A fashion clue: It's the time to think of blue

KNIGHT RIDDER NEWSPAPERS
Just two years ago, women were collecting Native American jewelry with the zeal usually reserved for sale-priced shoes. Then passion cooled as charms, brooches and ethnic beads took center stage.
But not for long.
Ralph Lauren endorsed turquoise belts and jewelry for this fall in his February runway show. And a few weeks ago, during New York Fashion Week spring presentations, the blue stone was back in full force.
Taking his cues from the Greeks, Michael Kors put turquoise stones on everything from high-heel sandals to pendants and belts.
And the jewelry is not the only sign of a Southwestern revival. The color turquoise is having a strong surge. Douglas Hannant clearly had Santa Fe on his mind with turquoise beads and color combinations of sand, turquoise and orange. And when Pantone, the color forecasting group, interviewed designers on colors for next spring, the blue was No. 2 -- after apple green.
At the same time, Time magazine notes the turquoise trend coincides with a show at New York's American Museum of Natural History. An exhibit of more than 500 pieces of contemporary and historic Native American jewelry and artifacts opened Oct. 30. It's called "Totems to Turquoise: Native North American Jewelry Arts of the Northwest and Southwest."
Meanwhile, check out your own jewelry box.