March is hard to dress for. It rains, it snows, it's warm, it's cold. It's a month of mud and puddles, a season for wet feet and March hair, frizzled or flattened by the damp.
Fanciful chapeaux like those by Sally Di Marco are one possible palliative, lifting the spirits and protecting the 'do. Di Marco uses interesting fabrics -- tapestries, velvets, vintage brocades, cotton and linen -- and she likes to combine different patterns and textures in the same hat. Some, like the one shown here on Crystal Harrison, a student of Di Marco, are trimmed with fabric rosettes.
Di Marco heads the apparel technology department at Baltimore City Community College. She has designed clothes for years, but only recently decided to turn her hand to headgear. Her hats are $99 at June Critchfield Designer Accessories in the Pratt Street Pavilion at Harborplace.
Inside story
DKNY fans, pack up your plastic and head for the mall: The brand now includes underwear as well as clothes. A spokeswoman told me that the goods started moving into stores in mid-February, and should be there in full force by now. Cotton, lace, high-cuts, boy cuts, thongs, tees, camis, demi-bras, slips -- it's all there, at Lord & Taylor, Macy's and Nordstrom. The ribbon-lace peasant top (below) is $55, and the matching thong is $25. -- A. M. C.
Shopping with a heart
The consumer with a conscience is in luck. Several publications are available to help her put her lipstick money where her mouth is.
PETA -- People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals -- puts out a "Shopping Guide for Caring Consumers," which lists names and addresses of companies and charities that do and don't test on animals, a subject of concern to many cosmetics users (like Pamela Lee Anderson, who's on the cover). The book also indicates which companies use no animal ingredients in their products. It costs $8.95 (plus $3 shipping) from 800-483-4366.
The American Anti-Vivisection Society puts out a free brochure, "Guide to Compassionate Shopping," that also lists companies according to animal testing and ingredients, but it does not include addresses. For a copy, call 800-729-2287 or click on its icon on the Web site, www.aavs.org.
A more complete guide, "Shopping for a Better World" has pages of charts categorizing company policies in such areas as the environment, charitable giving and advancement of minorities. Another section rates firms according to their involvement with military contracts, nuclear power and animal testing.
Other chapters include the auto industry, appliances and stuff your basic fashion hound might care about. "Americans and Clothes" discusses how U.S. companies treat the people in other countries who make the shoes and clothes we wear. Some examples make you cringe to be an American consumer, and some, like Levi Strauss, make you proud. The book, put out by the Council on Economic Priorities, is $17 (including shipping) from 800-729-4237. -- A. M. C.
Energizing the nails and lips
Cosmetics companies just aren't what they used to be. Once they were faceless giants, pitching products, not personality. Newer cosmetics firms, though, go in for attitude, therapy, even philosophy. Think of Hard Candy and Urban Decay, Aveda and Bliss, Philosophy and Zen (yes, both are beauty brands).
Tony & Tina is one of these newer companies. Its thing is "color therapy," a spokeswoman said, and told me (earnestly or ironically; I couldn't tell) that Tony & Tina products are intended to realign one's energy system. "Mood-balance" lipsticks contain St. Johnswort, and the company's Millennium Key nail-polish container comes in colors to suit three different chakras, or energy centers to the uninitiated.
Whatever. Even if you don't buy the beliefs, the Millennium Key is a great gadget. It fits comfortably between two fingers of one hand while you use the other hand to apply the polish. It costs $15, and is available by calling 888-tonytina. -- A. M. C.
Pub Date: 03/14/99