44 ~ Sunday, September 15, 1991 — North Shore News

Breaking the dress codes

SUCCESSFUL BUSINESS
women not only have an
endless supply of bright
ideas, they are women who
look like they can execute
the follow-through.

Carol
Crenna —

FASHION STATEMENTS

Fashion confidence is im-
perative to corporate women who
are often featured in public. They
frequent board rooms, ballrooms,
airplanes and executive suites.
And, despite long working hours,
little time to shop, or even time to
relax, they manage to look polish-
ed and confident at all times. In
their fast track lives, their looks
and health never take second
place.

They have a fashion challenge
to combine professionalism, femi-
ninity and style to stand out as an
individual, yet look like one of the
team. They need to apply the
same decision-making skills to
their wardrobes as they do their
jobs, knowing when to spend, and
when to save.

What do successful women wear
to get the work done?

Today’s business women don’t
always have short, sophisticated
hair cuts, sensible heeled shoes,
starched blouses and predictable
dark suits. They don’t have to
lock their looks into one fashion
mode to suit their particular ca-
reers. .

THE WEARABLE WARDROBE

Here, two young, super-achiev-
ing and attractive women, with
high profile careers, break the
preconceived dress for success
codes. They realize that a stylish,
professional image is «:sser.tial, but
they also don’t consider
themselves slaves to fashion.

Though their personal styles
differ, they agree on several im-
portant aspects of a wearable
working wardrobe.

First, they advise to buy quality
rather than quantity. Expensive
suits and separates will always
look better, fast longer, and gen-
erally be a better investment than
lesser priced ones.

Second, choose only versatile
pieces that can be worn from
morning until late night. They
should work at the office, and for
dinner or evening receptions, with
just a quick change of coor-
dinating pieces.

. Third, use a number of dif-
ferent sources for collecting your
wardrobe including borrowing
from other closets, sewing your
own garments using Vogue pat-
terns, and buying unique items

from secondhand or bargain
stores.

And last, use accessories spar-
ingly to add individual style to
your business outfit, and to add
evening glamor to a daytime look.
Name: Laura Vandriel.

Job: President, Consensus Com-
munications Inc.
Residence: West Vancouver.

Laura Vandriel owns 2 com-
munications firm which liaises be-
tween the public, the media and
her established clicnis, including
such prestigious firms as Leone,
The Landing, Chanel, The
MacLean Group and The Van-
couver Museum.

Though Vandriel realizes the
importance of fashion to her im-
age, she does not try for any
special effect or statement. She
simply wears the clothing that she
believes in. She chooses an eclectic
blend of fine quality basics in a
classic, Coco Chanel meets

Katherine Hepburn look.

“I like things that are comfort-
able,’’ says Vandriel. ‘‘I’m not a
fussy dresser. If it is too fussy, I
will just end up pulling it off.”
She feels the most confident and
comfortable in clothing she
describes as elegantly casual.

She says that clothing has to be
easy to wear, and very versatile
because her hectic schedule does
not allow time to go home and
change.

“TI bring a dressy skirt, a change
of shoes and great earrings to
change into if 1 have an evening
function. If I forget in the morn-
ing, I'll buy something to wear in-
stead of going all the way home to
change.”’

One of her favorite pieces of
clothing, which she wears for day
and night, is an oversized,
unstructured jacket that is actually
a man’s. She simply changed the
original buttons on the jacket with

some antique pewter and
rhinesione ones.

She likes to shop at
LeslieJane in West Vancouver, at
Leone, and on Robson Street in
Vancouver. She also sews some of
her clothing in fine cashmere and
wools using Vogue patterns for a
less expensive designer look.

Vandriel prefers black as a ver-
satile, slimming color that never
goes out of style. *‘[’m not sup-
posed to be able to wear black
because of my strawberry blonde
hair and fair skin, but I think it
looks fine,’’ she adds. Her other
chosen colors are navy, ivory and
pink, which she mixes with black.

For fall, she has a basic black
wool sweater set from Leone
which combines a mock turtle-
neck. «cardigan and fitted skirt.
She ‘ars a Mondi pant suit in
navy which includes a cropped
sailor jacket with brass buttons
and chain closures, and wider cut

pants that she describes as a
Katherine Hepburn style. She has
a knitted, body skimming wool
dress by Ports International which
is simply cut with dolman sleeves
and a mock turtleneck. All of
these outfits Vandriel finds ver-
satile for day and night wearing.

Her fali coat is an ankle length,
balmacaan style in black wool by
Max Mara. It has buttoned slits
up both sides to the waist, and she
buttons the slits for day and wears
them open to fly away for a pretty
evening look. She explains,
‘Everything I have has to be con-
vertible or | don’t buy it.””

Her favorite sweater is an over-
sized cashmere turtleneck which
used to be her father’s.

To add flair to her dresses and.
suit separates, she has a collection
of beautiful scarves in Liberty
prints which she bought in New
York. They are large sized in light
weight wool. ‘‘1 wear them over
my shoulder and secure them with
unique, large brooches which were
my grandfather’s. I also buy them
secondhand from the 1940s and
°50s at Encore Boutique in West
Vancouver.”’ :

Concerning ‘ Vandriel’s decision
to keep her hair long for business,
she replies, ‘‘1 had two fashion
consultants tell me that | would

ever be successful in business if I
did not cut my hair short, and
that it was not mature looking. I
think it was women who could not
wear their hair long who made the
short-hair-for-business rule. ~ I
don’t want to look like a man,
and I don’t feel that it is necessary
to do so to compete with men in
the work force.’’

Name: Kelly Millin.

Job: Marketing director,
Royal Shopping Centre.
Residence: North Vancouver.

Kelly Millin is responsible for
all of the mali’s promotions, fash-
ion shows, news releases and
public retailer events. She is also
president of the Western Canadian
Designers and Fashion Associa-
tion.

Whether she is chairing a board
meeting or commentating a fash-
ion show, Millin is aware that her
fashion image is important.
Therefore, she chooses tailored
suit separates and dresses which
are feminine and dressy. She
prefers more fitted styles because
she is tall. :

Her wardrobe consists of
designs by Alfred Sung, Simon
Chang, Jones New York and
Feizal Virani, and she often shops
at Devonshire Cream in Park
Royal.

“I usually wear suit separates,
but I have a few dresses which I
will put on in the morning and if I
have an important meeting or an
evening reception to attend. A
black and white linen dress, for
example, is something I wear
often.” She never goes home to
change before an evening func-
tion, and simply wears the same
outfit, but with the addition of
dressy earrings.

Her shoes are fail-proof black
patent in several styles that must
be very comfortable or she won’t
buy them.

She likes to add color to her
wardrobe. ‘‘f have several suit
jackets that are colorful in plaid
or check. I mix and match them
with solid colored neutral skirts
and slacks in black, grey or off
white, making the jackets the
focal point.’’

Millin also sews some of her
clothing using a Vogue pattern.

Park