Rayon

Gone are the red and green holiday uniforms of starched taffeta and reindeer ski sweaters. Instead, teen-agers are choosing dress-up clothes with a casual appeal, not so different from everyday wear."

She's stealing hearts and turning heads.She's a quirky, new romantic who loves a look that's two parts attic chic and one part urban cowgirl.It all starts with a '40s-inspired floral or mini-pattern printed dress -- a drapey, clingy rayon or cotton number with a waist-flattering bodice and simple schoolgirl collar or circle neck. Topping off the look is a head of windblown hair or a floppy hat with garden garnishes of blooms or berries.The look is also about having a comfortable, easy attitude.

NEW YORK-- The right snuggly accessories can do more than ward off a chill, especially if they're attractive enough to garner warming compliments.The Alaska Shop, in Manhattan at 31 East 74th Street, specializes in wraps of all kinds of handknit qiviut (pronounced kiv-ee-OOT). The word means downy underwool, in the language of Eskimos, and it comes from domesticated musk oxen raised in Unalakleet, Alaska, by the Musk Ox Producer's Co-operative.Herders gather the brownish-gray wool every spring, when it works its way to the outer surface of the ox's coat.

Back in the '50s, the Maidenform model dreamed that she "went to work," "painted the town red," "stopped them in their tracks" (take your pick) in her Maidenform bra.Well, the dream has come true.You, too, can go to work wearing your bra for all the world to see. And it needn't be a Maidenform, either.This spring, designers by the dozen are offering bra-style tops as an alternative to blouses.Often looking more like bikini tops than bras, they're done in pinstripes and plaids, gingham checks and tie-dyed denim, silk shantung and sequined chiffon.

She's stealing hearts and turning heads.She's a quirky, new romantic who loves a look that's two parts attic chic and one part urban cowgirl. It starts with a '40s-inspired floral or minipattern printed dress -- a clingy rayon or cotton number with a waist-flattering bodice and simple schoolgirl collar or circle neck. Topping off the look is a head of wind-blown hair or a floppy hat with garden garnishes of blooms or berries.It's also about having a comfortable, easy attitude. With her ample, gored or bias-cut skirt and her clodhopper cowboy boots, she can stand at a slouch and stomp with a wide stride and weighted gait.

Master the basicsYou'll get more mileage out of your spring budget if you start off with the basic color choices before you indulge in the whimsical new tangerines and fuchsias, advises Ray Mitchener, manager of Ruth Shaw's specialty clothing store."

Deborah Stanko has a very clear vision of her personal style. "Classically trendy. I like to have a few key designer pieces, and then I will pair them with a few inexpensive trendy pieces from season to season. I don't go too far into trendy." This 29-year-old Kimberly-Clark medical sales representative had recently moved to Virginia when we "Glimpsed" her at a private party at Roy's Restaurant. The look: Beaded charcoal rayon tunic. Joe's Jeans black leggings. Black snakeskin patterned leather Rafe pumps.

When it came to fashion at this year's Preakness, traditional little suits seem to have hit the trail. Instead, flowery sundresses blossomed all over Pimlico's Corporate Village - thanks to a hot sun that returned to the race day after a two-year absence. And to the fashion gods, who are dictating a less formal, even flippy, attitude this spring. Kathy Sheets, 50, owner of a Bel Air cleaning service, was a good example. She wore a blue and yellow Lilly Pulitzer dress and thong sandals, which sported matching flowers and kitten heels.

Macon Hardy enjoys fashion, but don't call this business development representative for ETI Professionals Inc. trendy. "Having timeless pieces and looking put-together is important to me. I don't like clothes that will be out of style next season. If you think you're going to look silly in it next year, then don't buy it," says the 23-year-old Federal Hill resident. When we "glimpsed" Hardy at Cinghiale in Inner Harbor East, she looked every one of her "5 feet 9 inches and some change" in her "conservative and classy" style.

Some clothes act like a magnet for stains. No matter how careful you are, you end up wearing breakfast, lunch and dinner.As clothing and dry-cleaning costs climb, it may pay to tackle some of those spots yourself. Here's how.Your first guide in clothing maintenance is the garment's care label. It tells you if the fabric is safe to wash.When the label reads "Dry Clean Only," you probably should do just that. A garment made of a washable fabric might have a dry-clean label because washing could ruin the embellishment, the lining or cause the color to bleed.