TheCleaners.net

We all look forward to Spring, with the return of color to our lawns, the trees, the flower beds and the highways. Designers know this, too, and so they roll out their Spring and Summer looks early -- they know we're starving for color and the first breath of balmy air.

This week, we're looking at how those perky colors we talked about a few weeks back have worked their way into the garments you'll find on the rack at your favorite stores. Colors are extremely seasonal and trendy, which makes them difficult to handle in a wardrobe sometimes.  We've got a few tips along that line, so read on.

See you soon!

Jim Nixon
www.thecleaners.net

PS: Be sure to check out the Stamp out Hunger program described  to the right of this letter.

Food Drive 
March 1- May 13, 2005
Nu-Way Cleaners and Foothills Cleaners, in cooperation with the local branches of the National Association of Letter Carriers (NALC), is proud to sponsor the "Help Stamp Out Hunger" food campaign from March 1 through May 13. The campaign was announced in our Valpak coupon that arrived in homes March 1st and will be repeated in the coupon sent out around April 1st.
Click on the graphic to the right for more details.

Skirt Alert Coupon!

Have you ever heard that expression used by the weather forecaster? "Today we have a skirt alert out, with winds gusting to 30 miles an hour...." How about a breezy savings to make up for it? Have $10 in regular drycleaning done and we'll clean a skirt at no charge. (Include first page of this e-mail with your order. Offer expires 3/26/05. Cannot be combined with other offers.)

Hemming and Hawing
over Fashion

Hoorah! Saner heads have prevailed in the fashion world and this spring and summer will feature garments that every woman can love. There are also enough interesting colors that skew to the manly end of the spectrum to give the guys something to cheer about in accessories and shirt choices, as well.

It's all about proportion.

The wonderful thing about the new skirts and dresses is the length of the hem and the proportions of the silhouette they create. In many fashion years, women have despaired over the state of fashionable clothes as they either revealed too much or the hems swept the floor and made them look short or wide.

Watch for:

• Hem lengths at or just below the knee -- the most flattering for the majority of women.
• Skirts and dresses that flare out at the bottom, creating an "A-line" -- also the most flattering, and capable of disguising a multitude of problems.
• Flirty details in skirts and dresses. Unlike previous seasons, the hems are far from uniform. You'll find ruffled, flounced, pleated, handkerchief, tulip and flared hems from which to choose.
• Multiple-layer skirts and dresses, that add visual interest without adding bulk.

Not everybody's color palette.

The one difficulty with this season's bright, lively color palette is that the colors aren't necessarily compatible with all skin types. For instance, turquoise is hot, coral is everywhere, a bright green is springing up, pinks, purples and grey/taupe colors are also popular. But someone who looks great in coral might look absolutely horrid in the popular springy green. The same goes for some of the other colors.

Check out the colors against your skin in good lighting before you start falling in love with garments. If it looks good next to your face, then go ahead and look at jackets, shirts, blouses, sweaters and dresses. If it makes you look sickly, you don't have to abandon it -- just relegate it to the bottom half of your body, or reserve it for accessories -- shoes, bags, belts, etc.

2005 Spring and Summer
are highly visual.

Designers didn't shy away from bold patterns and mixing patterns that would otherwise seem incongruous. On the runways, they made liberal use of border-prints (print that hugs the hemline) and lots of high-contrast prints (black and white, red and black, turquoise and spring green).

There was also a lot of metallic in view -- belts, fabrics, chunky jewelry. This is a great way to accessorize something you've already got and plan to go on wearing next year. Dress it up or down with some of the hot new items and it'll look brand new.

Other trendy items:

• Shorter jackets. Not bolero-jacket short, but not full-length either. And frequently in contrasting fabric to the rest of the outfit.
• Big handbags. If you just love your purse but want to update the look, pick up a trendy-colored tote and slip the purse inside. After the "in" colors have come and gone, your classic bag will still be good to go.
• Lower heels -- thank goodness. Plenty of extended pointy toes, but the knee-length hemlines look great with flats or low pumps.
• Layers everywhere. The poncho look above on the right is actually a shirt and a poncho, but both are gauzy and so the addition of layers keeps the look light and breezy.

Keeping up with the guys.

Men aren't as interested in fashion as women, partly because there's not much that changes in their basic look from year to year. But guys can freshen their look by swapping for accessories and shirts in the current color palette. Turquoise looks great on a lot of men, and can work as a shirt, tie, pocket square or vest color.

Spend the bulk of your wardrobe budget on classic styles that don't change much, but allocate some for trendy colored items and a few fun pieces to accent them. And remember, we're always keeping up with the trends so we can keep you looking great. Happy, colorful shopping!