Gauzy separates from Han Feng's spring collection. Newhouse News Service

"It's sizzling everywhere; it's fabulous, says Joan Wilson, regional fashion manager for Neiman Marcus.

And the offerings in white aren't all the usual summer tennis togs, polo shirts and beach cover-ups. These are serious clothes.

"A Dolce & Gabbana white silk shantung pantsuit, a flower-trimmed white silk shantung suit by Chanel," Wilson points out. "And what's really kind of fun are the new techno-fabrics in white, especially from Prada and Jil Sander."

At Saks Fifth Avenue, the hot items include a white silk pantsuit from Armani, which sells for about $1,300, fashion director Lisa Aaronson said.

"Also white pique - the crisp kind as well as the waffle knit. And women are buying sleeveless, fitted bodice tops with slim pants in capri length or longer, or a white short, slim skirt, for the head-to-toe white look."

Catalogs are rampant with white for summer. On the inside cover of the latest Clifford & Wills catalog, a cropped white linen jacket sells for just $78.

The inside cover of J. Crew's summer catalog features a cotton/rayon blend woven pique jacket and pants, $168 and $78, respectively. Not earth-shaking, certainly, until you realize that nearly everything in the catalog is available in bright white.

Saks' spring catalog cover defines the white movement and typifies its dependency on accessories: A model, shielding her eyes from the sun, wears a white cropped T-shirt and white pants with a white calfskin horse-bit belt riding her hips. The belt sells for $175, but no mention is made of the clothes.

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