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Show Landers B2 Preview B4 B, The Daily Herald Shop-aholi- Thursday, October 13, 1994 cs can give the (rest excuses : f as rlQOQl By ROBIN GIVHAN Newspapers " Knight-Ridd- er Impend more money on clothes thai), I need to. I admit this freely. 'j5ta personality flaw that I recog-aii- e. A compulsion that I try to manage. I don't spend an obscene amount of cash on clothes. Although I aaye, on occasion, weighed the purchase of a blazer against the payment of my rent, I've always cognized that shelter over my $ead comes before extravagant tailoring on my back. As folks say, my mother didn't raise a fool. Just a daughter prone to buying cashmere sweaters on a whim. t.l try to shield my frugal father from my terrible weakness. I talk lip- my regular participation in an employee stock purchasing program. I assure him that most of my credit cards have no lingering balances. But he knows the truth about my shopping habit. He loves me anyway. The thing of it is, I could stop Chopping whenever I want to. s Did I mention that I love outlet malls? jj'm not talking about those vast acreages with a carnival-lik- e atmosphere in which throngs of middle Americans search for the best deal on linens, pots, athletic shoes and underwear. I'm talking about upscale outlet malls. wThese are the malls with a limited number of stores maybe Wily a dozen or so instead of 30 or 40. Upscale malls are filled with "company stores" instead of outlet shops. Company stores are finely appointed. Flattering lighting. Sales help. Private fitting cubicles ;f Company stores are the newest to the habitual overspender. drug r These places have created a new iwinkle in the world of bargain Sftinfing. They act as enablers for ESfcbabitual overspender by providing new excuses for frivolous buyjig habits. For instance, a casual shopper i not me, of course might spot the same blazer in a company 'store that she had seen at a small, !&eady boutique. Boutique price? More than $800. At the company store, however, this hypothetical Blazer is reduced by 50 percent Maybe there's even an added percentage off that price. Let's say, the jacket is marked down 25 percent more. i That blazer now is in the neighborhood of $300. To the healthy eye, that's still a bit pricey. But to the habitual overspender, under Tjieinfluence of a company store, A - i UCD0G0 Ji. German top model Claudia Schiffer, above, wears a cutaway Spencer jacket and short skirt, part of the Fendi ready-to-we- col- ar lection presented for springsummer, 1995, in Milan last week. ( J 't, " i AP Photos : i Italian designer Giorgio Armani acknowledges applause from spectators and his models in background, at the end of the Emporio Armani collection in Milan, Italy, last week. Emporio Armani is the youth line of Gior- y"" gio Armani. if s i bargain. just look at the excuses now at pie habitual overspender's dispos- AP Fashion Writer Necessary. j I .want good fabric. Cheap fabric js the downfall of the seemingly best bargain garments, j I want expert tailoring, or at least decent tailoring. 1 1 often want something so specific that once I find it, I'm convinced I have to pay the asking trice because I'll never find it spend-rut30- MILAN, Italy Pick the most daring items from your lingerie drawer, line your lips in ruby red, put on a pair of stiletto heels and march out of the bedroom and into the street Instructions from a call girl's manual? No. Just guidelines for stylish dressing next spring and Italian style. summer In fact, the collections unveiled this week were an ode to sexy fashion from the corsets and bra tops to the little slip dresses and stretch fabric hot pants. This, of course, is the land of the Latin lover, topless and scantily dressed sun-bathe- tele- vision entertainers. But still, even in Italy, you can't show up at the office in a bra or shop at the supermarket in "It's really a question of attitude," said Stefano Gabbano of Dolce and Gabbano, favorites of rock star Madonna and pioneers of the sexy runway. "There's a lot of crisis out there, and we're lifting spirits," Gabbano said. However, spirits is not all some women will have to lift to g do justice to the styles. Emphasis on bosoms was everywhere in the latest Moda Milanese collections, from empire style baby doll dresses to plunging necklines to sheer tops and blouses. In between the sexy lines there were also a lot of presentable bosom-burstin- high-waist- Robin Givhan is the fashion edi- jrvf the Detroit Free Press. Write her at the Detroit Free Press, P.O. Box 828, Detroit, Mich. k8231. Volume of mail prohibits pergonal replies. I r r rr r i m i i rs a nightie. 0 if all ... V jackets and hemlines which hovered discreetly around the knee. By DANIELA PETROFF clear plastic bag. S Ldidn't get an offer of coffee or iwne while I shopped. J Sucking-u- p by the sales staff minimum. a to fvas.kept Company stores understand the psychological makeup of habitual like me. I know that rverspenders But I justify my I and believe because Spending 10 Some extent this is true that ioroetimes the prices I pay are Jnyvhere else. J Notice that company stores flways list the regular price of a garment. A sale price of, say, S3Q0 means nothing unless you pow that the original price was more than double that. See, on a blazer is not a bar-- I iain. But spending $300 on an that's a steal. You ISStX) blazer ian't pass that up. I Well, of course, I could. I can 5p shopping whenever I want bsiirs IMillain) al. I bought it on superdeluxe sale. I bought it at an outlet store. It came on an inexpensive hanger and was covered with a cheap, ed Waistlines, however, usually slithered down to the hips to bare the navel. The new warm weather jacket is long, often double breasted, either cardigan style or cut like a military jacket complete with gold buttons. Sheer silk gauze is the favorite fabric of the season. It is used for tunic tops over bra and panties outfits, leg revealing trousers and even jackets worn, of course, with no blouse underneath. Colors for spring-summ- er 1995 range from quiet tones of beige and rainbow pastels to brighter shades such as lime green, sunflower yellow and shocking pink. In contrast to the racy styles, designers went out of their way to ooze fresh innocence in insect (butterflies and ladybugs) and floral (sunflowers and geraniums) prints. The return of red lips is the hottest make-u- p news off the Milan runway. In general, sumis quit heavy mer make-u- p several in "purist" collecexcept tions where it was ashen. Walking classes could become the next bodycare fad. Getting heels is a skill around in that even some of the top models have yet to acquire. Claudia Schiffer stumbled at ch Versace while Carla Bruni slipped at Ferre. Youthful Brandy solved the problem by e alterinventing a native to tottering. wiggle-waggl- r j .!., t V: '"' " J t t ; Li r v- . ' tt ! ' : .v ? - W d A long vest with ultra short skirt, above, was part of the young and sexy part SpringSummer collection by Erreuno of Armani presented In Milan last week. wrap-aroun- " ':,;! fLjL Model wears a cream jacket and sheer trousers, left, as part of Italian stylist collecGiorgio Armani's tion shown last week in Milan. ready-to-we- ar |