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demand
By Laurie DeL ater
Remember the bright green plaid
Bermuda shorts your dad always don-
ned for the family reunion? How about
the matching pink bowling shirts your
aunt and uncle wore that had "Howard
and Sons' Feed and Seed" printed on
the back?
Thought those clothes were pretty
tacky, eh?
Increasingly, fashion trends from the
1950s and early '60s are creeping into
the racks of vintage clothing stores.
Once defined as cheap, old clothing
worn in the first half of the century,
"vintage" has taken on a much broader
meaning as students begin to mix the
old with New Wave trends and as
sellers scrounge -for items in a
tightening used clothing market. And
at least in Ann Arbor "vintage" is
coming to mean yesterday's fare at
close to today's prices.
More and more, if discriminating
students fail to find the period clothes
they're looking for in the closets of old
relatives, they will travel to Detroit,
Chicago, and even as far away as Am-
sterdam.
"In Chicago, prices are cheaper than
they are here," says Patricia Rich, an
LSA sophomore from Chicago.
Rodney Lewis, a 25-year-old Univer-
sity employee, said he has been
wearing vintage clothing for eight
years. Though he once shopped
primarily in the local area, Lewis said
rising prices have forced him to
frequent Value Village in Ypsilanti or
discount stores in Kalamazoo and
Detroit.
Tugging on a red and black button-
down sweater he bought in Ypsilanti,
Lewis complained, "I paid 40-cents for
this. If you bought it in Ann Arbor, it'd
cost $10."
Local vintage merchants say that the
price of men's overcoats-the most
popular vintage item this year-has
risen $5 over last year. Overcoats
typically sell anywhere from $35 to $60,
depending on the fabric and condition.
The prices of men's clothing items
can be expected to rise, merchants add,
because of its relative scarcity and the
growing demand from both men and
See DEMAND, Page 31.
Strange,
student
styles
By Jerry Markon
AS THE Ann Arbor winter releases
its icy grip on the University campus, a
wide variety of creative, unusual, and
downright bizzare student fashions are
coming out of the closet-and into the
Diag.
The exotic warm-weather attire does
not necessarily result from careful
planning, however, as LSA sophmore
Randy Petre demonstrates with what
he calls "the haphazard look."
Clad in a gray wool
sweater-"Mom's Christmas
present"-with a Neil Young concert t-
shirt underneath, Levi's jeans with three
inch holes in the knees, and Adidas
sneakers, Petre admitted that "it
wouldn't be good for Bloomingdale's."
"It's comfortable, it's practical, and
it's cheap," he said, adding that he
"doesn't thinkedressing is worth one-
half an hour a day." How long does it
take him to concoct his own wardrobe?
"Approximately 60 seconds."
"I think it's a pretty phony way to live,
your life by what other people want you
- to wear-I look for more than dress in a
person," Petre said.
But he was quick to judge the people
who walk around wearing the "in
fashion" clothes. "I think they'll all be
working for IMB in five years," he
noted.
David Geracioti, an LSA senior,
believes "life is like a circus" so he
dresses "sort of like I feel about the
day, like a clown. You know; my
costume for that day."
"Today is a good day for absurdity,"
he added, and his clothes certainly
backed up this assertion. An L.L. Bean
hunting coat complete with pockets that
Geracioti swears "holds 6-8 Stroh's
beer cans without anybody noticing"
was accompanied by a navy blue cotton
sweater, a pink button-down shirt, light
brown British Khaki army shorts, rip-
ped white socks, velcro gym shoes, and
of course, sunglasses-even inside
Mason Hall.
The ensemble was enhanced by a set
of "Mardi Gras beads" that Geracioti
called "green pieces of trash."
Then, he became sarcastic, saying "I
might keep dressing like this until I get
a real job. I think it would be good for
selling real-estate in Toledo, where I'm
front"
Pat Beaubien, an LSA sophmore, was
totally decked out in black-an "enor-
mous black shirt down to mid-thigh,"
black shoes, black panty hose, and even
a black watch.
Does she have a fetish for black?
"-Well, black is my favorite color, and I
got up early enough to wear a dress
today," Beaubien said.
. Like other unique dressers, Beaubien
throws her clothes on in the morning.
"I only think about clothes when I buy
them-I don't have to when I put them
on because they're already okay by me.
I'm glad I did it because of the weather
(mid 50's, sunny) but I didn't exactly
look out my window this morning to find
out the weather. What I wear depends
on what time I get up. If I'm late, I'll
wear the first thing on the floor."
One part of her attire was not black,
however-her clip-on rhinestone
earrings. She wore an ear band along
with the earrings, and claimed that the
combination "makes so much noise
when I walk that I can entertain myself
all day."
Exotic would certainly be a word to
describe what LSA junior Michael-Jay
Walker was wearing. His red, white
and blue jacket stood out, making what.
he called "an ugly color combination"
with his v-necked fraternity sweater,
and blue hospital intern shirt.' Walker
was selling candy bars for the March of
Dimes, and wanted to "stand out in the
crowd."
"It's unusual, and it's cool because of
the weather-because of the amount of
time I have to get ready, I just grab
whatever's there," Walker said.
"The way I dress depends on my
mood for the day," he continued. "If
I'm going to be running into somebody
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The debonair male look is alive at Vintage Clothing.
Photos by Andi
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It'sspory, t'skunit'sat 3rd 3r. : rr. r-
The Cat's Meow has the party clothes for every occasion. It's sporty, its fun, it's at 53rd & 3rd.
30 Weekend/Friday, April 5, 1985
LSA senior Nancy Korn models her casual leather
Kevin Putz, an LSA junior, models his fringe at the Nectarine Ballroom.
Weekend/