Asense of style comes from attention to detail: The fall of the fabric, the softness to the makeup, the cut to the hair all complete a polished look. But there are areas of fashion that are often neglected – areas as essential as the clothes to beauty. We had questions about what needs to be considered when buying designer eyeglasses, the new low-heeled shoes, and constantly changing fragrances. And how do we know when colors are flattering to us – we all know which colors we like, but is there a way to tell if the color is right for us? So, we asked four local experts to give us some advice.
Larry Leight, merchandising vice president of Optique Classique, has some tips for finding the right pair of designer glasses. His business is matching shape, size, and color to the face.
Ruth Rutchik, color consultant with Color I, can find your perfect colors. She explains how they work for both men and women in everything from clothes to accessories.
Bill Baum, general merchandise manager with Nei-man-Marcus, knows legs, and he tells why they are important in determining the shoe that will look best on you.
Frances de Rothschild’s name is her business – Rothschild perfumes have been a part of the Dallas fashion industry for close to 30 years, and she gives us some hints for buying and wearing fragrances.
Larry Leight Optique Classique
In the old movie, Gentlemen Prefer Blondes, Marilyn Monroe portrayed a myopic bubblehead who staggered around from scene to scene, unable to see because she was embarrassed to wear the eyeglasses she desperately needed. There is no reason for spectacle stigma today, since eyeglass designers have entered the fashion mainstream, making flattering eyeglasses for men and women.
“There is no reason for people to acquire a wardrobe, dress well, and then refuse to wear the proper glasses to complete their look,” says Leight, also a trained cosmetic optician at the eyeglass boutique in Preston-wood.
“Why shouldn’t you invest in glasses that you’d wear every day? Male attorneys and accountants come in looking for the perfect business frame. Then they realize that they should have another pair of glasses for play. Some people leave with a complete eyewear wardrobe and that’s the way it should be. A woman doesn’t want to wear career-oriented glasses when she goes to a party. And custom frames that look good will never go out of style.”
Leight says the softer, iridescent, pastel frames are making the mark this spring. Frames with subdued, hand-etched designs and Lalique crystal looks are great on blondes while brunettes can carry more color. When deciding shape, the cosmetic optician considers facial structure, eye and hair color, and brow line during consultation. Narrow eyes can be widened, broad bridges softened, and circles hidden with the right pair of glasses. Thick prescription glass can look less so with lenses colored in gradient shades of cinnamon, mauve, gray, lavender, or blue.
Several of the biggest names in European eyewear are NeoStyle, Silhouette, Nina Ric-ci, Celino, and Renata Balestra – all of which are carried at Optique Classique, many models on a one-of-a-kind basis.
“We also buy frames by single pairs only because we know someone out there will look terrific wearing them. Why buy glasses if you’re going to stick them in your pocket or purse? You should want to wear them.”
Bill Baum Neiman-Marcus
“Color and diversity are the biggest things happening in footwear this season. Diversity, particularly in terms of heel height,” says Bill Baum.
Making the transition to lower heels is more difficult than it might seem; the Beene flats that Neiman’s carries look great on a mannequin, but they’re unflattering to legs that are more than willowy. You’ll feel like a kid again, but look rather matronly. The Charles Jourdan “winged-victory” look is hard to wear too: The uncompromising angle of the toe, the odd straps, the sculptured wedge-heel all seem too extreme. Then there’s the “Kim Novak bedroom look,” a basic mule with saucy variations, all inappropriate for business wear. The trick is to coordinate each pair of shoes with the time and place. Heels are still “in” in a big way, but now there are alternatives to strappy sandals.
Elegant contouring in the $230 Bruno Magli pump flatters the legs, and they’ll defy you to find a flaw in the leather.
“The closed-toe sling (half pump) with a sandal strap in back is a steady seller, but the spectator pump is moving extraordinarily well,” says Baum. “We’re seeing a return to classics.” The spectator is a sublime juxtaposition of sporty and dressy footwear for spring: Its sleek, white pump silhouette is usually detailed with wingtip-style perforated leather trim at the toe and upper heel. The trim is always a navy, red, violet, brown, or black. Neiman’s carries two terrific spectators, a Jourdan and a Fer-ragamo, both around $145.
“Mules, espadrilles, and flats are the best casual looks. Looking “preppy” is catching on down here and we’re selling Bass Weejuns and tassel loafers,” Baum says.
Jazz oxfords in leather or canvas with a Buddy Holly flair are great, on the right person.
Frances Rothschild Rothschild Designer Fragrances
“I think we’re entering an era of sophistication. There have been many great perfumes – Joy and Arpège, among others, but they hit a peak and level out. Our organic musk was so popular for a while; now I think musk has passed its peak. People are always looking for something new, something spirited.”
While Rothschild would be the first to admit she is not a “name” in perfumery, her 30 years of manufacturing experience have taken her from her native West Texas to New York, Paris, and Singapore in search of the best amber, berzoin, floral extracts, and balsamic oils. Rothschild received international acclaim recently when she became the first American to be awarded the gold medal at the 1979 Monde Selection in Brussels for her latest men’s eau de cologne, “de Rothschild.”
“A perfumer is limited in his work only by his imagination and ability to create,” Rothschild says. “I take other opinions into consideration. But, if I’m testing three new scents and twelve people like this one, six people like that one, I may market the one four people like, if I like it. After all, I am the final nose.”
The last three years have brought unprecedented growth to the Lenel offices located near Industrial Boulevard. Business, which Rothschild graciously describes as in “the few millions,” has outgrown the present warehouse, and bigger accounts in South America and Greece are pressing.
Rothschild was recently contacted by the marketing division at Evan Picone: They’d be interested in labeling a man’s fragrance of her design. Rothschild, utterly unpretentious, is still undecided.
Lenel for Men and de Rothschild comprise about 60 per cent of her current sales, but Rothschild maintains and continues to expand her scents for women: Caressant, Private Affair, Vestalia, and Strictly Personal. She wears her most recent development, Avante, a mixture of French and Oriental essences blended with “sporty” citrons and herbs.
“Of course, every fragrance is different on every person. I go for pleasant, long-lasting scents. So many expensive perfumes today don’t last more than a few hours. They’re lovely, but they don’t linger. The ’base note’ or ’fade out’ through all stages of evaporation is very important.”
Rothschild advises people to apply cologne generously after bathing in the morning, and to add a few touches after lunch and before dinner. She likes the more subdued American approach to fragrance and admits French women and Latin men tend to overdo it.
“Let’s face it, sex will never go out of style,” she says, “and that’s what it’s all about. Many of us work in air-conditioned atmospheres. We don’t have parks, woods, or even window boxes to bring fragrance into our lives. Perfume excites the senses and provides pleasure, not only to the wearer, but to those around her.”
Rothschild creations are available in Dallas at Joske’s department stores; two showrooms are located in the Apparel Mart.
Ruth Rutchik
Color I
While there is nothing particularly maternal about color consultant Ruth Rutchik, she’ll admit, “Many of the things I can teach you about color are the rules your mother tried to pass on to you.” Rutchik is the Dallas representative of Color I, the only national color service that offers individual consultations. The Color I concept was conceived by two fashion models who were intrigued with the way a designer dress could look delightful on one model and dreadful on another. They devised a system that balances an understanding of color with fashion intuition.
For $35 Rutchik spends an hour or more discussing general fashion trends from handbags to stockings, as she uses paint swatches to compose the customer’s personal color chart. She’ll check the tint of your teeth, the shade of pink inside your lower lip, and the natural tone of your skin at the bottom of your arm, then give you a set of rules you’re not apt to forget.
Never wear a white whiter than your teeth. “I’m trying to get my customers into ecru,” she says.
Do not wear black and white if there is not enough contrast between your skin and your hair. Gentle blondes and redheads must avoid the stark looks the designers are currently showing.
Try wearing shoes the color of your hair. “It really pulls a look together.”
Wear furs that match the primary or secondary colors of your hair.
Buy a good handbag (Rutchik likes Coach Bags) and stick by it. You can’t go wrong with a small black clutch for evening, no matter what your coloring is. You do not have to match your purse to your shoes.
Everyone can wear any color; it’s the specific shade that really counts. Any print you wear should be dominated by at least two of your personal colors.
When buying hose, it’s more flattering to go darker. Only gentle blondes can wear the light hose marketed this spring. Rutchik admires Hanes and Christian Dior. A tip to prolong the life of your hosiery: Take them out of the package, then dampen and store them for a day in the kitchen freezer before drying and wearing them.
Every man should have three suits: a navy, a camel, and a gray. Men should enhance their wardrobes by adding a variety of ties, shirts, and sweaters. As a rule, brown suits do not flatter men.
“Some clients sit down and tell me what colors they look good in; frequently, they’re wrong. I finally coaxed one of my male clients into buying a sweater in his specific shade of red. Later, he called back and said a perfect stranger had stopped to tell him how nice he looked.”
Rutchik has made emergency trips tostore dressing rooms to assist customers indifficult buying decisions, and she’ll dowardrobe consultations that include stylesketches for mixing and matching accessories for $75. For an appointment, call750-8544.
