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[[double line]] FASHION FORECAST [[image - black & white photograph of model on a runway]] Adolfo's polka-dotted taffeta ruffle At the end of a recent showing of his Calvin Klein Classics, his moderate price collection, the designer explained why the emphasis had shifted from below-calf and near-ankle lengths to mid-thigh hemlines: "Short skirts are coming in -- I feel it. And when the ground swell happens, I want my clothes to be in the stores." Whether the miniskirt will have a major rerun is still an open question, but the Klein concern with short skirts is part of a significant change in fashion attitude: the return to sexy clothes. Here are some of the signs: The oversize jacket, with its aggressively padded shoulders, was for ten years the symbol of the current fashion look. Paired with a narrow skirt -- or narrow pants -- it made the inverted triangle, standing on its point, the major fashion silhouette. That austere geometric shape is being replaced by the hour glass look, the long-abiding sign of femininity. Bare shoulders, including both the off-the-shoulder and strapless tops, are important in both sun clothes and evening dresses for summer. Ruffles and frills are everywhere -- framing bare necklines and kicking flirtatiously around the knees. The austere "dress for success" formula is relaxing. Instead of severely tailored suits and shorts with bow ties, even executive women are opting for softer shaped suits and billowing blouses. Waistlines are almost invariably snugly belted. Last winter the alligator or crocodile belt was the runaway best seller. For spring, the ostrich belt with distinctive markings is coming into prominence. Clothes generally are moving closer to the body, with the emphasis on sung bodices, curvy jackets and, occasionally, flaring skirts. If there is a precedent, it is the New Look of Christian Dior, which changed the look of fashion in 1947. Celebrating its 40th anniversary this year, the House of Dior is helping revive interest in flirty, feminine fashions, pointing to similarities in the mood of women today and in the post-World War II years. After years of restraint, women then were ready to accept bouffant petticoats, snug waistlines and traditionally frivolous clothes. Today after a couple of decades of feminism, women are ready for a softer, more relaxed look, according to Dior. The parallels shouldn't be pushed too far, and contemporary clothes are not line-for-line reproductions of the past. They are made without the elaborate stiffening, bones and interfacing that marked the mid-century clothes. But the recent outbreak of poufed and bubble skirt, the return of sibilant taffeta and lace as important fashion fabrics, the emphasis on gentler tailoring by such designers as Giorgio Armani, who initiated the vogue for the oversize jacket in the mid-1960's, are more than straws in the wind. They are signs that fashion is turning to a more feminine mode. by Michelle Moore 54 [[end page]] [[start page]] [[advertisement]] ROBERT MAPPLETHORPE [[image - black & white photograph of two women posing in a oval with their hands on one woman's knee]] miguel cruz 767 FIFTH AVE. 43RD FLOOR, NEW YORK, N.Y. 10153 212-751-3730 VIA MANZONI 31, 6TH FLOOR, 20121 MILANO 39-2/79-67-60 -- 79-99-21 -- 79-20-32 ABBRACCIO - ALION - BARBARA/JEAN LTD - BONWIT TELLER - JOE BRAND - BUFFALO - CACHE, INC - CARITTA - CARRIE SIMONTON - CELESTE - MARY CHANCIS - JOY CHERRY - CYRELD - DANIELLE BOUTIQUE - ELLESSE - FROST BROS - GLENRAY - GOLDEN NUGGET - GORDON STUART - HILLIE - HYTKENS - I. MAGNIN - JACKSON GRAVES - JACOBSON'S - JASMINE - GRACE JONES - KANE'S - KAREN'S FASHIONS - LANE'S - L'ARMOIRE - L'IMPRESSIONS - LINA LEE - MARTHA - MARY JANE DENZER - THE MEDITERRANEAN - MIGUEL CRUZ/CAPRI - MILANO - MISS BAKER - NEIMAN MARCUS - SARA FREDERICKS - PERKINS SHEARER - SUITE 101 - CHARLES SUMNER - SWANSONS - TOWER FASHIONS - VILLAGE SET - WILKES BASHFORD - YOU [[/advertisement]]
