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ST RI TLY
BU S1 NE SS
BY ANNE Y. MEYERS
W
hile spring Fever
heats up the social
wardrobe, it will
remain business-
as-usual at the office for
Detroit's 9-5ers. Books like
John T. Malloy's Dress For
Success have increased public
awareness of standards of
dress and have heightened the
popularity of traditional styles.
Wardrobe engineers take a
scientific approach to dressing
the customer for his/her work
setting. Spring and summer
bring us back to the basics in
business wear.
Men's office attire consists of
suits in basic colors. Quality fit
and fabric are essential. Natural
fabrics have become increasingly
popular over recent years
according to Gary Davis, store
manager of Fredrick's of
Farmington.
"One of the big things going
this year is natural fabrics —
wool, silk, silk blends, linen and
linen blends," Davis explained.
Jim Scott, store manager of
Campus Mens Shop in
Birmingham, feels that t..a best
fabric for summer will be natural
and moderate in weight.
Another basic element to
proper business suiting is color.
Spring may mean pastels, bright
yellows or loud plaids to some,
but conservative tones are the
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Jewish News
rule in men's suiting. Blue, black
and gray are the colors to work
with in a man's wardrobe. For
spring and summer this remains
the same, but with the added
exception of brown.
Bob Grumet, owner of R
Grumet in West Bloomfield,
noted that blue, black and gray
were also the most prevalent
colors among suit sales. "Coming
into last season we noticed that
everything was gray, blue or
black," Grumet said.
According to Heidi Wolrauch,
fashion coordinator at L'Uomo
Vogue in Southfield, blues and
grays are very popular for spring
and summer. Various shades of
blue and gray will be accented by
brilliant ties and unusual pairings
z of patterns. "But the traditional
black and white glen plaid is
timeless and sells well every
year," she added.
Ties are a very important
element in a man's wardrobe.
The traditional business
One reason for this, according to
look is depicted in this
Scot, is that people are afraid to
double breasted Nervesa
make a major investment in
Suit with cotton Daniel
seasonal clothing. "A tie that
Schagen shirt and
screams summer is not a major
Pancaldi silk tie.
investment, like a summer suit
would be," Scott said. The big
spring selling tie at Campus is the
traditional multi-pastel madras
tie.
Scott also noted that the tie is
the focal point of a man's look.