woman ... all sophistication. What is more the mammoth shoulders of recent years have subsided. Waistlines are snug, often marked with wide belts that serve as waist nippers, and hips are rounded. Shoulders are bared for evening with many strapless tops above skirts that bubble, ripple, and flounce and stop at mid-thigh. Evening skirts are even briefer than daytime styles. These short flirty, provocative dresses have shunted aside the glamorous length ballgowns that are a speciality of French fashion houses. The French have made an especially good show for next winter, overshadowing the British and Italian designers. Yves Saint Laurent, whose ready-to-wear collections have been spotty in recent seasons, produced a blockbuster. Hubert de Givenchy, whose clothes are usually traditional, achieved a lively fresh look at Emanuel. Ungaro toned down some of his more extravagant ideas, but continued to mix his prints, usually floral, in ways no other designer even attempts. The Chanel look, in the hands of Karl Lagerfeld, swings in ways the founder of the house would not understand. Even Dior, Claude Montana and Sonia Rykiel all contributed to the palpable change in the shape of clothes. Curves, not angular lines are in. Clothes have a hyperfeminine look. They fit closely, gliding over the bosom, waist, and hip. Clingy and revealing, they rarely seem tawdry. Stretch fabrics, quilted materials, leather, and fur details all make the clothes look interesting. Still ... there is a catch! They are short, very

short skirts. The clothes are far more confining than they were in the 1960 s when mini skirts were an adventure and women delighted in taking up their hems a little bit at a time, mature women as well as the very young. It was a revolutionary time, and there was something exhilarating about wearing short skirts. It is 20 years later now and no longer a protest era. Women’s position have changed. About two-thirds have joined the work force, many more than 20 years ago. They have moved up in business, and the professions. Can a lawyer who is a woman meet her clients in a mini skirt? Are the slender, revealing clothes simply too seductive for the serious woman. There is, of course, the possibility that even serious women are ready for a little frivolity in their lives. After years of working and significant goals, they may be ready to indulge in some gaiety in their dress. Historical precedents exist. After the austerity of World War II women were eager to pick up the heightened femininity of Dior’s New Look ... corsets and all. History does not repeat itself in precisely the same way, but after a period of relatively sober dress, a need for gaiety often develops. After years of establishing themselves as the equals of men, women may be eager to accept their distinctive feminity. Designers are counting on that. They are offering clothes that have a colt-like charm and lift the spirits. There is nothing down about a tailored suit with a bit of ruffle at the end of a short skirt; a taffeta dress that is simply a billowing puff ball is a mood elevator at night Women may well go in for another round of hemline shortening and find it makes them feel younger and freer. I am one woman who three seasons ago rejected the thought of rising hems only to wear one skirt just below the knee last summer, just on the knee this winter, and WHACKO!! ... just a fraction higher this summer. An excellent test is your own children’s reactions. Try it ... mine love it. Whether you may go for it or prefer to remain with a longer length, the choice is yours but news-wise fashion is, at any rate in for a big change. For those who tune in to it, it can be a cheerful experience, enlivening the scene, going quietly this summer and in full-swing next winter.