Charleston Gazette

Fashion Notes

By: JACKIE WHITE
Knight Ridder Newspapers

November 16, 2003

Mod's comeback wave

Fashion fans will obviously reap a bonus from crawling into fall's favorite new short skirts: warm legs.

For years, diehard style-stalkers have been gritting their teeth and baring their gams, even in winter. Summers were easy, of course. A little tanning solution, they looked decent and so cool. But in February, even knee-high leather boots were not much help for frosted knees and thighs.

But the comeback of the mini and Mod looks have given a new boost to the hosiery counters. Belly up again to buy fishnets, opaque tights, leg warmers and knee-highs. Anne Klein's fall show, for example, presented mid-thigh A-line skirts with opaque-colored tights, and the total look blended so smoothly, the idea seemed appealing for almost any age.

The array of colors, including red, orange and green, adds energy. If you're unsure, stay with muted tones or match tights to the skirt or shoes. Or be playful and layer fishnet over colored opaques.

It's an idea apparently expected to last awhile. Last month in Paris, Christian Dior's John Galliano covered his models' legs with colorful tattoo-print body suits for spring.

Underwear undercover

Some answers to the age-old boxers-vs.-briefs question and other mysteries of the male underworld, according to 7,000 responses to an online survey by Freshpair.com:

* 31 percent of men prefer briefs. * 30 percent prefer boxers. * 21 percent prefer thongs. * 10 percent prefer to wear nothing. * 45 percent say they would like to wear g-strings but never have. * $ 3.4 billion is what they spend annually on underwear.

Armchair drivers

If you watch those NASCAR racers flying in the wind and long to be where they are, now you can - sort of.

Razor magazine says Racing Furniture offers a series of leather chairs and sofas in the Corvette and NASCAR themes. (Who knew?)

One chair, the "C1," for instance, is patterned after Chevrolet's first Corvette with the crossed-flags crest. Or choose furniture customized to fit your favorite NASCAR driver, complete with his number on the back.

See www.racingfurniture.com for more details. Prices start at $ 995. Sofas are about $ 2,300.

Pressing the clutch

Women have grown accustomed to strappy tote bags spacious enough to carry lunch, a cell phone, an organizer, a housing contract and enough makeup to see them through a disco party.

But times change, and with the apparel industry nudging fashion-conscious women into more grownup, dressy clothes this fall, the petite clutch bag associated with ladies-who-lunch is back in the lineup.

A version is available from such diverse sources as Talbots, St. John Knits and Banana Republic. You can find crocodile, smooth leather and metallic for evening.

But will a bag that holds little more than a credit card and lipstick fly for daily life? And with no shoulder strap, won't it be easy to put it down and forget it? Should modern styles fit busy modern lifestyles?

Just throw the clutch into the big tote.