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French fashion turns to soft, easy elegance by Annette Petrusa The fashion forecast for April in Paris calls for layers and layers of casual chic in blossom as Pret-a-Porter makes its spring-into- summer debut. The theme of Paris fashion for the warmer days of 1978 is relaxed and easy, with light­ weight fabrics and full cuts promising cool comfort on hot days. In spite of the em­ phasis on layers of skirts, pants, blouses, vests and tunics, masterful styling and attention to fine weight fab­ ric guarantee that no woman will be wilting for fashion's sake this summer. Khaki is the dominant fab­ ric of the Paris collections, tending its crisp and easy natural touch to almost every collection. Fine cottons for day and chiffons at night are perfect for gentle pleating and multi-layering. Tank tops and T-shirts re­ main popular, with Kenzo working this look into a whole line of young and breezy T-shirt dresses. Sweater sets also continue to play an important part in the Paris fashion statement, with beautifully textured stitches adding a special touch to delicate boucle sets and cool fisherman's net weaves worked into tops and tanks. While there are still many bright touches of color in the French collections, the big trend in color for spring is seen in the softly-tinted neutrals--teal blue mixed with brown, soft yellow blending with the ever- present khaki. There are, in fact, many surprises from the designers this year. Going against the trend of both the present col­ lections and her past tradi­ tion, Sonia Rykiel stands alone as an advocate of bright reds and bold yellows mixed with stripes of black and fringed on all edges. Karl Lagerfeld for Chloe sees spring evenings in dark- toned prints, in contrast with the past winter's trend to the delicate pastels. And for Yves St. Laurent, the 1978 collection is a triumph in color, a subtle blending of mustard tones, fatigue greens, plums, wines, browns and teal blues--with Send Our FTD Easter Basket* Bouquet Colorful spring flowers in an embroidered woven basket. We can send it almost anywhere --the FTD way. Easter is March 26th. Call or visit us now. ORDER EARLY. $15#1„ We really gel around... for you! McHenry Floral AND GREENHOUSE 508 S. Rte. 31 WE DELIVER 385-0404 SUPPLEMENT TO McHENRY PLA1NDEALER - PAGE 3 - --in the minds of Paris de­ signers. Gone are any of the flared looks of the previous sea­ sons. Pants have shifted their lines, with all the emphasis now appearing in full hips with slim legs and tapered ankles. Sometimes, as in the col­ lection of St. Laurent, the change is seen as a subtle, pencil-legged effect, with raw hems left to cuff as the wearer desires. With other designers such as Kenzo, pants take on an almost dia­ pered look, borrowing their styling from the wrappings of the Indian dhoti. But no mat­ ter how drastic the change may be, pants and their new occasional touches of clear red--combining to form one of his most brilliant color statements. Stripes are scattered throughout the collections, from Kenzo's dresses to Sonia Rykiel's sweater layer- ings. While St. Laurent sees prints as visions of butterflies for evening, many designers looked to a colorful summer cornucopia for print inspira­ tion, and dresses covered with bright cherries and ber­ ries show up everywhere. The most important mes­ sage to come out of Paris this spring is definitely pants --and the shape to come. Through the long and the short of it, the shape of pants has undergone a complete change--almost an inversion WEDNESDAY, MARCH IS. 1978 No more pretty peasants; gone are the glamorous haute couture gypsys. If there is any ethnic trend prevalent in the spring Paris collections, one must look not to the col­ orful costumes of Eastern Europe but to the wrappings, colorings and feelings of the Middle East and India. As in the dhoti-inspired pants of Kenzo, exotic touches of India and Arabia, the bazaar and the desert may be seen in many of the d e s i g n e r ' s o f f e r i n g s . Dorothee Bis reflects this new approach in sweater tops printed with scenes of styling are Paris' most impor tant fashion statement for spring/summer 1978. Also interesting to note in the new Paris collections is the absence of the fantasy look with its ethnic peasant touches that dominated Paris design for some time. SWEET SPRING Sweet sweaters have the delicate touch of lacy stitch­ ing, ruffles, little ties, em­ broidery and baby-soft col­ ors. Layette knits are fash­ ioned into undershirt, and camisole looks. London leaps to fashion top During the past few years London has established itself as one of the great fashion capitals of the world. Buyers who make pilgrimages each season to France and Italy are now reserving big dollars for their British buying. What started out as a rather quaint industry has turned out to be a very solid business. This shift is attrib­ uted to the individuality of the London designers. This young talent is being accred­ ited with "Putting the Great back into Britain." T h e s e " B e s t o f t h e British" designers give a great deal of credit to the cre­ ative climate which exists today in London. They com­ pare it to Paris a few decades ago. Yahoo! Save $1 on Each Bronco 099 $4 Values 4b Authentic western shirt of poly/cotton never needs ironing! Print or gingham yokes, solid body. Blue, brown, red, tan. Sizes 8 to 18. Underwear in Packs of Three! Your choice! Quality white cotton T-shirts or briefs in packs of 3. Sizes 2-16. 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