AP News, September 7th, 2007
With the lyrics "simple things, lovely simple things" being sung in the background, Tracy Reese turned out a spring collection Friday that was simple and lovely.
The clothes were easy to wear, and that was the designer's goal. She wanted to lighten up on the layers that have been integral to fashion for the past few years. "Everything is easier _ that's where my head is at," she said during an interview earlier this week.
Star Jones, sitting in the front row at the Bryant Park show, was making a shopping list. A strapless dress with a kaleidoscope pattern was marked "wear soon," Jones said, while the sailor-style, wide-leg trousers merited exclamation points on her notes.
The pants might have had the highest waist so far at New York Fashion Week. All that room was necessary for the 10 buttons decorating the front.
"I think Tracy Reese is cutting edge, hip and stylish, but she still lets a woman look like a woman," Jones said.
The suits offered were structured but soft and a handful of evening outfits featured palazzo pants, part of the longer, leaner silhouette Reese thinks will become increasingly important. Her dresses, probably the hallmark of her look, had just a smattering of embellishment on their dainty shapes.
A fitted ivory-colored, floor-length dress with grosgrain ribbons forming an all-over chevron pattern would work as a wedding dress for the bride who likes the hippie look at heart _ especially when worn with the floppy ivory hat that the model had on.
Reese's show was one of those affected by the change in schedule at this season's Fashion Week to accommodate the Rosh Hashanah holiday next week. She's had a Sunday slot for as long as she can remember but shifted to a jam-packed Friday that also included previews by Vera Wang, J. Mendel and Cynthia Rowley.
"It always works out. I love the idea of being finished and getting the audience early on _ and I'm getting the weekend off! But I'll go back to Sundays, it's become a tradition."
