FASHION It's about flowers, flounce and frills

If you want to be stylish this season, take your cue from vintage styles.
KNIGHT RIDDER NEWSPAPERS
To know how to dress well this season, you will want to see a lot of old movies -- say those from the 1920s, '30s and '50s.
Then imagine all this -- V-neck dresses, cropped pants and soft feminine fabrics -- in Technicolor with vibrant hues of pink, blue, coral and yellow.
"It's sort of vintage-inspired proportions," said Stephanie Sherman, co-owner along with Carrie Arrouet of Lela, in Milwaukee.
"Three-quarter length sleeves. Cropped pants. Anything that looks like a Coco Chanel jacket but in sherbet colors," Sherman said.
Dressed to kill
In New York, designers sent models strutting down the runway more girlish than model churlish. The dress is back -- in a big way. So is color. And flowers. And ruffles. And ribbons. And gauzy, soft, flowing fabric.
Yes, you might want to buy a slip. In fact, Sherman highly recommends it because dresses hang so much better with a slip underneath.
They've updated the classic look with a short cropped jacket or a shrunken cardigan. If you're going to wear a blazer, skip the belt and tie a vintage scarf or one of the very hot satin cummerbunds around the middle instead. Pair your favorite jeans with a slip of a top, something sheer and sexy.
Dress up the feet in a strappy sandal but note that this spring, the wispy woman look gets some balance with round-toed shoes perched on a substantial, if high, heel.
Overall, there may be a classic feel to spring fashion, but it's up to the wearer to add a bit of edge. Sherman suggests pairing a flowy lightweight tunic over jeans and adding vintage jewelry such as rhinestones or pearls. Attach a brooch or ribbon to your purse or T-shirt to update last year's wardrobe.
Better jeans
And about jeans. They may be the one fashion item that doesn't reflect old movies, according to Faye Wetzel, whose shops include Faye's 1, Faye's 2 Petites and Faye's Play in Mequon, Wis., and Faye's 1 and Faye's 2 in Brookfield, Wis.
"It seems to be that it's getting safe to pull up your underwear once again because the rises are getting higher," Wetzel said.
In addition to playing with waist, wash and color of jeans, designers are helping us look better by positioning pockets so that butts look slimmer and higher. The washes on the fabric are situated to make legs and thighs look slimmer as well.
"There is absolutely positively no end in sight for jeans and their importance. What jean you have on is an indication of where you are in the fashion food chain," Wetzel said. Expect the popularity of the stretch jean to continue and look for the "career jean."
Wetzel suggests that shopping for the right jean and jean fit can be "as frustrating and intense as buying a bra." She suggests asking for assistance.
Staples for the season
Now, step away from the twin sets, Sherman warns, they're not in the five staples she sees for spring.
At the top of the list is the Coco Chanel-inspired jacket.
Then there's the full skirt -- an A-line or a circle skirt that's full and in a floral or vintage inspired fabric. Under that accessorize with nude fishnets or, if you dare, sheer floral hose. Add a slip and a piece of vintage jewelry.
If designer wunderkind Zac Posen is to be believed, spring is the season of the soft, touchable woman -- her clothing will be anyway.
The majority of Posen's designs drape elegantly, shimmer like a summer moon above the lake, and shine with the softness of flickering candles.
Femininity is in, folks. The stores will be filled with ruffles and gossamer or, as The New York Times proclaimed, there is flou (pronounced flu). It's a "Stevie Nicks-Aphrodite-Isadora Duncan, in a torn-butterfly Empress Josephine sort of way," the paper said.
For best effect, pair a sheer skirt -- ballet style or longer -- with a shrunken cardigan or cropped jacket. Make sure the skirt is floral print and, even better, look for skirts in petal soft chiffon. Skirts are longer than they've been lately and gently skim the knee. Handkerchief hems add to the gypsy singer-songwriter image.
The inverse is also true. A flowy peek-a-boo top can be paired with dark denim bottoms such as jeans or generously cut short shorts. Pantsuits rule when they're paired with a short cropped jacket and no shirt underneath or when they come in three pieces, including a vest. Max Mara pairs the short vest and short jacket with an ankle-length skirt.
Dress your feet with round-toed shoes or sandals and hey, it's a look.
Men's clothing matures
In spite of the push in recent years for average guys to put more into their personal style, the average Joe has clung to his wardrobe as a last bastion of freedom and immaturity.
So close your eyes and imagine the chagrin on their faces, when guys find this spring that their clothing options are all grown up.
Gone, the experts say, are faded jeans and all oversize offerings -- T-shirts, sweat shirts, and jeans, especially the jeans.
In? Slim-fitting jeans, vintage T-shirts customized with hand-painted old-fashioned logos, casual blazers rather than suits, and dress tennis shoes.
Brightly colored and multicolored dress shirts, popularized last fall by designers looking to spice up casual wear and tone down office fare, have also survived and even thrived this spring in new woven patterns, but only as part of a well-fitted wardrobe.