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THE SHAPE OF THINGS TO COME

THIS SEASON’S OFFERINGS INHERIT THE BIG, BOLD, AND BRASSY LOOK OF THE GREAT SOUTHWEST.
By Amy Cunningham |

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Here’s a distillation of what we’ve read and heard about this winter’s assembled, layered looks.

Hem lengths: Trends indicate a shift back to longer lengths, sometimes at mid-calf, or past that to opera lengths. Shorter tunics vary in length from just beneath the knee to mid-thigh, and these are paired with leggings, short and fuller pants, or culottes. A whimsical, “anything goes” approach to hems is the best one to take.

Blouses and jackets: It’s hard to generalize, but tops are running tighter and neater than the full, voluminous skirts paired with them. The bottom weight is sometimes offset by a shawl or cloak.

Colors: Woe to the woman whose color consultant has advised her to wear bright colors. She won’t make it this year. The colors for fall are muted: dusty greens, rust’s, taupes, and deep whiskey browns; Calvin Klein is showing pieces in shades of rose. Blues this year seem few and far between.

Shoes: You’ll just have to buy a pair of flat-heeled brown riding boots in shiny leather or soft suede if you intend to make any kind of respectable appearance this year. They’re being worn with just about everything. A second purchase should be the same thing in black. But don’t allow this talk of low heels to provoke you into throwing your old kicked-about cowboy boots away, they work well with Ralph Lauren’s Santa Fe collection and, of course, can still be worn for casual purposes with jeans. Moccasins are also fun for casual wear. For evening, get a pair of bronze metallic flats or low-heeled pumps.

Accessories: They’ve got to be big, and very bold, quite possibly bolder than anything you’ve ever worn. Beads in necklaces are the size of sparrow eggs or half dollars, and they’re layered two or three strands at a time. Brassy cuffed bracelets and bold wrap-around belts are very important, as are headwraps and headbands that contrast rather than correspond with the rest of your outfit.

We flew direct to Albuquerque out of Love Field on Southwest Airlines, which offers 2 7flights into Albuquerque a week, for rates and information about skiing packages, call 640-1221.



CLOTHES LINES



For the last several seasons, since the return of fine fabrics like silk and cashmere, we’ve been hearing that well-made garments and shoes of the finest materials should be considered an investment.

Now, more than ever, this is true. The more we pay for clothes, the longer we should expect to wear them. But an investment in a wardrobe must be protected by proper storage, cleaning, and handling. Without such care a fashion investment is diminished considerably.

This is the perfect time to take a look into your closet and bring your storage habits into Une with this fall’s sizeable price tags. Once you get a garment home and you’re sure you’ll keep it, clip off the tags and any extra buttons or threads and file them with the store receipt. This, says wardrobe consultant Patricia Corbett El-kins, keeps the buttons and threads from getting lost and is a handy way to assess the amount you’ve spent.

Proper storage is vital to the long life of your new purchase. Should it be hung or folded? A good rule of thumb, according to Dick Hamlin, executive vice-president of Fishburn Cleaning and Laundry, is that the more loosely knit a garment is, the more important it is to fold it. Garments that are hung should be placed on the proper hangers. “Wire hangers are public enemy number one in the closet,” says Kate O’Driscoll, assistant manager of The Container Store on Forest Lane. “We recommend molded plastic hangers with rounded shoulders. Wire hangers have misshapen too many garments, and they also tend to peel and rust.” For heavier pieces (such as coats), large padded or wooden hangers are important to give support at the shoulder.

It’s important to fasten garments so they won’t slip off the hanger. But a more critical consideration, says Hamlin, is the natural contour of a garment. Generally, jackets and coats should not be buttoned on the hanger. Belts should be taken out of loops and hung vertically.

It’s also important to give your hanging things plenty of room: Crowding fabrics like velvet can mean crushing; and crushing means disaster.

Any garment at risk of losing its shape should be folded. Ross Ameringer, store manager at Marie Leavell, suggests folding garments in tissue paper to keep them from wrinkling. Joyce Baker, owner of the Faded Rose vintage clothing shop, says long-term storage in white tissue paper leaves brown stains, but blue tissue paper does not. Hose and delicate fabrics should be stored in cloth bags or envelopes to prevent snagging. Stackable, industrial lingerie boxes made of clear plastic are ideal for folded items.

Proper storage also wards off damage by moths and other insects. Hamlin says the return of silk and wool has meant more moth problems. “Both are protein fibers,” he says, “which makes them choice dishes for moth larvae.” During the clothes’ active season, regular exposure to light and the disturbance of moving clothes in and out of the closet are usually enough to prevent moth problems. During the off season, though, it’s important to store cleaned clothes – otherwise they may have moth larvae -in plastic bags with mothballs. (Opaque bags prevent fading.) Never, however, store fur and leather in plastic bags; cloth bags are best for these. Hamlin says airing clothes for four to six days is usually enough to remove the mothball smell, though occasionally another cleaning is required. Elkins uses a moth spray with a milder odor, applied not to the clothes themselves, but to the area around them.

Silverfish are another clothes-devouring pest, but according to Hamlin, it isn’t the textile fibers they’re after. “Silverfish feed on food particles left in clothing. They eat the fabric inadvertently.” This is one strong argument for keeping clothes clean.

Cedar has long been considered a deterrent to pests, but Hamlin says this is a bit of a myth. “Actually,” he says, “it isn’t the cedar itself that’s so effective; it’s the fact that cedar chests and cedar closets are so tightly constructed that they keep out insects. That’s also the principle behind storage in plastic bags.” High humidity is another enemy to clothes because it causes mildew, which can stain clothes permanently if left unchecked.

Careful washing and cleaning is perhaps the most important requisite for the long life of your wardrobe. That means a lot of time-consuming hand washing and expensive dry cleaning, but these safeguards are well worth the trouble.

After a long absence, hand washing is returning as the preferred method of cleaning many items. Hose and other delicate pieces will last longer if hand washed rather than being subjected to the agitation and heat of washers and driers. Many knits also respond well to hand washing. “I find that fluffier knits are much prettier hand washed,” says Patricia Corbett El-kins. “The dry cleaning process tends to have a flattening effect on them.” Mich-elene Kerfonta, an owner of Eclectricity, says she hand washes many items, including silks. (Several fashion experts we spoke to said that dry cleaning leaves an unpleasant odor on silks.) Kerfonta says that presoaking in a powdered bleach brightens colors dramatically, although some fabrics, such as silk, will be damaged by bleach. In any case, all hand washing should be done with a pH-neutral soap made for hand washing.

It’s important when hand washing knits to squeeze them out gently (so as not to wrinkle them) and to pat them out to dry on a flat surface protected by a towel. Be sure to block knits to their proper shape and size. Elkins suggests blocking necklines and waists a bit smaller than their actual size since they will naturally stretch with use. She also suggests blocking bust allowances a bit larger.

Hamlin warns that you run a risk in hand washing wool if you don’t know how to block the garment properly. Most good cleaners are experts at blocking and measure the garment when it comes in and block it back to those measurements. It is also possible, whether blocking garments yourself or having them blocked, to actually alter their size if necessary.

No matter which cleaning method you choose, it’s important to read the cleaning instructions sewn into a garment. Many garments marked “dry clean only” can be safely hand washed, but if you depart from the manufacturer’s instructions, you are ineligible for a refund should the garment be damaged.

Last, but certainly not least, is the area of handling and wear. Clothes can take a lot of punishment simply in the process of being put on and taken off. Be sure to apply makeup in a dressing gown or in undergarments. When dressing, protect your clothes from your face. (Elkins made herself a net face shield that fastens at the back of her neck. Another wardrobe consultant, Leah Garmon, ties an old scarf around her neck.) It’s also important not to stretch clothes too much when putting them on or taking them off. This means completely unbuttoning and unzipping them and, in most cases, taking them over the head instead of over the hips.

It’s also a good idea to undress immediately after returning from a day at work or an evening out, since you’ll likely want to lounge around or make a trip to the refrigerator, activities much more suitable to easy-care, around-the-house clothes.

When your wardrobe goes out of your hands and into those of a dry cleaning establishment, it’s important that it receives the right care, or else all the care you’ve given it at home goes down the drain. Alas, these are no longer the days when every dry cleaner is a mom-and-pop forever-in-the-business establishment. Today’s mass production means dry cleaning may pose a risk to those lovely pieces you are so proud of.

It is possible, however, to find a good, dependable dry cleaner. And once you do, it’s important to work with it and to communicate well, so your clothes will get the care you’re paying for. And, since even the least expensive dry cleaner is now expensive, quality has become the one important criterion.

When shopping for a good dry cleaner, look for an owner-operated establishment, preferably one that does all its work at the collection point. “I’d stay away from franchises,” says one longtime Dallas dry cleaner. “Anyone who has the money can buy one of those operations and go into business without any knowledge.” But there are certainly franchise dry cleaners that can be trusted. “I take my $175 blouses to One-Hour Martinizing,” says Patricia Corbett Elkins. “Over time I’ve learned that they know what they’re doing, so I trust them.”

There are several other things to look for in a dry cleaner. Webb Stagner, owner of Vanity Custom Cleaners in Casa Linda Plaza and a 36-year veteran in the dry cleaning business, suggests that you inquire about the chemicals a dry cleaner uses. “There are two kinds,” Stagner says. “One is called Naptha and the other is Perc, which is an abbreviation of a long chemical name. The difference between the two is that Naptha is an oil-based chemical that restores the natural oils to fabrics. Perc, on the other hand, literally tends to dry clothes out over repeated cleanings.”

Ask a dry cleaner if it offers Sanitone service. Wesley Gilliland at White Star Laundry and Cleaning says this designation is earned when a cleaning establishment uses certain high-quality equipment and chemicals. It’s a recommendation akin to the Good Housekeeping Seal of Approval.

Something else to look for, says Leah Garmon, is whether a cleaning establishment is a member of the National Institute of Dry Cleaning. “This will mean that the cleaner is up to date on the care of the newest fibers,” says Garmon. “Members of the institute receive a regular bulletin explaining the newest fibers on the market and how to care for them. Usually the bulletin is a couple of months behind the introduction of a new fiber. So if you have something that’s really new, wait a couple of months after you purchase it to have it cleaned.”

For many customers, promptness is a major consideration. Generally, the cleaners who offer fast, one-day turnaround service are dealing with bulk quantities of standard fabrics. If you want a versatile cleaner that gives a lot of personal care, expect to wait a little longer. (Three days is the average at the better cleaning establishments.) Even at the in-by-nine, out-by-five cleaners, fast service must be requested.

If you have a true emergency and need fast service, most cleaners will try to accommodate. “If someone brings in a wedding gown at three o’clock and needs it at seven,” says Dick Hamlin, “we’ll work with them. On the other hand, if the garment is so badly stained that we know we can’t do the job in that amount of time, we won’t accept it in the first place.”

Once you’ve found a dry cleaner that’s both convenient and good, there are several things you can do to insure the best treatment for your wardrobe. Take your clothes to the cleaner as soon as they’re soiled. “We have one or two customers who wait until they’ve soiled everything and are out of clothes before they bring them in,” says Wesley Gilliland. “That’s not a good idea. It sets soil and stains so they’re harder to get out. It also wrinkles clothes unnecessarily.”

Hamlin says the number of wearings you get out of a cleaned garment depends on the season, the fabric, and your own wearing habits. Generally speaking, you’ll be able to get more wearings between cleanings in cool weather. Heavier fabrics need cleaning less often. And of course some people simply wear their clothes “harder” than others.

Hamlin says when you take a stained garment to the cleaners, it’s helpful to point out the stain and tell the attendant what it is. “It isn’t really necessary,” he says, “since cleaners are trained to identify stains, but it does eliminate any guesswork.” It also helps to point out special cleaning instructions, even if they’re printed on a label inside the garment. Hamlin says this kind of attention on the part of a customer will not offend a reputable cleaning establishment.

The better establishments will carefully inspect incoming garments, both to determine what care to give them and to check for any existing damage that otherwise would be detected after cleaning and possibly attributed to the cleaners. “If we find anything wrong with a garment,” says Webb Stagner, “we just hold it back until we can point out the damage to the customer. That saves everyone a lot of grief.”

It’s a good idea to inspect your clothes when you pick them up at the cleaners. Hamlin says doing so at the cleaners won’t offend reputable establishments and will save you trouble in case there’s a problem. If you do find evidence of damage done by the cleaners, point it out immediately.

“We bend over backwards to see the customer’s viewpoint,” says Hamlin. “We can be objective, and we can also be right.” Unfortunately, cleaners are not bonded or insured in the care of clothes. They are, however, obligated to take responsibility for your garments unless they have directly and verbally disclaimed it. In making any adjustments to customers for damages, most cleaners refer to the International Fabric Care Claims Guide for Consumer Products, which includes a depreciation schedule. In dealing with a cleaning establishment on a matter like this, it’s to your advantage to have a receipt showing what you paid for the garment and the date you bought it.

Your own experience and knowledge, plus the recommendations of friends, are the best guides to finding a good dry cleaning establishment. Here is a list of some Dallas dry cleaners that have good reputations. We emphasize that this list is a selective sample, not a comprehensive guide.

-Dallas Leather and Fur Care, 1909 Greenville Avenue, 826-2006. Open Monday through Friday 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., Saturday till noon. Suede, leather, and fur cleaning; fur glazing, cold storage.

-Dee & Hat tie Cleaners, 804 S. Beacon, 826-2965. Open Monday through Friday 7:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Once so well-respected as to be the cleaners recommended by Neiman-Marcus, Dee & Hattie has changed hands several times since its original ownership; its performance is still creditable. Pickup and delivery in North Dallas, Richardson, and Highland Park.

Fishburn Cleaning and Laundry, 3200 Ross Avenue, 826-4101. Open Monday through Friday 7 a.m. to 6 p.m., Saturday till 2. Fishburn’s has been owned and operated by three generations of Slaters, who opened their business in 1908 on Ross Avenue. Today, Fishburn’s operates its main Ross Avenue plant plus three branch plants -Casa View, Sherry Lane, and Forest Lane -and 13 collection points. It also has 15 pickup and delivery routes.

Fosters Fine Cleaning, 5013 W. Lovers Lane, 350-6626. Open Monday through Friday 7 a.m. to 6 p.m., Saturday 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. For years, Fosters was considered the best dry cleaner in Highland Park; it still is by many. But like Dee & Hattie, it has changed hands from its original ownership and lost some of its luster in the transition. Nonetheless, it continues to draw a loyal following in the Park Cities. Specializes in bridal gown heirlooming; leather, suede, and fur cleaning; and storage. Route service available.

Mockingbird Cleaners, 5683 E. Mockingbird Lane, 824-5507. Open Monday through Friday 9 a.m. to 6 p.m., Saturday till 4. Leather and fur specialists.

Royal Dutch Laundry and Cleaning, 5003 Lemmon, 526-3883. Open Monday through Friday 7 a.m. to 7 p.m., Saturday till 6. Four locations in addition to the main one on Lemmon. Pickup and delivery availabl

– Top Hat Cleaners and Laundry, 110 Casa Linda Plaza, 324-3681. Open Monday through Friday 7 a.m. to 6 p.m., Saturday 7:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Ray Hol-comb owns this and three other locations in the East Dallas area.

-Vanity Custom Cleaners, 170 Casa Linda Plaza, 327-0456. Open Monday through Friday 7 a.m. to 6 p.m., Saturday till 1. Thirty-six years experience in Dallas, previously located in Lakewood until the building was razed and the cleaners had to move to Casa Linda last October.

White Star Laundry and Cleaning Company, 4535 Cole Avenue, 521-2155. Open Monday through Friday 7:30 a.m. to 5:30p.m., Saturday 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. In addition to its main Cole Avenue location White Star has five others -on Greenville, Hillcrest, Cedar Springs, Preston Road, and Main Street. Established in 1929 by the Gilliland family and run today by its descendants, White Star prides itself on its Sanitone service as well as its “extra care” service, which costs the standard price plus 50 per cent and which denotes special handling plus close inspection at each step of the cleaning process.



SOONER OR LATER, A FAVORITE piece will suffer a hole or tear far from a seam or hem that can be easily resewn. In this case, reweaving can be a surprisingly satisfying solution, even for the finest-grained fabrics. Don’t underestimate the skills of a reweaver -with the aid of a magnifying glass, the experienced re-weaver can make a garment look like new (for a price, of course, but one far less costly than that of replacing the piece). Though it’s something of a dying art, there are still reweavers alive and working in Dallas. They include:

-Andy’s Tailors and Reweaving, 1016 Preston Royal Plaza, 368-8351. Open Monday through Friday 8:30 a.m. to 5:30, Saturday till 1.

Anita’s Weaving Shop, 109 North Akard, 747-4766. Open Monday through Friday 10:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Specializes in French weaving and inweaving.

– Hazel Kuykendal, by appointment only, 357-7237. Once one of the backroom ladies at the dear, departed Hurst’s Re-weaving on lower Greenville, Kuykendal now does reweaving in her home.

-Highland Park Weave Shop, 3119 Knox Street, 526-8797. Open Monday through Friday 8:45 a.m. to 5 p.m., Saturday 9 a.m. to 12:30 p.



EVEN UNDER THE BEST CIRCUM-stances, shoes take a lot of punishment – bearing the force of our bodies, which even for the slightest among us, amounts to tons of pressure a day against hard unyielding surfaces such as concrete.

For all the work they do, shoes deserve decent treatment once they’re taken off. Proper storage is essential. Nancy Baldwin, assistant manager of the Brass Boot at NorthPark, says the ideal way to keep shoes is in boxes or cloth bags with shoe trees, which retain the shoes’ shape and also absorb perspiration left inside the shoes. Kate O’Driscoll, assistant manager of The Container Store on Forest Lane, says trees are especially important for boots, which tend to break down and wrinkle at the heel if not supported between wearings with boot trees.

Baldwin emphasizes several other tips in good shoe care. Polish shoes regularly – about every two weeks – either with a neutral conditioner or a color-based polish. If you wear the same shoes day after day, Baldwin warns, they will wear out faster no matter how well they are stored or how carefully they are groomed.

In addition to caring for your shoes at home, it’s also necessary to take them regularly to a trusted repair shop for maintenance. How to find a repair shop worthy of your patronage? “Trial and error,” advises Baldwin. “It’s also a good idea to ask friends whose advice you trust. Word of mouth is a reliable source of information.” Baldwin says. The Brass Boot uses Dallas Shoe Service on Northwest Highway at Preston Center because it is convenient and does good, dependable work.

Baldwin’s suggestion of trial and error is a good one, since today convenience is just as important as quality. To find the right repair shop, check the Yellow Pages, which lists several score. Among our sources, we find that these are some of the best in town:

– Arapaho Village Shoe Repair, 11 Arapaho Village, 324-3360. Open Tues day through Saturday 7:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Specializes in one-day service and in boot repair.

– The Cobbler Shoe Service, 502 Prèston Royal Shopping Center, 361-7559. Open Monday through Friday 8 a.m. to 6 p.m., Saturday 8:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. Specializes in resoling cowboy boots and tennis shoes.

– Deno Shoe Service, 86 Highland Park Shopping Village, 521-1070 and 15075 Inwood Road, 233-4215. Open Monday through Saturday 8 a.m. in Highland Park, 9 a.m. on Inwood; both close at 6 p.m. Twenty years experience, with a loyal Highland Park following, specializing in resoling jogging and tennis shoes.

-Hillside Shoe Service, 332 Hillside Village, 826-5155. Open Tuesday through Saturday 8 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Specialties include custom leather work.

-I & M Shoe Repair, 3565 Forest Lane at Marsh, 352-1217. Open Monday through Friday 8 a.m. to 7 p.m., Saturday till 6. Twenty-five years experience, specializing in resoling tennis shoes, dyeing, and in cleaning and repair of bags and luggage.

-Main Street Shoe Repair, 1809 Main Street, 741-5950. Open Monday through Saturday 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. Forty years experience, specializing in dyeing and in cleaning and repairing bags and luggage.

Preston Shoe and Tailor Service, 6136 Luther Lane, 263-0957 and 11608 Preston Road, 361-7054. Open Monday through Friday 8 a.m. to 5:30 p.m., Saturday till 3. Specializes in luggage.

– Skillman Shoe and Boot Service, 1917 Skillman at Live Oak, 821-0360. Open Tuesday through Saturday 8 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Specializes in dyeing and in cleaning and repair of belts and luggage.

– Carol Edgar

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