FASHIONS Retro look returns for fall as has-been look is reinvented

Celebrity endorsements renew interest in polo shirts.
SCRIPPS HOWARD
The ubiquitous reptile is back on campus. Already rediscovered by the fashion watchers, Lacoste's colorful polo shirt is the pick of college students this fall.
It was popularized in 1980's "Official Preppy Handbook." But, perhaps because of overexposure, the iconic shirts crashed in the 1990s.
In the last few years, Lacoste has started to make a comeback, helped in no small part by celebrity endorsements. Gwyneth Paltrow made a strong impression when she wore a Lacoste polo dress in the 2002 film "The Royal Tenenbaums."
Now the dresses are everywhere, proof that a little marketing can reinvent a has-been look, no matter how far down the ladder of fashion cool it has fallen.
John Griffin, Lacoste's Southeast regional representative, says 15- to 20-year-olds are driving the Lacoste market in the South. A Lacoste knit shirt, paired with khaki shorts and sandals, has become a sort of campus uniform, he said.
At Nowell's Clothing in Raleigh, N.C., both college and high school age boys and young men are into the shirt.
Solid colors
"They're real popular with the younger crowd. It's one of our better-selling items, that's for sure," says sales associate Eric Bostrom. Top picks at Nowell's are the solid color, short-sleeve knit styles.
Girls and women are snapping up Lacoste at stores, too. The shirts are available in a variety of colors and stripes.
The reign of retro continues .
Accessories featuring intricate, ladylike details reminiscent of the '50s and funky mod touches that echo the '60s abound, according to the Accessories Council in New York City.
Look for such touches as ribbons on handbags, beaded necklaces with tassel detailing, and buttons and bows on pumps.
What's fueling this nostalgia ?
"In times of instability we look back at times where we felt more carefree," says Karen Guthrie, chairman of the department of fashion at Virginia Commonwealth University. "Our whole world has been very unstable for Americans with 9/11 and war."
Guthrie points out that the fashions of the 1940s -- shoes with round toe boxes and chunky heels, feminine ladies' suits and pinstripes for men -- are all over runways in Europe and America this season.