[ SPRING FASHION ]
CRAIG T. KOJIMA / CKOJIMA@STARBULLETIN.COM
Pink can go to the office, especially if its presented in a business-minded but ladylike tweed. Here, Lisa Okimoto wears an INC suit, at $179 for the jacket and $79 for the skirt.
Get real!
Clothes shopping this spring could be hazardous to your bank account, so before you set foot in a mall or boutique, you may want to heed this piece of advice passed on by a friend after a run-in with a credit card company: Take that piece of plastic, seal it in a plastic sandwich bag half full of water, zip-lock the thing and put it in the freezer.
You'll have checked out spring's abundance by the time it thaws and just may come down to earth before plunging into the new season. After all, few of us get to breeze through life on the Hilton sisters' allowance, and gazing through store windows will just make you want to cast out your whole wardrobe and start over.
Then there's that age thing. A lot of those cotton-candy pinks just seem more appropriate confined to a child's May Day pageant than the workplace.
Even so, there are ways to refresh your wardrobe without going overboard, which answers one of fashion's most-asked questions, which is, Who can wear this stuff?
Once you get past the shock of pink flounces, you'll discover the looks are feminine and suitable for real women, borrowing some of the best ideas of the 1920s through '50s.
First, separate the sheers from more utilitarian fabric. You can often find both looks in the same line. At Macy's Ala Moana, for instance, an embroidered chiffon-and-paillette party dress by Max Studio is shown side by side with its more sedate sister, an office-ready pale salmon-pink silk top with floral embroidery up front, which can be paired with an unconstructed and lightweight jacket and skirt in soft cotton.
CRAIG T. KOJIMA / CKOJIMA@STARBULLETIN.COM
On the facing page is a Max Studio ensemble at $118 for the top, $138 for the skirt, and $240 for the jacket. All courtesy of Macy's.
At Banana Republic, the '50s are reintroduced through simple and elegant sweater tops that can be paired with knife-pleat skirts ($98) of silk in acid green or pink grapefruit colors. You can almost taste the sherbety colors that fill the store, with melon, lime and peach tops ready for picking.
Beyond the pales and transparency is the message that you can be feminine without being a pushover in the boardroom, so ladylike looks are back. Perhaps the ultimate in ladylike fashion is Chanel's signature tweed jacket, and mimics have sprouted all over the place. You'll find them at Guess ($158), Arden B. ($138), and maybe we owe a little credit to "Legally Blonde 2: Red, White and Blonde," but Macy's carries INC's version of Reese Witherspoon's Jackie O.-inspired suit, updated in vivid fuchsia.
The twin sweater set will continue to be popular because of its versatility and forgiving ability to suit many body types. Pair the sweater set you have with colorful floral or graphic-print skirts for office wear, or with capri pants on the weekend.
Or throw the sweater over one of spring's lingerie-inspired silk-satin dresses. Whether they match or not is up to you. Spring's playful aura lets those with no fashion sense off the hook when it comes to mixing and matching. If anyone snickers, just tell them Marc Jacobs is your muse.
BACK TO TOP |
Window shopping
A quick look around Ala Moana Center offers an overview of spring styles...
NADINE KAM / NKAM@STARBULLETIN.COM
A sherbet-hued grouping from Banana Republic. The pretty lemony sweater top is $38.
NADINE KAM / NKAM@STARBULLETIN.COM
Examples of the new cropped jacket, in corduroy from The Gap, $68.
NADINE KAM / NKAM@STARBULLETIN.COM
The corset top is pretty in pink from BCBG Max Azria, $126.
NADINE KAM / NKAM@STARBULLETIN.COM
The layered look can be achieved on a budget. Tanks from T&C sell for $16 to $20.
NADINE KAM / NKAM@STARBULLETIN.COM
A cropped DKNY jacket has the sporting touch of a baseball jacket ($245), done up in peach with a skirt ($195) to match.
NADINE KAM / NKAM@STARBULLETIN.COM
Even guys can get into the pink-and-white spirit if they follow T&C's example.
Click for online
calendars and events.
