Questions Or Comments

Beginning this week, The Sun is introducing redesigned Business sections that include:* New local columns each weekday; today's column is about commercial real estate and development.* Summaries of the day's business news and stock market activity on the back page of this section.* More than a page of additional news space.* Consolidated stock tables combining the three major exchanges into a single, alphabetized listing.* Options, corporate bonds, commodity futures contracts, corporate earnings, government securities and dividends listings have been eliminated or pared back.

Q: I have always heard the rule: Never wear two patterns together -- with one pattern, everything else should be solids. But in the ads I see striped shirts with patterned ties. Sometimes they even show three patterns. Who is right? How do you mix more than one pattern?A: The idea of wearing no more than one pattern is too inflexible and old-fashioned. It stems from the fear that men might make Laurel and Hardy combinations. Combining two patterns of opposite scale and spacing is the basis for the graphic mixes we see these days on well-dressed men. It's not difficult to master.

Q: When you discuss shirts, you always include ones with tab-collars in your list of handsome choices. But they are a pain (literally) in the neck. They're hard to fasten, and they're too high and tight and uncomfortable. Aside from that, I guess they're terrific!A: In the limited world of choices that men have, a tab collaoffers an appealing option -- very different from the usual button-downs, straight-point collars, and English spreads. Items worn close to the face make an important contribution to how a man looks.