Ellen Tracy Black Velvet Dress With Gold Belt
GLAMOUR, BASICS AND THE OFFBEAT ON 7TH AVE.
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May 3, 1986
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Bob Mackie provided a heady infusion of Hollywood-style glamour, Linda Allard of Ellen Tracy added tailored dresses to the working woman's basic suit-and-separates wardrobe, and Harriet Winter suggested that women dress softly, unobtrusively and with an offbeat dash.
The three designers are among the hundreds who introduced their fall and winter collections during the first week of fashion openings in New York this week. While conforming to the spirit of reality that dominates the new season, they offer a wide spectrum of choices. Prices cover an equally wide range, from good-looking separates from $100 to $300 to beaded drop-dead dresses approaching five figures.
Cher, the entertainer, who has known Bob Mackie for almost 20 years but said she couldn't afford his clothes for a long time, was at the Parsons School to cheer her friend's opening. She applauded vigorously and murmured ''beautiful'' as the mostly slinky dresses came down the runway, but her favorite was a sheared black mink coat with a lavish silver collar.
Mr. Mackie offers glamour in many forms, including knitted styles in brilliant colors. But he is best known for his extravagant, beaded fantasies. Sometimes the beading is used in moderation, as in a jeweled lariat embroidered on one sleeve of a black gabardine jacket. But when he goes all-out, as in gold and silver dresses with beaded fringe hanging from the side-dipping hemline, the designer is in a class by himself.
In a more down to earth manner, Linda Allard, who started making junior blouses for Ellen Tracy more than 20 years ago, is now designing excellent clothes for the serious working woman.
''It was my first job,'' she said. ''As I grew, my needs changed and so did my customers, so my style changed.''
Her greatly expanded dress collection focuses on styles a woman can wear to the office - and even to a party in the early evening. A black jersey dress with removable white satin collar and cuffs is a good example.
Many of the dresses button down the front; some have trench coat details such as epaulets or flaps on the back to emphasize the tailored feeling. Skirts are gracefully flared and quite long.
''I have believed in long skirts for some time, but we've been offering both short and long,'' she said. ''The customers have been picking long, so we decided this time to go all the way.''
The clothes have a stylish simplicity that should spur the popularity of one-piece dressing. Ripples and Jersey
There are no hard edges in Harriet Winter's collection: Even the hemlines tend to ripple softly. So it is no surprise that jersey, in different weights, is her favorite fabric. It is combined with velour for day and velvet for evening, but the slightly bloused all-jersey black dress under a long, wrapped coat in a color such as rosy pink or bright blue is a basic daytime look. Suits tend to have curved front panels that are longer than the back and are as supple as sweaters.
Eleanor Brenner's brand of sportswear is getting slicker, mingling leather, gabardine and knitted materials in sophisticated separates that have a casual but luxurious look. Details such as double collars and pockets in contrasting colors make the clothes look more expensive than they are - prices start around $120 for blouses and skirts. Mrs. Brenner shows weekend clothes in crinkled no-iron silks and sequin-striped knitted sweaters and skirts for evening in addition to her sleek daytime styles.
While other designers are concerned with making their clothes look more grown-up, Adele Simpson's styles are getting younger. Long torso lines ending in flared, long skirts are graceful in coats, suits and dresses. Evening clothes bypass the overwhelming glitter of previous seasons and are more casual in cut. Silver topstitching on navy blue jersey dresses is derived from blue jeans, but a backless halter style is certainly formal enough for most black-tie events. Even when the fabric is shot with gold or silver, shirtwaist cuts give the dresses a contemporary casual look.
Most Simpson day clothes are appropriate for the working woman without looking banal - stylish but wearable. They include lightweight wool dresses cut along the lines of a shirt and those snug-jacket suits with full skirts. Prices are $360 to $1,500. The collection is designed by Donald Hopson.
Just as they were in Paris, supple leather suits and brilliantly colored winter coats are the hits of the special collection Hubert de Givenchy has made for Abe Schrader. Prices, in the $500 range are considerably lower than the French-made product, and Alvin Somers, vice president of I. Magnin, was enthusiastic. ''The Establishment ladies who wanted classic clothes had to pay a lot more for them,'' he said after the debut. ''I wish there were more people doing this kind of thing,'' he added.
Mary Jane Marcasiano, who started her business in SoHo seven years ago, explores many aspects of knitted fashion. She uses flat stitches in voluminous shapes that swathe the body luxuriously in mixtures of cashmere and silk, or wool and mohair. Ample sweaters are pulled over pants, skirts or even shorts, and sometimes knitted coats in matching shades of aqua or rose are added. Knitted dresses with flounced hems work quite well, but various attempts to bring the clothes closer to the body by wrapping the hips spoil the clean, classic look.
Ellen Tracy Black Velvet Dress With Gold Belt
Source: https://www.nytimes.com/1986/05/03/style/glamour-basics-and-the-offbeat-on-7th-ave.html
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