C4 - Sunday, September 18, 1983 - North Shore News Story & Photos ot By MARIANNE McKAVE PEOPLE VISIT Rome for obvious reasons; wandering.in and out of. Italy’s top designer fashion shops likely isn’t one of them. But while this past sum- mer’s crowds headed for the Coliseum and into th Vatican (we'd already, been to. both) we. pooled our. resources — two city maps, a. worn-out Italian Vogue, and three pages we had carefully ripped from our _hotel’s Yellow Pages’ ‘thigh fashion’’ section — and went in search of new fashions for fall, Italian style. We set out to find some of the big name designers, in- cluding Laura Biagiotti, Giorgio Armani, Gianni Ver- sace, Kritzia, Ungaro, Fer- tagamo, Balenciaga and of course, Valentino. Most of these have shops in the area around the famous Via Condotti, Rome’s most exclusive shop- ping district. Here, within a. six block radius, we found a wealth of top fall fashions from the basic to the bizarre the casual to the chic, designs in everything from fine. con servative wools to eelskin. The ‘ttatians have a flare for creating striking fashions, and the first signs ‘of that are their dramatic window displays. The deep colors that are this season’s catch — the vibrant blues, purples, burgundies — provide a rich contrast to the seemingly age- less buildings that house the changing world of seasonal fashion. One common factor we found after visiting a number of these designer shops was the movement towards the basic, classic styles, par- ticularly where the working woman is concerned. The hemline is lower (as was throughout Europe this sum- mer) and the basic garment cut seems to be more defined and flattering. Probably the best example ts the basic black dress. We found them in many different styles and store clerks along the way described them as “*necessities’’ for the fall and winter seasons. At Balenciaga's, black was called ‘‘fall’s most important color.’’ That seemed to be the concensus in other stores we visited. It also became evi- dent thumbing through the Italian Vogue's first fall issuc, where a 70-page supplement of Valentino's fail collection seemed to hightight the color, black. (The Balenciaga’s clerk also predicted purple would be fall's second biggest color, followed by deep marine blue Both cotors have sur- faced in Vancouver's fashion scene). While black is big, brown is sulla favorite in Italy, as Beltrami's, another big fashion store, demonstrated with an attractive all-brown window display One of the most complimentary shades (one that is popular here) is camel, especially when it comes to casual wear. Palred with white, however, the CASUAL WEAR is strikingly displayed in a high-fashion Italian window. The clothing is Creative Personalized Cut and Style Exclusive Salon for Men and Women 926-0911 Aarine Drive, West Vancouver ALBEE’S SEWING CENTRE ae Geta head start on: your fall sewing! TREVIRA GABARDINE SALE 992. -150 cm wide saALce 1122. Machine washable WOOL FLANNEL 150 cm wide = - 75% wool, 25% polyester reg 14% FEATHER CORDUROY reg 11° 90 id | 100% | cotton reg9® SALE $33. SILK NOILE ; : for all your fall separates reg 10" SALE 723. ee GEORGETTE drobe r with this sheer fancy rego" SALE 622. CREPE DE CHINE ester fully washable reg3* SALE 622. \ agga” SALE ENDS SUNDAY, SEPT. 18/83 @g arranged in such a way, as to show-off the Italians’ flair for design and display. result can be one of rich elegance, such as topping a creamy white sweater dress (1 purchased one at Stefanel’s, a middle-of-the-road chain of stores which stocks fashionable sweaters and pants, for 69,000 lire, or about $52 Canadian at the time) with a draping camel cape The biggest item for work- ing women here ts the well- tailored suit, and in Italy the focus is largely placed on the double-breasted jacket and dowd beer Pe eA ALBEE’S SEWING CEN narrow to-the-knee skirt. Aside from the big designers for a moment, where suits can run past 500,000 lire (about $380 and up) other popular fashion stores throughout the city were carrying double- breasted styles in fine wools and tweeds for 59,000 to 130,000 lire (about $40 to $95 Canadian at the time). One of the best uses of fall’s secondary colors is the sui accent — the colorful CONTINUED ON PAGE C5 TRE 986-1341 in half this fall! all In one operation aie SD eave $50 ro $100 YOU SAW IT AT THE PNE Cut your sewing time Trims - Seams - Overcasts- mY ‘Call now for a free demonstration PRICES IN EFFECT TO SEPT 30/83 on your favourite RICCAR sewing machine ¥ Liberal trade in allowance ¥ Untimited tree lessons ¥ 11.9% financing: anes S Pe RICCAR |/, LOCK : LINK. BONNIE includes: Pack Royal North 022-1418 | Eaprit de Partum Miss Dior mt Enriched Penetrating Cream 5 mi Teint Oior 5 mM Olormatic Automatic Mascara Minlt-Eyeshadow Brochure Handkercniet Esprit de Partum Miss Dior hristlan Dior has created for fall 1983 a complete makeup look, vibrant and alegant’ the bewliching light of “Feu mFollets” For a limited time onty come in to Bil emety Bonnie, purchase any Christian Dlor and recetve this beuatitul coffret tor’