Paris Vogue Recommends: How To Style Acid-Wash Jeans

Ordinarily I think acid-wash or otherwise distressed jeans can be problematic on women over age 30--a look that's trying way too hard to be rockstar cool.

But here Paris Vogue has hit on a great solution -- use them to deliberately corrupt a look that would otherwise be ultra-matronly.

I love this sort of to-the-manor -born dressing, with the scarf and prep stripes and gorgeous Vara shoes. But with a pair of neatly tailored trousers rounding out the look, it would risk running way too preppy/posh/haute bourgeoise cliché.

With the jeans, it's all a bit less classifiable. And to my mind, that's a cornerstone of true style.

(photo by Inez Lamsweerde and Vanoodh Matadin for Paris Vogue, August 2009)

Madras Men: How Plaids Have Taken Over the Suburbs

It seems a mere instant ago when every self-respecting Dad in the American suburbs wore combat shorts -- as if, to paraphrase the marvelous Hadley Freeman, they were expecting to wage war with the barbecue tongs and garden hose.

Just back from this mosquito-ridden theatre, I can report that combat shorts are over and out. America's menfolk have found a new (old) bottomwear option: madras plaid shorts. But they're definitively not your father's madras plaid shorts, which had their last spell of popularity in the preppy-mad early 80s. Nor are they your grandfather's madras-plaid shorts, which ruled the decks in the late 50s and 60s, when American WASPS wore them because Brooks Brothers sold them, which made it ok.

The big difference? Today's madras is easy-care. Pop it in the washing machine if the ketchup spills over, no problem.

The early issue madras was another story altogether. I'll quote from the bible on the subject, The Official Preppy Handbook (1980):

If there is one fabric that is quintessentially Preppy, it is madras. True Madras. of course. the real thing is one of the oldest fabrics in the cotton trade, a fine, hand-loomed cotton that is imported from Madras, India. What sets true madras apart from imitations is that it "bleeds"; the murky colors, navy blue, maroon, mustard yellow--of its distinctive plaids are imparted with vegetable dyes that are guaranteed to run.

Since the colors are so unstable, madras has to be treated very carefully. Shirts, shorts, and items that are not going to be dry- cleaned must be soaked in cold salt water for at least twenty-four hours before they are washed the first time. This sets the dyes. Then they really should be washed separately for months thereafter, because the colors will still run. Old madras takes on a lovely soft look and feel with many washings (the crux of the fabric's appeal to Preps), though jackets, of course, must be dry-cleaned to maintain that sharp plaid.

If you want more background, check out this fascinating exploration of the history and national significance of madras.

If you want an actual, authentic, vintage madras shirt (for ladies!), check out online vintage purveyors for the raggedy real thing. But if you buy it, don't forget the salt soak before you wash. If you don't, it will run harder than Usain Bolt, and don't say I didn't warn you.

Style Icon: Rene Lacoste

Have just learned, thanks the The New York Times, that preppy days are here again.

OK! So let's get it righter this time around. It's not an alligator shirt (as everybody, myself included, called it back in the day when we wore them layered one atop another, or underneath an oxford-cloth button-down, Fair Isle sweater optional).

Nope, the beast was in fact a crocodile. Rene Lacoste here wears a blazer embroidered with the primordial version of the famous logo. A professional tennis player, he got nicknamed the "crocodile" for his tenacity on the court, a quality that served him equally well off. In addition to lending his name to the line of sports shirts issued by Izod, he went on to develop the first ball machine (which saw far more returns).

Tip: if you're going for a vintage crocodile shirt, beware; counterfeits are rampant. One way to check authenticity? Look hard at the logo. Counterfeiters rush out blurry badly-sewn ones. It does vary with year and place of manufacture, but with a real Lacoste, you can see the teeth.