Spiff up for spring

Throw off winter's tiresome uniform and add a little color, a bit of glitz Outside the weather is blah. The novelty of a good snow is gone, and spring and its beauty seem

Monday, March 6th 2000, 12:00 am

By: News On 6

Throw off winter's tiresome uniform and add a little color, a bit of glitz

Outside the weather is blah. The novelty of a good snow is gone, and spring and its beauty seem a long way away.

But in clothes closets everywhere, we've gone past blah. Fall's new black is now the old drab black. What looked fresh and pressed back in 1999 has become winter's tiresome uniform.

So turn off the automatic pilot that sends you into the world each day in the same old things. Usher in some spiffy spring fashion. You don't have to wait for the tulips to add a little color, a bit of glitz or a new pair of jeans.

The great thing about freshening up a look is that you can do it in a small way. So here are 10 ways to update his or her wardrobe.

Smaller portions are available for children.

FOR HER

Embroidered everything

How about a pair of embroidered jeans? Fashionable hippies from the '60s (even latecomers from the '70s) remember this well. You'd add an Indian-inspired piece of trim to the hems of your bellbuttoms or sew some other piece of colorful fabric onto a pocket. The goal was to personalize the jeans, to express yourself via your ornamentation.

Well, now the flair comes ready-made and looks mighty fine and Bohemian all at the same time.

``Minimalism is over,'' said Tom Julian, fashion observer extraordinaire from Fallon McElligot. ``Embroidery is everywhere and on every imaginable item of clothing.''

The embellishments don't have to be fabric, they can be mirrored or beaded to convey a Far Eastern sense of style.

Crystal clear

It's not just the patchwork look adorning clothes this year, it's Rhode Island's own Swarovski crystals. Okay, so the crystal stones come from the Austrian Tyrol and the company has a Fifth Avenue New York showroom, but Cranston-based Swarovski is on all the best designer duds.

Crystals are no longer reserved for evening and you can find them on everything from denim jackets to Bohemian pocketbooks, said Reinhard Mackinger, president of Swarovski Components.

He spoke after the Fall 2000 fashion shows but the trend is already in full gear for spring.

``Swarovski may be a girl's new best friend,'' said Julian. Designers are using them for trim, fringe and ornamentation.

If you can't find a piece of crystal-decorated clothing you like, you can add a accessorized touch like a bracelet on the upper arm or a crystal clear necklace. You can even try a tiara for prom or black tie engagements. For simpler statements, Swarovski has a dragon pin to celebrate the Chinese Year of the Dragon.

Frilly and feminine

Some will remember them as granny gowns but now dresses or tops are described as having ``delicate drawstrings'' by Carmen Aseron, one of Nordstrom's East coast fashion coordinators. Women can hop on board this femininity trend with a dress that has ruffles or flounces or handkerchief hems.

Look for crochet touches too that say, ``I'm a girl.''

These feminine touches are already in stores making us think that this is the most commercial of all the trends. It seems visible in all the price points from moderate to designer.

You don't have to wait until you feel ready for a whole dress of feminine floral print. Mavens can pair a drawstring top with jeans.

Leather up

For spring? Yes, we're talking about breaking all the rules. This season's leather is buttery soft and super thin, for sportswear looks, said Nordstom's Aseron. Or it can be dressed up by being perforated to look like lace or flowers.

Suede too, has made the seasonal shift. The Gap offers the jean jacket (the must-have coat for men, women and children) in pastel suede. You will also find sleeveless suede sheath dresses which are thin and cool for sweet days of June.

Python power

Hissssssssss! Animal prints are so last week, but snakeskin is slinking in to take its place.

It can be added in the form of a belt, handbag, headband or sportswear if you dare.

The white stuff

White has gotten the shaft for a while years now. First it got chased off the tennis courts then ridiculed for making the wearer look fat. (Black takes off five pounds, white adds it.)

But what is nicer for summer than white jeans, white T-shirts or white dresses? Give it a chance again.

A caveat, not before Memorial Day. We do need to keep some fashion decorum.

Melon time

The season's colors are lovely pastels of lime greens, lemon yellows and and a whole range of oranges. Other shades include the widely popular ranges of blues including cerulian.

Denim down

The color is dark indigo. The must-have silhouette is the jean jacket. The alternatives are recolored or tie-dyed demin for a textural look.

Denim can even be the fabric of choice for a new jumper or trench coat.

Shine on

Metallic makeup came on strong for all those cancelled millennium eve parties and it's making a stand in all the spring lines. Pick your favorite and brighten those lips.

Chanel's metallic creme lipsticks arrive in core shades like mauve, coffee and mocha and then they are coated with one of four metal finishes -- silver, gold, copper or bronze. Matching are four metallic nail colors in a new slim-line bottle.

Look for it to make a big prom splash.

Smell pretty

Why not try a new scent? Spring seems like such the right time. And there is no lack of contenders to try.

For the first time in 12 years, Cacharel is launching a new fragrance, called NOA. It blends white musks, peonies and greens with a hint of coffee and coriander. It has won awards (the Fifi for best women's fragrance launch in Europe) since its 1998 European launch. Cacharel is the brand known that makes Anais Anais, a long-standing favorite. The new fragrance debuts next month.

FOR HIM

Un-stuff

Try a shirt jacket. It's an alternative to the tailored jacket or blazer. A shirt jacket still says ``I'm dressed up'' but it doesn't scream ``stuffy.'' And they're comfortable. They don't bind like a blazer, so you can move those arms to talk or work.

Belt one back

The Milan men's collections presented some of the most ornate accessories in years, said Tom Julian. Belts are low slung and thick in width and have masterful artistry. As on the women's side, snakeskin rules the print department. Beads and studs are for the adventuresome.

But for regular guys, we'll settle for a new one that doesn't look worn.

Be gone T- shirt

The shirt of choice is an airy camp design in little plaid prints. It's cool to wear and cool to look at. The most fashion-forward ones have a straight hem bottom for the untucked look.

Island dreams

Spring and summer are always the right time to bring out a loud tropical print shirt. This year is no exception.

Macy's fashion directors picked it as the number one fashion tip for men. I've even seen the stuffy Wall Street Journal suggest men might wear them for dress-down Fridays. But that may be a bit much to ask here in the last bastion held by Puritan fashionistas.

It may look best layered over a solid T-shirt and paired with flat-front pants or paired with drawstring boardshorts.

Dress shirt to go

The newest dress shirts are cotton sateen and ones made of iridescent cotton. The look is subtle, not garish. But we'll know you like trying to perk up that business look. Try blue, cement (the new beige) or a khaki tone for the most fun.

Regis-ize it

You've see the show, now try the look we call the tonal trend in shirts and ties.

The tie must be solid, preferably in a red/purple, blue or silver/taupe. And then get the dress shirt that is just a little bit lighter.

You can do it in black if you dare.

Del's anyone?

Lemonade is the newest bright of the season.

Julian said it works with white and gray. He suggests soft shades of banana, maize and sunflower.

Nordstrom likes it for a jolt of color, in which case it comes from that high-tech yellow world.

No windbreakers

A racing-inspired jacket with a looser, banded collar is the coat statement of the season from Nordstrom. Versions come in every price range.

More buttons

The four-button suit is the new mainstain of modern menswear, say the folks at Macy's, and surely more fashion-forward than the two- or three-button suits Dad wore. It looks best with that tonal trend in dress shirts with solid ties.

New is better

Break down and try a pair of new jeans. Look for deep denim in new fabric blends if you are daring. But any crisp new pair will do.