By Susan Martin
With fall come catalogs and with catalogs come new clothes and with new clothes comes a message that screams layer!
Now I know the idea here is for companies to sell clothes by offering new ways to wear the same old slightly tweaked togs, even if that means piling on five layers at once.
This year, denim jackets and cardigans are cropped short. Tunics are long and flowy. Jeans are cuffed. Dresses are worn over pants. And leggings are everywhere.
Having long covered New York fashion shows, I also know that outfits on the runways and in magazines often are exaggerated for effect.
Still, I look at some of these layered ensembles and wonder whether they should come with instruction manuals.
Long over short? Short over long? Tucked in? Untucked? Collar up? Collar down?
I haven't seen this much creative layering on people since the power outages during the October storm.
Right now I am looking at a back-to-school catalog. A darling girl is wearing a pair of corduroy Bermuda shorts with an untucked white blouse layered under a cable-knit cardigan sweater layered under a very cropped denim jacket.
In another, a teen girl tops a pair of wide-leg jeans with three -- count them three -- different kinds of shirts. A long lacy tank -- the longest of the three -- is worn under a short-sleeve ruffly blouse. The blouse is worn under a fitted plaid jacket with a ruffled scoop neckline and puffy short sleeves. A matching belt is tied off to one side just so, and her wrists are loaded with bangles.
It would take me 2 1/2 hours to pull together a get-up like this.
Boys and men are not exempt from excessive layering either, by the way. Blazers layer over sweater vests over button-downs over cotton crews.
And, in one runway photo, I see a male model dressed in wool pants with an outdoorsy jacket layered over a nylon vest, a sweater vest, a turtleneck and button-down shirt.
Where is this man going? And will he adjust the thermostat when he gets there?
That's not to say that layering is bad. It's anything but. Layering properly is the key to keeping warm and dry in cold weather. It is essential in the summertime when it is beastly hot outdoors and air-conditioned inside. And, as a mom, I like how the fashion trends for tweens and teens are moving away from skin-baring fashions.
I'm all for layering for comfort -- and even for style.
To a point.
I think the look of girls dressed in breezy skirts with cropped leggings and ballet flats is adorable.
I like the sporty look of Ts or polos layered over long-sleeve shirts on both girls and boys.
I think a gorgeous sweater set is one of the best and most flexible items a woman can own. And I have always liked the look of a cashmere or wool shawl draped over a pant suit.
Just don't expect to see me in three shirts, two sweaters and an 8-foot-long skinny scarf anytime soon.
Not that creative layering is anything new.
Many years ago -- in an altogether different time and place -- a co-worker of mine arrived at her desk one morning. She looked well groomed and meticulous as usual.
Except for one thing, she quickly realized. She was wearing her nightie under her dress, much as she would wear a slip.
Now that is creative layering. It didn't make the fashion pages, but it sure gave us a good laugh.
Susan Martin can be reached at smartin@buffnews.com.
Source: Buffalo News. Provided by ProQuest Information and Learning. Powered by Yellowbrix.
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