Buffalo News

Poncho power

By: SUSAN MARTIN;
News Style Writer

September 7, 2003 Sunday

It may not be the top trend of the season, but the fashion poncho is making a comeback.

Call it an extension of the seasons-old fringe fad, but some of these '70s-style creations look straight out of an episode of "The Brady Bunch" or "The Partridge Family."

Ann Taylor Loft includes both a fringed poncho sweater and a suede poncho in its fall collection. These are shown with narrow-leg suede pants or jeans

A related look, the oversized sweater with generous use of fringe at the cuffs and around the bottom, is featured in the Ellen Tracy Company collection.

Expect others. Fashion tip

Buy the best handbag you can afford; it will help your image, recommend Emily Cho and Neila Fisher in their book, "Instant Style: 500 Professional Tips on Fashion, Beauty and Attitude" (HarperStyle, $12).

"It's a focal point and lifts the level of your entire outfit with its message of quality," they write. Send a postcard

Forget Disney World. Tourism in the buff is on the increase, reports the 2004 Old Farmer's Almanac, which will be released Sept. 15.

(And you associate the almanac with weather!)

"Don't look now, but nudist tourism is at an all-time high, with membership in the American Association for Nude Recreation having grown 20 percent over the last decade," reports the almanac in its "Consumer Tastes & Trends" section.

Affluent trend-setters over 30 are particularly interested in going buff. And while Central Florida is the top destination, the trend is expanding to Atlanta and other locales. Boxers, briefs and beyond

Leave it to Freshpair.com, the Internet undies retailer, to survey men and their underwear preferences. Here are the results, according to 7,000 responses:

Percentage of men who . . .

Prefer boxers: 30 percent.

Prefer briefs: 31 percent

Prefer thongs: 21 percent.

Prefer other styles: 8 percent.

Prefer to wear nothing: 10 percent.

Have tried on women's underwear: 73 percent.

All right, all right, already.

And finally . . .

"Recently, an ex-boyfriend told a mutual friend that I want all the guys at a party to fall in love with me. Well, of course I do! Why else put on high heels?" Actress Selma Blair, in InStyle magazine.