ISLAND STYLE
Fringes, denim dominate back-to-school fashions

By Paula Rath
Advertiser Staff Writer

Keala Tom, who will be a freshman at Mililani High School this fall, shows off her favorite back-to-school outfit, which she found at Macy's. Her sandals are from The Slipper House. Deborah Booker • The Honolulu Advertiser Fashion Calendar TEEN SHOP GRAND OPENING: Combining the latest youth fashion with a hip dance-club atmosphere, Macy's is unveiling its new youth shop, ThisIt, at its Pearlridge Center store with DJs Sam the Man and Kool E, as well as a performance by Sean Na'auao, makeovers by MAC cosmetics and all the hottest fashion trends for guys and gals. Noon-4 p.m. Saturday. Free. Information: 945-5894.

The four Fs: feminine, flirty, flounced and frayed. The D: denim, denim and more denim. However, there's one D missing since last school year: dirty.

Denim is cleaning up its act this season and going back to shades of blue rather than all the dirty washes.

The how-low-can-you-go jeans also seem to have hit rock bottom and are not going any lower.

While the silhouettes are not too different from last year's, there is more embellishment and a homespun quality that's fresh and new.

After a recent fashion show put on by Macy's and Seventeen magazine, Keala Tom, who will be a freshman at Mililani High School this fall, rushed to buy

denim capris, a tunic-length peasant top and turquoise jewelry for her back-to-school look.

Lauren Shimabukuro, a soon-to-be eighth grader at Punahou, decided on a short denim jacket with new blue jeans and a peasant top.

Though she's still undecided on her total fall look, Bethany Au, entering the fifth grade at Nu'uanu Elementary, was looking at Roxy T-shirts. For the moment, she's settling on lipgloss and a small Roxy backpack.

Retailers from Wal-Mart to Neiman Marcus are stocking up on four major style stories, as defined at the Macy's/Seventeen show:

• "Funky and folk," featuring peasant blouses, crochet and macrame belts, embroidered tunic-length tops (a little longer than last year's) paired with jeans and turquoise jewelry.
• "Active styles," fashions adapted from soccer, rugby, track and baseball, shrunken down in silhouette, sewn from microfleece or velour, and sprinkled with sparkles.
• "Dolled up in denim," combining various shades in an ensemble.
• "Lovely in layers," adding little Annie Hall vests over peasant blouses topped with a jacket, or a knit poncho over a T-shirt and jeans.

Honolulu retailers are right up with all the fall trends for back to school. Here's a smattering of what we found.

• At Guess, jeans are frayed and ripped, leaving rough edges. Diaphanous tops are ruffled and ruched, with cut-outs and lettuce edges.
• JCPenney has active wear in thermal "long-john" knits paired with fleece, but it's not the '90s grunge look — more "on the move" than "slacker." Their romantic bohemian tops are made of gauzy onion-skin fabrics with fluttery gypsy sleeves, paired with long denim skirts.
• BCBGMaxAzria is all about fringe — on tops, bottoms, belts and bags. Black and white is the color story here, and asymmetry is much in evidence.
• Wet Seal is staying with the hippie chic look, adding panels of lace to frayed jeans, crochet inserts in peasant tops and macramé accessories such as belts and arm bands.
• At Forever 21, accessories are in, with crochet bags and super-thick belts flying out the doors.
• Jeans Warehouse pairs the softest lace, gauze and lace-up tops with denim skirts and hip belts.
• Bebe's look is based on faux suede vests and mini skirts embellished with fringe, beads and ties. Denim is still the biggest seller and logo items are doing well. An embroidered silk Frida Kahlo-style shawl is the latest accessory.
• A/X Armani Exchange has taken the basic "boyfriend beater" T-shirt and embellished it with rows of ruffles. It's paired with an ultra-feminine lace skirt with elegant trims sectioning the A-line silhouette.
• Rafael's take on back to school includes Juicy Couture velour sweats with tiny zippered jackets and flirty skirts with the look of antique embroidered linens.

For those whose drastically reduced clothes allowances allow for just one new item, the must-have seems to be the belt. Slung low on the hip, belts are being worn with absolutely everything and the thicker the better. Fringe is definitely in for belts, as is a modern take on the old cowboy tooled leather look.