Remember the ’80s, when an elaborately beaded jacket was the linchpin of an evening wardrobe? Times have changed.
For fall ’98, designers took an understated approach to evening that relies on separates, but this time, the emphasis is on combining the plain and the fancy. At Bill Blass, Halston and Badgley Mischka, beaded skirts or pants were topped with the most basic of cashmere sweaters. There’s nothing about the hip-length sweaters to differentiate them from the V-neck or crewneck you wear to the office. So you can do this–you already have it in your closets.
Also finding a new place in the evening wardrobe is the tweed or camel’s hair coat. Usually fitted and hitting somewhere between the knee and the ankle, the coat’s humble texture provides an eye-catching contrast to a beaded, satin or burn-out velvet gown. The combination comes across as infinitely more youthful than its tried-and-true counterparts.
“It takes the edge off the beads, the edge off the tweeds,” says Joan Kaner, senior vice president and fashion director of Neiman Marcus. “It’s unexpected and yet modern.”
And did we mention practical? The sportswear philosophy at work for fall lets you get extra mileage out of daytime staples. Now that’s something to celebrate.
