HOLIDAY FASHIONS Festive clothes reflect the need to feel good again

Last year, low key was the way to go. This season, people are more in a mood to celebrate.
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It's time to be "elegantly flashy," says Danielle Rodenbaugh.
"People are trying to get out of the doldrums," says Lurene Lockwood, a real-estate executive.
"People want to feel good again. Part of feeling good is looking good," Freda Crompton says.
These Kansas City area women, activists in charities with busy social seasons through the holidays and beyond, are sensing a rising mood on the fashion front. Make way for lace, ruffles, ribbons, cheerful colors and even a bit of glitz at upcoming festivities. It's the season.
A year ago, following the disastrous events in the country, social dressing tended to be low-key. At-home parties were quiet. The televised awards shows were anything-goes. And the casual uniform launched in the 1980s seemed to envelope the American scene night and day. From most accounts, the trend has shifted.
Looking festive
Dressing up has "come back in a big way," says David Wolfe, creative director of New York-based consultants Doneger Group. "It's like a pent-up desire" after the last year.
Wolfe says women are buying evening outfits such as blouses, skirts and pants with embellishments, metallics and textures.
Sasha Igleahart, marketing director of Glamour magazine, calls it "part of an optimistic feeling."
"The idea now is, it's OK to celebrate," says Gregg Andrews, Illinois-based fashion director for Nordstrom. "People are ready to let the holidays feel festive."
Andrews is recommending looks like red in various shades, metallics, a great blouse, velvets, evening boots and jet-black earrings.
Kate Dimmock, marketing director for Marie Claire magazine, says fashion is "a little more flirtatious, a little more fun."
She points to skirts and dresses inspired from the '30s and '40s that "make you want to dance."
Feminine details
Closer to home, Ruth Nan, the couture buyer at Halls specialty store in Kansas City, Mo., agrees people are up for dressy clothes, especially those with feminine details such as ruffles and ribbons.
Separates, even with gala dressing, are on the upswing. Sometimes customers will buy a top from one designer and a bottom from another, and the store will add matching trim to one of the pieces.
Mixing separates remains popular for those evenings that don't require a long gown. Staple black pants, for instance, are easy to spiff up this year with an array of evening tops in prices ranging from $20 at a discount store to three figures at specialty stores.
Stores such as Banana Republic and all department stores have choices in glitzy styles easily paired with black or white silky or velvet pants.
Karen Mische says when parties are less formal than galas, she likes the fun of mixing separates. For cocktails, she'll top black pants with a zebra print blouse or bag.
Rodenbaugh says she'll be adding lace pieces to her wardrobe this season and plans to knit a couple of shoulder wraps for evening. Lockwood interchanges her St. John knit evening tops with "two or three long skirts."
Joyce Smith, a personal shopper at Nordstrom in Overland Park, Kan., says her customers "really want to have fun," and even among older women, they're opting for barer looks.
Colors are vibrant
While Midwestern women traditionally appreciate color, strong eye-catching hues such as red and raspberry are especially prevalent. They are frequently anchored by a black skirt or formal pants.
Mische, co-chairwoman of the Lyric Opera's Crystal Ball in Kansas City, says, "vibrant colors always put me in a good mood." She plans to wear color to the ball and hopes the other patrons will as well.
And Leon Hall, a New York-based fashion and media consultant, wonders why a woman would wear anything else.
"The dumbest thing to do, wearing black to a black-tie party," he said. "A red dress when everyone else is in black makes sense. No matter who it is, no matter how pretty she is, all eyes will be on the red."