Q: Can you please help me...
Q: Can you please help me find an all-cotton dress to wear in Miami Beach in August? I know it will be hot, so the dress must be cotton. I’m not really sure what size dress I wear, as I’m usually in tops (size 46) and pants (size 42). For the occasion, however, I must wear a dress. If the dress could be in an unusual color, I would love it, since I’m really tired of black, navy, brown and beige. And I would prefer a tailored style.--B.W. A: The shirt-dress illustrated here meets all your requirements, and it also can be worn as a duster over tops and pants. New Hero makes the dress in a pre-shrunk crinkly cotton that the firm calls “100% Native American cotton.†Color choices include apple, aqua, banana, boysenberry, electric blue, fuchsia, iris, lemon, orange, orchid, raspberry, rose, soft pink, tomato and turquoise as well as white, black, natural and sand. Priced at about $50, the dress comes in sizes extra-small (34 / 36) through large (46 / 48). You would need a large. For retail outlets, write to Trudy Trump at New Hero, 5264 Blakeslee Ave., North Hollywood 91601. Q: Could you give me the names of designers who use quality polyester fabrics in their clothing? When polyester first came out years ago, the fiber was used in fabrics made to look like wool, cotton, silk, linen, etc. It has gone straight downhill from there. Except for blouses, all I ever see now is the cheapest kind of polyester clothing. I am interested in coordinates such as jackets, skirts, pants and blouses. Also important to me are zippers and darts. No elastic in the waist, please. I prefer classics and wear a size 10.--P.M. A: One of the country’s most famous designers, Emmy Award-winner Nolan Miller, not only uses polyester in the clothes he designs for Joan Collins and Linda Evans on “Dynasty,†but he is also a spokesman for the Celanese Corp., makers of polyester.
Perhaps you are limiting your polyester perception by looking only for fabrics made of 100% polyester. In that area, silk-like fabrics are indeed beautiful. But if you will accept cotton content or wool content along with the polyester, your choices of quality fabrics will be greatly extended. Here are the names of some coordinates manufacturers currently using polyester in their lines: Act II, Evan-Picone, Fire Islander, Devon and Barclay.
Q: Is it possible that you could help me find outsize stockings--not panty hose--for my mother? I used to be able to find them at Lane Bryant but no more. She needs a size 12 or 13 with tops big enough to fit her ample thighs. She does not require support hose.--B.D. A: The consumer service people at Round-the-Clock say that their company’s Fit-for-Me Style 30, in the size called “stately,†should be just what you’re looking for. The Agilon stockings are sheer, with stretch, reinforced toes. They’re available for about $3 in satin taupe, bare beige, tango, coffee, cream and toffee. For retail outlets in your area, please write to Round-the-Clock, Consumer Service, Box 848, Hoffa St., Grenada, Miss. 38901.
