Q: In January, I will be...
Q: In January, I will be going to Europe, where I will be attending award ceremonies in Vienna, Amsterdam and Paris. Can you please recommend a long gown that will travel well and still look chic? I am a 44 year s old , size 14, and I prefer to sew my own clothes, so please specify fabric and color as well as a pattern number.--M.S. A: The three-star travel gown for winter is Geoffrey Beene’s design illustrated here in wool jersey. It’s Vogue 1389, and it wins its stars for good reason. First, the design is easy to wear, and its body-skimming cut will give when you’ve eaten too many pastries and take when you rejoin your exercise class at the end of your trip. Second, if you make the gown in wool jersey, you not only will be wearing the single most important fabric of the winter of ‘86, but you’ll also be warm enough to withstand drafty surroundings and won’t have to worry about wrinkles. Also, if you make the yoke in red wool jersey and outline it in gold braid, you will have taken the so-called little black dress out of the safe-and-sane category and changed it into the big black dress with fashion power.
Q: Can you please help me find beautiful Cinderella-style slippers like those Madonna wore to her wedding?--K.G. A: I took your question to Marlene Stewart, who designs not only Madonna’s tour wardrobe but also the new Madonna ready-to-wear collection--both in conjunction with the singer herself. Stewart says the slippers were custom-made at Bottega Di Fabrizio Shoes, 8216 West 3rd St., Los Angeles 90048 and decorated by Richard Minadeo.
