Seersucker

Perhaps it's just a coincidence, but we must hark back to the Depression to find a time when the seersucker suit received as much northern exposure as it does today. Return with us now to those uproarious days of yesteryear: Prices stayed low, but unemployment ran high. It was all the average man could do to keep his chin up and his good suit pressed while the economy crashed all around him. Some 60 years ago, pretentious Ivy Leaguers and New England country-clubbers were just about the only men who dared to flaunt suits made of seersucker -- the puckered cotton fabric that looks slightly unkempt no matter how much it's pressed.

Planit's public relations account executive Caitlin Mills describes her style as "relaxed, professional; more classic with a touch of trendy. So, I get one or two pieces that are in season and make it work with clothes I already have." When we glimpsed the 26-year-old Canton resident at work, she lived up to her own description in a pomegranate cotton seersucker A-line dress — with pockets! — by J. Crew. She'd added a wide brown leather and elastic belt from Urban Outfitters, some brown leather Nine West gladiator platform heels, and a tortoiseshell and stainless-steel Geneva bracelet-watch she'd found at a boutique in Bel Air. Mills may like a slightly classic feel, but it's also got to have a bit of a punch.

Sen. John C. Astle wore banana-colored slacks to a recent voting session, and lobbyist David Carroll has worked the State House hall in Nantucket Red trousers. But it was the Maryland House of Delegates and the Seersucker Six who won the premature preppiness award on the last day of the 2009 session. Dels. John A. "Johnny O" Olszewski Jr., Craig L. Rice, Shawn Z. Tarrant, Jay Walker, Nathaniel T. Oaks and State Trooper Stanley Slide all showed up to represent their constituents in seersucker suits, braving the mockery of their colleagues and the raised eyebrows of fashion scolds who don't abide thin, dimpled, striped cotton before Memorial Day. "These people have no sense of class," said Del. Justin D. Ross, though his mock scorn might have been sour grapes at not being invited into the Boys of Summer clique.

Although hats are typically more popular at the Kentucky Derby, they made a major comeback at the Preakness this year. Large, extravagant bonnets with feathers, flowers and fanciful embellishments were everywhere. If you didn't arrive with one this year, you had the option of leaving with one — thanks to a first-time-ever Hats In the Belfry booth in the center of the Corporate Village. "The week before Preakness is bigger than Christmas for us," said Ryan Seth, 37, co-owner of Hats In the Belfry.

Q I have no problem putting together outfits for work. But which casual clothes look best on me are another story. Any ideas?A: I'm going to risk my credibility by advising a notion that is foreign to men: Try on various different combinations in your wardrobe to decide which ones look best.Typically, removing a wrong-choice necktie and substituting an other one is as close to this concept as any man has ever ventured. But, spending half an hour in the privacy of your bedroom in front of a brutally honest mirror (full length!

As spring days turn balmy, dress codes relax and the line between business attire and casual wear becomes less rigidly defined. Dressing down can be as easy as shedding tie and socks, because the newest jackets wear as comfortably as a favorite shirt. The coolest way to go is with layers of light, natural fabrics -- such as seersucker -- that can change with a mood or unpredictable temperatures. Could anything be easier?

Sheerly for funEvery time the temperature soars, a new look seems to emerge as a favorite for city street wear. This time, it's transparency.The newest look is a tent tunic made of organzalike fabric in a small, flower-print pattern. Usually this is worn over a tank top and stretch biker shorts.When this is accessorized with a small back pack and running shoes or ballet slippers, it's fun, funky and best pulled off by those in their teens and 20s.Seersucker, that summer fabric with the pucker of fresh lemonade, is even fresher this season.

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.

Planit's public relations account executive Caitlin Mills describes her style as "relaxed, professional; more classic with a touch of trendy. So, I get one or two pieces that are in season and make it work with clothes I already have." When we glimpsed the 26-year-old Canton resident at work, she lived up to her own description in a pomegranate cotton seersucker A-line dress — with pockets! — by J. Crew. She'd added a wide brown leather and elastic belt from Urban Outfitters, some brown leather Nine West gladiator platform heels, and a tortoiseshell and stainless-steel Geneva bracelet-watch she'd found at a boutique in Bel Air. Mills may like a slightly classic feel, but it's also got to have a bit of a punch.

Although hats are typically more popular at the Kentucky Derby, they made a major comeback at the Preakness this year. Large, extravagant bonnets with feathers, flowers and fanciful embellishments were everywhere. If you didn't arrive with one this year, you had the option of leaving with one — thanks to a first-time-ever Hats In the Belfry booth in the center of the Corporate Village. "The week before Preakness is bigger than Christmas for us," said Ryan Seth, 37, co-owner of Hats In the Belfry.

Sen. John C. Astle wore banana-colored slacks to a recent voting session, and lobbyist David Carroll has worked the State House hall in Nantucket Red trousers. But it was the Maryland House of Delegates and the Seersucker Six who won the premature preppiness award on the last day of the 2009 session. Dels. John A. "Johnny O" Olszewski Jr., Craig L. Rice, Shawn Z. Tarrant, Jay Walker, Nathaniel T. Oaks and State Trooper Stanley Slide all showed up to represent their constituents in seersucker suits, braving the mockery of their colleagues and the raised eyebrows of fashion scolds who don't abide thin, dimpled, striped cotton before Memorial Day. "These people have no sense of class," said Del. Justin D. Ross, though his mock scorn might have been sour grapes at not being invited into the Boys of Summer clique.

It's a simple, cheerful life, but with occasional grim complications that one simply ignores, such as mortality or the '70s or the demise of the downtown department store. I love my downtown store, a block from the old stone courthouse where Alvin "Creepy" Karpis of the Ma Barker gang was tried for kidnapping in 1936, near a fine old popcorn shop, just down the street from a haberdashery where the other day I got fitted for a seersucker suit and was shown how to tie a bow tie. A great mystery suddenly made clear.

PAUL MARK Sandler is 2,500 miles from home in a place they call Lala Land, but he is very much in his element. The Baltimore lawyer is representing David Rosen, the national finance director for Hillary Rodham Clinton's 2000 U.S. Senate campaign, in a trial in Los Angeles that has taken on a circus-like atmosphere. Witnesses have included comic book czar Stan Lee, creator of Spider-Man and The Hulk; Harold Ickes, former deputy chief of staff of the Clinton White House; Gary Smith, producer of the Emmy Awards; and Sen. Edward M. Kennedy's brother-in-law, Raymond Reggie.

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.

Flowers are old hat. To be sure, there were plenty of spring blooms at yesterday's festive fair around the Washington Monument, the 84th Flower Mart since 1911. But it was the hats that stopped traffic. Heads turned at some of the arresting creations perched on the heads of women, some of whom designed their own for the chance to parade a hat in public without standing out in a crowd. Hundreds turned out in picture-perfect weather for spring's annual rite, including a contingent of 15 women from the Charlestown Retirement Village in Catonsville, who joined in the hat spirit.

As spring days turn balmy, dress codes relax and the line between business attire and casual wear becomes less rigidly defined. Dressing down can be as easy as shedding tie and socks, because the newest jackets wear as comfortably as a favorite shirt. The coolest way to go is with layers of light, natural fabrics -- such as seersucker -- that can change with a mood or unpredictable temperatures. Could anything be easier?

Flowers are old hat. To be sure, there were plenty of spring blooms at yesterday's festive fair around the Washington Monument, the 84th Flower Mart since 1911. But it was the hats that stopped traffic. Heads turned at some of the arresting creations perched on the heads of women, some of whom designed their own for the chance to parade a hat in public without standing out in a crowd. Hundreds turned out in picture-perfect weather for spring's annual rite, including a contingent of 15 women from the Charlestown Retirement Village in Catonsville, who joined in the hat spirit.

It's a simple, cheerful life, but with occasional grim complications that one simply ignores, such as mortality or the '70s or the demise of the downtown department store. I love my downtown store, a block from the old stone courthouse where Alvin "Creepy" Karpis of the Ma Barker gang was tried for kidnapping in 1936, near a fine old popcorn shop, just down the street from a haberdashery where the other day I got fitted for a seersucker suit and was shown how to tie a bow tie. A great mystery suddenly made clear.

Perhaps it's just a coincidence, but we must hark back to the Depression to find a time when the seersucker suit received as much northern exposure as it does today. Return with us now to those uproarious days of yesteryear: Prices stayed low, but unemployment ran high. It was all the average man could do to keep his chin up and his good suit pressed while the economy crashed all around him. Some 60 years ago, pretentious Ivy Leaguers and New England country-clubbers were just about the only men who dared to flaunt suits made of seersucker -- the puckered cotton fabric that looks slightly unkempt no matter how much it's pressed.

Q I have no problem putting together outfits for work. But which casual clothes look best on me are another story. Any ideas?A: I'm going to risk my credibility by advising a notion that is foreign to men: Try on various different combinations in your wardrobe to decide which ones look best.Typically, removing a wrong-choice necktie and substituting an other one is as close to this concept as any man has ever ventured. But, spending half an hour in the privacy of your bedroom in front of a brutally honest mirror (full length!