A classic pattern is making a fresh start this season: Stripes-from bold bands to slim slivers-are showing up in everything from business suits to evening wear.
The most popular pairings: black and white and navy and white. Ralph Lauren’s spring collection, for example, includes fitted jackets over skinny, striped silk T-shirts and embroidered white linen jackets teamed with pinstripe pants. Bill Blass pairs striped chiffon full-legged pants with striped sweaters. Adrienne Vittadini’s striped styles include a tube dress and boat-necked tunics.
Stripes are simple and versatile. “It’s a traditional pattern, but it can be made less traditional if used with different patterns or in different sizes,” says Joan Kaner, senior vice president and fashion director for Neiman Marcus stores.
Here are a few tips from fashion experts on the most flattering ways to wear stripes:
– Bold, wide bands are most suitable for the youthful; narrower versions lend sophistication.
– Team stripes with solids, Kaner says. Stripes can go to work as layering pieces, under a solid blazer or as a knit twinset, paired with a solid bottom.
– Pants are most flattering in vertical stripes.
– Resist mixing stripe sizes. Unless you have a great eye for graphic scale, the result could be visual clutter.
– A little bit of stripe goes a long way. “Head-to-toe is overpowering,” Kaner says. Try small doses, such as a striped shirt or a striped border on a shirt or suit.
– Combine menswear pinstripes with feminine touches such as lace vests or soft silk crepe blouses, says Karen Harman, vice president of design for Dana Buchman, who showed a charcoal-and-ivory blazer with an ivory lace vest an pencil-striped slim skirt for spring.
Where to buy
Tan vest by Susie Tompkins, $134; from Marshal Field’s. ARB Design striped pants, $80; Cignal stores. Echo silk scarf, $25; from Blomingdale’s. Kenar tank dress, $8; from 931 West, 931 W. Belmont Ave. Jacket, $288; from Marshall Field’s. Echo scarf, $25; bracelet, $12.50; and necklace, $30; from Bloomingdale’s. Jane Design gold earrings, $5; from Sun Up Trading.
