THE HERALD OUTLOOK Saturday January IMS Paget Fashion Vested interests Luxurious vests are top accessory By Mary Martin Niepold Its a small thing really but its one of fashions biggest hits The vest has returned to womens wardrobes and it looks like one of the easiest and sur est ways to be in the fashion know this spring Back Diane Keaton in the movie Annie Hall wore a mans vest sparking a trend all over Ameri ca Women poked around in their hus bands brothers and lovers closets looking to claim this loosefitting cor porate staple for their own trendy outfits Today some years later vests are quite different First of all they are being designed especially for women That means they fit close to the body and appear for the most part in luxurious fabrics like bro cades paisleys and hammered silks Worn with blouses or next to bare skin vests become an alternative to jackets and sweaters in the months ahead Vests also look right with ei ther pants or skirts giving them the kind of maximum fashion mileage that more and more customers demand The Limited stores have made a big investment in vests According to Ed Razek executive vice president of marketing for the stores vests are among the most important fashion accessory for spring Since theyre very versatile he says women can have fun wearing them as an option shirts and car digans Its something new to refresh their fashion wardrobe without in vesting a great deal of money Vests at The Limited are afforda- bly priced at about to They range in mood from classic linen or linenrayonblend versions by the stores Mood by Krizia label to ethnically inspired paisleys and Moorish prints by its label Versatility is the key to the vests early popularity It looks crisp and casual when worn over cotton T- or camp shirts and walking shorts It looks feminine and sensuous when accenting long flowing skirt And it looks smart and sophisticated in more tailored versions topping white skirts and trousers The vests new wave of popularity was launched in Paris last fall when couturiers showed their spring collec tions Christian had already been flirting with embroidered linen boleros for last years spring collec tion but for this spring he takes the same idea of a fitted short jacket and transposes that look to the vest Sans sleeves this bodyhugging accessory was shown in burlap with an embroi dered floral design worn bare over wool trousers One of the themes throughout springs readytowear line is simple comfortable shapes that suggest not FASHION ette The vest like the short bolero lets the world know theres a trim waist underneath While other European fashion houses like Gucci and Gianni Versace indulged in short boleros for spring one of Americas most talented new designers Isaac MLzrahi went straight for the vest in his spring collection I used vests in very single con text explains Mizrahi Vests are so versatile and modern First of all they are brief and they just make some kind of statement Also for spring the vest is a sexy alternative to a shirt to be worn with either the longer skirts or pants and over a shirt or skin Mizrahi already showed vests in his fall 1988 collections We did these tiny vests that emphasized the high waist he says It almost became like an accessory The reason vests are becoming so popular now is be cause more and more women are dressing from an accessory point of view buying something simple then buying some wonderful accesso ry to individualize the look and a vest is much like an accessory Henn Bendel the New York spe cialty store endorsed the vests fash ion power several weeks ago by open ing a new department called Vested Interest Oneofakind vests are fea tured ranging in price from 150 to According to President Mark Shul man the store sold out of its first or der of 200 vests within three days These vests are very decorative and women can adapt then to their own Individual style he says Youre not committing to a whole piece of clothing Mizrahi concurs Instead to some small wonderful statement about yourself NEWSPAPER showed a vest in heavy sat cling to the bodys shape One of the in crepe another in satin best examples of this kind of styling is worn over silk burlap pants and yet the return of the empire look a another in black suede worn over a bodydefining navy shantung jumpsuit BRAND By Glenda Hughes Sales Rep 8730300 Make it Jamaica again now has new meaning to mel Our return to this lovely island is very well equipped to handle tourists and they do it very well waiting on you hand and foot with wonderful Jamaican smiles and laughter Hurricane Gilbert has left its mark however with the vegetation not being nearly as lush as I remembered it and the flowers certainly not in the profusion expected This is overlooked however but it is difficult to overlook the poverty that I suspect has become more prevelant since the storm If one travels outside their well secured hotel acreage it only takes a few minutes to meet up with the street vendors the hustlers and the con artists I do not remember having to deal with this before in Jamaica but then I was there about 10 years ago and perhaps my memory is lapsing like my family tells me it is Because of the poverty the distinction between classes is even more obvious The middle class is certainly not in evidence anywhere but the upper class and wealthy are very obvious We stopped by a real estate office find out that they had nothing to offer us for sale and no information to give out either Very strange in deed but I suspect that we were probably a pain rather than pro spects that day However I did speak with the management at our resort and found out some interesting things to report The Jamaican government does have several programs in place for starter homes It Is only a little help but at least it is better than nothing The construe tion of new homes is very expensive as all materials must be ported hence making costs very high Due to the storm homes are in very short supply and it has shot the prices up of those homes that were not affected the old supply and demand deal works there as well as here too I picked up a copy of the local newspaper to see what I could out and I see a centrally located baths in good condition for about or a 1 bedroom fully fur income property for Cdn With these figures in mind it puts the of housing not too far off our own in this area but un fortunately the salaries are not quite the same in How in the world can the average Jamaican buy a home when the minimum wage is per week Ive always said that we are very lucky to live in such a fabulous country as Canada and this past trip has only endeared me more to my homeland and the opportunities that present themselves here Sure our cost of living is high but at least we can push ourselves through society with diligence and hard work Our kids with the same diligence can buy homes eventually and live well Making it Jamaica again will help the tourist trade and give us a needed rest and a tan but count your lucky stars that you were born or at least live here for a roof over our heads is a far cry from a tin lean to in the Islands CHRISTMAS MORNING Unframed 00 CALL Framed Your Choice 00 except gold fillet ART GALLER GIFT SHOP 124 MAIN ST S DOWNTOWN GEORGETOWN 8777654 NOW OPEN SUNDAY This Weeks Super Savings Knechtel TetraPac DRINKS or JUICES Assorted Flavours 3x250ml 88 Golden Yellow BANANAS Product of the Tropics kg OPEN SUNDAY PM Values In Effect SUNDAY JAN 22nd until SATURDAY JAN 28th GEORGETOWN FOOD MARKET Moore Park Plaza Georgetown 8733963 STORE HOURS Mon Frl Saturday Sunday 8 00 a m 9 00 p m 800am6 00pm 00pm