14 ~ Sunday, July 21, 1991 —- North Shore News

ASK A surprisingly direct
question — What do men
like women to wear? — and
you'll get a surprisingly
direct answer. The result is
this column on the clothes
men love on women, and
what they feel should be
banished to the back of the
closet.

Carol
Crenna

FASHION STATEMENTS

if you think a man never
notices what a woman wears, you
are dead wrong. Though he may
bow out of ‘‘the shopping experi-
ence’’ with her, he almost always
has an opinion on how she should
dress.

Contrary to what you might
expect, men don’t want to see
women in tight and tarty attire.
The piece de resistance of a
woman’s wardrobe, according to
surveyed North Shore men, is a
subtle blend of femininity, flair
and fit.

You say you’ve been determin-
ing what you should wear, and
how you wear it, for years and
there’s no reason to change. But,
while you're resisting change and
influence of others, you may find
yourself caught in a one-dimen-
sional rut. Your wardrobe should
reflect all aspects of your perscn-
ality, including those dimensions
that men admire most.

A steady diet of dress for suc-
cess staples and double-duty
weekend wear miay satisfy your
wearing needs, but what about
his? If his response to your anti-
cipating ‘“‘How do I look?’ is a
hasty ‘‘Very nice, dear” with his
head still buried in the Funnies,
you know its time to add another
dimension to your wardrobe.

Granted, your own style and
tastes should occupy the major
pertion of your closet, but there
isn’t anything wrong with dressing
to please him, while you’re dress-
ing for yourself.

Here, some well respected
North Shore men compile a per-
sonal list of dress codes for
women of the "90s.
© Mark Sager, Mayor, West Van-
couver: Mayor Sager likes a
woman who has a comfortable,
relaxed attitude in the way she
dresses, which reflects his West
Vancouver lifestyle.

“*T prefer the simpler attire.
And I prefer a classic style to one
that follows trends,"' he says.

A comfortable outfit, he says,
could include pants or a= skirt.
One of his first choices for a
relaxed look is a long gathered,
navy skirt with a country paisley
print.

“it's my favorite skirt that my
wife wears with a white eyelet
blouse. She gets ured of hearing
me comment on it, and says she
cant wear the same thing every

FASHION

Male orders

Clothing men like to see women wear

day.’’ He adds, ‘I love navy ...
it’s the color of the week for me.”’

Sager feels that business suits
have their place, but he would
rather a woman dressed casually.
He also loves to see a woman in
skiing or sailing gear, influenced
by his own avid interest in both
sports. He offers the example of
his wife’s pink polo T-shirt and
shorts, worn on their bout, when
she also wears very litte makeup.

Sager says that he would admire
a woman more in loose fitting
clothes rather than Gght ones, and
he Tikes the shorter skirts, but
states that there is a point where
they are overdone. He also adds,
“the new ‘60s looks wouldn't be
my first chotece.**
© Charles Wilkinson, film direc-
tor/producer: Wilkinson, a North
Vancouver resident, is one of
Canada’s most prominent
members of the movie industry,
responsible for films such as
Quarunting, My Kind of Town
and Blood Chu.

Wilkinson is attracted to a
woman whe has a confident, in-
dividualistic sense of style, one
whose attitude toward her clothes
is *Hey, I've got it. And if you’re
net interested, who asked you?”

He says, ‘Visualize anything
that Barbie has ever worn — |
prefer the exact opposite of that.
The model image of Barbie wears
tight’ polyester, California looks,
bicycling shorts and tights, day-
glo colors ... | hate all of that.”

He likes clothing that is ‘‘at-
tractive, but not overly designed,
something that doesn't detract at-
tention. An unadorned garment
reveals the prety woman who is
wearing it."*

Wilkinson says, “TP have found
that when women dress for a
formal evening, they are unclear
as to who thes are trying to im-
press, and Totruly feel that it is
other women, rather than men, 1
don’t know one man who under-
stands 3 woman's evening wear.
Masi of it is so stylized, and ‘sty-

lish’ is not understood.’*

Referring to women’s outfits
seen at a local bar, he adds,
“Surely they can’t mean what
their outfits are saying.”’

He liked the Annie Half look
during its time, and really admired
Molly Ringwald’s wardrobe in the
movie Pretty in Pink (though, he
did not feel that she looked good
in pink, ironically). He says, ‘‘Her
natural-fibre bag-lady look — is
great. A lot of my friends dress
like that, with an eelectic style.”

He adds, “I don't like how
women are dressing to a code that
someone else has written, H's
amazing what Barbie-ism does to
at person.”
© Art Jones, president, The Varie-
ty Club: Jones, a West Vancouver
resident, believes in the art of ap-
propriate dressing.

He says, *T feel chat it: should
be the right thing at the right
time. { like to see ladies in all
their finery, but there is a time for
it, as well as a time for being ca-

sual. | believe in traditiona! ele-
gance.”*

Proper dressing, he concludes,
depends upon the time, the place
and the person.

His ideal look is described as
“‘casual elegance,’ in tailored
clothing, with a certain amount of
femininity. “I am not a fan of
jeans and T-shirts. There are other
types of casual clothing that flat-
ters a woman more,”” he says.

He adds ‘‘I like the party dress,

but I also like the pantsuit. § love
glamor and good taste, and the
gal who knows how to dress for
the occasion.
* Dave Toddington, TV pro-
ducer/police officer: As a pro-
ducer at Shaw Cable TV, an
RCMP officer in North Van-
couver, and a licensed pilot, you
may wonder when Toddingion has
time to notice women, but he
knows what he likes.

Toddington is attracted to
women who look shapely in
shapeless clothes. ‘‘l like the jeans
and T-shirt type with looser
clothing rather than tight. Com-
fortable clothing.

St like the kind of person who
looks more adventurous and out-
doorsy as opposed to a more fluf-
fy, overly fashion-conscious per-
son. If someone is athletic look-
ing, 1 think you will be able to tell
even if they are wearing a tent!’

He admires an ‘‘earthy, person-
alized look, which is much more
functional than fashion-
conscious.’’ He likes women with
‘attainable’ beauty rather than
glossy covergirl! looks seen in
Magazines, that are “‘not true to
life.’ He says his ideal woman
would be wearing khaki walking
shorts and a loose, litte top.

He adds, “If their clothing is

too revealing it can lead to an ob-
jectification of women, seeing
them as an object rather than as
an individual.”’
* Don Taylor, Special Olympics
furdzaiser: Taylor is an cieht-year
veteran of the B.C. Lions who
diverted his athletic interests from
football to track and field for the
handicapped. He lives in North
Vancouver.

Taylor admires a woman with a
well-rounded personality, which is
reflected in the way she dresses.
“She should look as comfortable
in blue jeans as she does in an
evening gown,’’ he explains.

He prefers a wholesome took.
“| like a natural appearance, with
subtle makeup thai is worn to
enhance her looks, not applied
with a spatula."” He notices
women dressed in white or fiorals,
“something that accentuates her
tan.”

Taylor appreciates feminine

styles, and though he likes a ca-
reer image, he would prefer a
dress to a suit at the office. He
also mentions that how a woman
wears an outfit is as important as
what she wears, meaning that the
correct posture and good groom-
ing are essential.
* Ross freland, artist/furniture
designer: Ireland is a North Van-
couver resident who designs for an
international clientete with very
individualistic tastes. His creative
bent is expressed in his clothing
preferences for women.

He is attracted to strong, bright
colors in shapely, tailored clothing
that has ‘ta good fit, rather than a
tight fit.’ He likes garments that
flatter the figure, including shirts
with shoulder padding, shorter
skirts rather than pants, and jeans
and T-shirts.

He enjoys an eclectic look that
may include an item from a sec-

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