Skirt

Catsuits cause comments.Sometimes they're compliments. More often they're catcalls derisive references to thunder thighs, hippo hips and the urgent need for liposuction. Meow, meow. (Could this be why they're called catsuits?)The fact of the matter is, unless a woman is shaped like Cher, a clingy, one-piece catsuit is not the kindest cut of all.So why did so many designers include catsuits (a.k.a. bodysuits or unitards) in their fall collections? And why are so many stores stocking them?Of course, designers fit their creations on models, lithe, leggy women who look sensational in sleek, second-skin garments.

“Let's try that one first,” I said, pointing to the craziest wedding gown the saleswoman had selected for me. It was tight through the hips, with geometric ribbon designs that started on the bodice and trailed down through the choppy tulle skirt. It was an avant-garde kind of wedding dress you might wear if your reception was at Sidebar in Downtown Baltimore or the Renaissance Festival - a little punk, a little medieval. It wasn't remotely my style, but I wanted the first dress I tried on to be memorable and this certainly fit the bill.

The good news: He finally called! The bad news: He wants to go out tonight! Of course, you'd clear your schedule for this guy even if it was your dear ol' granny's 100th birthday - there's always next year, right? - but there's a problem: He's given you no time to find something to wear. Last-minute date shopping. It's every stylish woman's worst nightmare. For a job interview, you'd simply buy a new suit. For a wedding, a pretty dress. But when shopping for a first date, you have to find just the right outfit to give off just the right impression - whatever you want that impression to be. There are a few rules, after all, for a great first-date outfit: It has to be appealing enough to make him physically attracted, but not so sexy that he forgets to make eye contact at dinner.

"Cheat, cheat, never beat. " Remember that catchy, foreboding maxim drilled into us as kids? It's comforting to believe cheaters never win and winners never cheat. Unfortunately, there's ample evidence that cheating is rampant in almost every sphere of American life. And for every reported story of cheaters getting busted - be they professional athletes who use banned substances or those who illegally manipulate markets for profit - you can bet there's at least one case of somebody who escaped detection.

Normally, I have nothing to say on fashion news. Normally, however, people of my gender are not wearing skirts.So now I must speak up. I've known it was my duty since I read the news in the paper yesterday.Yes, men are apparently going around in public in skirts. Seriously. In other words, we're talking Al Gore in a poodle.Put your imagination to work on this one. Cal Ripken in a sarong. Sly Stallone in a nice little pleated thing, and maybe some saddle shoes. That is the latest fashion news.

Q: I am only 5 feet 4 inches tall, but I love strictly tailored clothes. Apart from being short, my problem is my hips. They are certainly a lot wider than they should be.Can you suggest a fall outfit that will show off my slim legs but help to disguise my hips?A: I turned to New York designer Michael Kors for an answer. He does sportswear -- separates that you can buy in different sizes to help solve figure problems and still get a coordinated, tailored look.He suggested buying a narrow coat with a matching skirt.

Fashion is not always frivolous -- one of the newest trends right now is the practical and economical pantsuit.Yes, the pantsuit, that fashion staple of the '70s, is back.It's been gaining prominence over the last few months and promises to be even more widespread in the spring.While pantsuits certainly do keep one warm during the winter and add diversity to the wardrobe, much of their appeal right now lies in their novelty, says Laurie Salladin, buyer for the Charles Street store Femme."They give the fashion forward a chance to try something new," )

Maryland individual and corporate donors gave $4.8 million in the past three years to a type of "soft money" political committee that critics say can be used to legally skirt state and federal campaign finance restrictions, a new study shows. The analysis by the Center for Public Integrity in Washington examined political committees similar to the one that Maryland Senate President Thomas V. Mike Miller heads to raise money for Democratic candidates running for state offices around the country.

There's no crying in baseball, but apparently there is cross-dressing in golf ... and it can be quite profitable. Former University of Maryland golf coach Fred Funk donned a flowered skirt for the third hole of the Skins Game on Saturday and undressed his three opponents on the way to a record-setting, $925,000 victory yesterday at the Trilogy Golf Club in La Quinta, Calif. He credited the strange wager he made with LPGA superstar Annika Sorenstam with keeping him relaxed enough to become the biggest single-event money-winner under the current Skins format.

When Capt. Barbara Hopkins became the Annapolis Police Department's first woman officer in 1973, her superiors handed her a skirt to wear on patrol and a pocketbook in which to carry her gun. "It was a purse for woman police officers with a compartment for a gun and a clip to hold handcuffs," said Hopkins, 58. "I never carried it. I asked for a belt like all the other officers." Hopkins, who retired last week after 35 years with the police, said that she never intended to make a feminist statement by becoming the department's first female officer.

Under the plush leather exterior of Uber Technologies Inc. beats the heart of a rebel. The app-driven startup, which began operations in Baltimore at the end of January, hopes to attract upscale customers who don't mind paying extra - a lot extra - for the luxury of hiring a town car by smartphone to take them where they want to go. "All we're doing is helping people find a classy ride easily," said Rachel Holt, general manager of Uber's local...

When the water heater went out at his Pasadena home, Steven Stafford called his home warranty company, which sent a plumber from All State Plumbing, Heating & Cooling to replace it. Stafford paid the plumber $175 in cash to obtain a permit. When the plumber asked for more money, Stafford began to sense something was amiss. "I couldn't understand what their deal was," Stafford said. "They were charging you all these extra things on top of what they were supposed to do. The next thing I knew, I was paying more for their services than the actual water heater cost.

Federal Hill resident Sean O'Connor wants to fact-check the automated speed camera ticket that he got in Baltimore County. But he can't. "It is not precise enough," said O'Connor, 27, who got the ticket in September alleging he was traveling 47 mph on Goucher Boulevard in Towson. "I would love a more accurate and reliable method of knowing that this ticket is valid, rather than just trusting the computerized radar gun that's been sitting there. " Unlike Baltimore City, whose speed camera system supplies motorists with two precise, time-stamped photos as evidence that they were violating the law, Baltimore County, Howard County and the State Highway Administration give motorists pictures with times rounded off to the second, proving only that the vehicle drove past the camera, a Baltimore Sun review has found.

A conservation group is warning that many of Maryland's counties are skirting a new state law requiring them to rein in development of rural lands. 1000 Friends of Maryland says that more than a third of the state's 23 counties have done little or nothing so far to comply with the Sustainable Growth and Agricultural Preservation Act of 2012 , which aims to restrict new housing on septic systems in rural areas. "What we have are eight counties that are in the red zone," says Dru Schmidt-Perkins, the Friends executive director.

Your recent article about corporate contributions to candidates is worth reading ("O'Malley weighs donor changes," April 30). However, the practice of big business being involved behind the scenes is not new. Companies with employees having expense accounts in the past have "suggested" they send personal checks for themselves and wife and carry the amount on their expense accounts showing entertainment (dinner) with clients or customers. If employees were limited by budget restrictions in the amount that could be submitted on the expense account, it was waived to accommodate the "contribution.

Fall is a get-cozy season full of nostalgia and homey memories. We anticipate the newness of what Seventh Avenue will preview, yet we find security in a certain amount of predictability. Uncluttered is a word that captures the mood of many designers' new lines. Classically man-tailored looks are expected on the menu of this season's offerings. Think Faye Dunaway (you young ones can look that up) and you understand the classic elegance we have come to love in fall. These latest trends provide a winning combination of new twists with enough warm and fuzzies to satisfy designers and consumers alike.

MOVE OVER, AMELIA Bedelia -- Westminster Baptist Church members recently took wordplay to new heights during their annual Mother Daughter Banquet.Using a pun-filled script created by church member Donna Gault, several women and men participated in a fashion show that would make Amelia Bedelia author Peggy Parish proud.With bouncy music in the background and Gault narrating, Terri McMichael was the first to step up on the platform, wearing a potato sack dress."Note Terri's necklace," Gault narrated.

How does designer Michael Kors see spring? Well, it's either ladylike and demure or sexy and '80s. On the one hand, Kors showed a sleek navy matte jersey two-piece dress brightened with a white collar and belt (about $950 at Neiman Marcus online) and a crisp white skirt paired with a silver shell for warm weather. The look is classic, cool and always understated. Or one can take a trip back to the '80s with his low-cut, lace-up black halter swimsuit ($295) or his strapless ecru and cinnamon mini-dress.

One of the most curious things in the whole Allen Dyer/school board controversy is how quickly people, usually Democrats, are so willing to allow others, in this case, the school board, curiously also Democrats, to circumvent the will and/or voice of the people and attempt to remove their — the people's — duly elected representative. In this case, perhaps Dyer has made himself a thorn in the side of the rest of the board members. Perhaps even Dyer is a disagreeable character.

Alright, I've been hoping for the death of the maxi dress for quite some time, so I was a little shocked to see its cousin will be joining it this spring. Enter, the maxi skirt. So, my main issues are: I'm short, and well, I kind of like short skirts too. I kind of like showing off my legs. I said it. I also don't get the point of a wearing a big drapey cloth on a spring day. Maybe I can be convinced. I ask you, dear readers, what do you think of the maxi skirt?