Fashion: Fall Preview

Up and down Manhattan’s Seventh Avenue and in and out of 35 design houses last week hiked Mrs. Opal Ligon, the “better dress” buyer for Goudchaux’s, the best department store in Baton Rouge, La. Mrs. Ligon’s pilgrimage was duplicated about 4,000 other buyers who crowded into the fashion shows and showrooms to buy the clothes that U.S. women will wear this fall. Like most of her colleagues, she cut through the razzmatazz and made swift, sharp decisions.

“I think you’re through, honey,” she mapped to one salesman who meandered over his wares. Came a dress that appealed to her: “It’s heavy as lead, but I love it.” Came another, pushed too hard by the salesman: “Yes, I see how lovely it looks on the rack. You can just leave it there.” At Alper-Schwartz she examined a pale green brocade: “That’s a good mother-of-the-bride.” At Ceil Chapman, she picked up a beaded taupe silk chiffon sheath (retail price: $395). At Estévez, she bought a few items that the trade describes as “church-and-drinking dresses”—they can go anywhere. “Air conditioning has changed the picture,” said Opal, as she examined some woolens. “Used to be you couldn’t buy a good, even slightly heavy wool for the South. Now I buy wool and wool and wool.”

Thus, to a great extent, the buyers determined the look in women’s wear for the fashionable fall. The outlook:

Fabrics, more than color, are the big highlights. Leather, knit and tweed are big (often combined, particularly by Bonnie Cashin). Cassini and Pauline Trigère have richly printed brocades, Dior-New York shows them in fine, polished, often solid colors. Tiffeau is using lizard in trim and whole cloth for a waterproof, black evening raincoat. For shimmer and shine, the original beads-and-glitter girl, Roxanne of Samuel Winston, has some old-style heavy beaded dresses as well as new lighter ones. Scaasi’s long dresses have so much sparkle that many come with protective theatrical capes. Larry Aldrich has combined crepes and satins with spangles of jet, gold and silver; John Moore of Talmack has a sequined muu-muu that is more froufrou than a tutu, while several other designers are going in for encrusted chiffon, quilted gold lamé and damask.

Shapes are dominated by the long-torso look in jackets with some flare in skirts. Tops are generally blousons (gently bloused bodices) and sometimes sleeveless. Waists are lower, skirts still just below the knee. For both daytime and evening, dresses will have matching jackets. In the evening particularly, women will look long, straight, skinny—and covered up, most notably by the long-sleeved, high-necked Ceil Chapman models. But Estévez’ startling gowns are deeply plunged front and back. Sarmi features a daytime “obelisk” silhouette, a flare of pleats from a dropped waistline.

Colors show a reaction against last year’s brilliance. Pink and purple, though still blindingly around, are moving aside for brown mixed with black and other softer combinations. A fashion show put together by the buying house Felix Lilienthal & Co., highlights such colors as cognac, pumpkin, mustard and apricot. Mollie Parnis and Hannah Troy are two of many showing soft brown, smoky green, and blue (robin’s egg, peacock) for daytime. Arthur Jablow’s collection by David Kidd includes suits in browns from palest beige through butterscotch to ebony, while Jane Derby combines navy and green. Though Cassini uses bright colors for day, the rest of the clock is handed over to browns, greens, navy and black.

Hats & Trims are playing up fur. The pillbox may go back on the medicine-cabinet shelf (did Jackie overexpose it?) to be replaced by small, back-of-the-head berets of lizard and other exotic game, while furry cuffs and banding tone up the dresses. Fringed shawls in brocades, silks and satins are widely shown. Branell, among others, dresses up a daytime suit with mink.

All in all the big designers have not gone overboard in the fall line but have achieved an understated and (they hope) elegant look. Says Buyer Ligon: “The look is going to be the easy-to-wear one. There was a season, a couple of years ago, where fashions could hardly be worn, much less sold. Now the costume dress is in, with a lot of glitter. And the little black dress is back—simple, chic and pretty as can be. I couldn’t be happier.”