Stripes

A man's got to move to shed the tightness of winter cabin fever. A punch of strong color and high-performance design can pump up the energy in a spring fashion season that is otherwise marked by neutral colors and loose, relaxed cuts. Top designers are working the gyms for inspiration and are copycatting the look of track warm-ups, team jerseys and racing stripes. These are not the shiny, vanity-fashion-plate models of the health club '80s, but clothes born out of a competitive spirit.Designer label or sport-shop logo, it's a new way to play the fashion game.

Spring is finally here in Baltimore, and local boutiques are filled to the brim with new clothing for this season. But when picking out new go-to pieces, it's easy to get lost in a sea of mint green, bold stripes and sequins. To get you started, we asked boutique owners about their top picks for spring — and the fashion dos and don'ts that everyone should know about. Lisa Ponzoli, owner of Babe 1716 Aliceanna St., Fells Point 410-244-5114; babeaboutique.com Favorite spring trends: "Sheer fabrics, easy bodies, florals, stripes, layering, skirts and the high-low hem are really strong.

Dan Rodricks ' column "Nobody asked me, but . . . " (Nov. 12) is dead on, at least about the Owings Mills Mall. I agree that the mall doesn't need to be redeveloped and that, as Mr. Rodricks says, "the whole thing was a big mistake" from the start. I remember when the site was zoned as a watershed and wetlands area. But then it was rezoned to permit the mall's construction, and eventually came housing, roads, grocery stores, fast food chains and gas stations. Is it possible that a pro-jobs, pro-business guy like me could agree with a liberal, anti-business, anti-capitalist journalist like Mr. Rodricks?

Six people have been charged since the start of this month with illegally catching striped bass in federal waters more than three miles off the coast of Ocean City , according to the Maryland Natural Resources Police. Police said the recreational fishers had caught the fish, all more than 28 inches in length, in what is known as the Exclusive Economic Zone - a designated area of waters between 3 and 200 miles off the United States coastline where the federal government holds jurisdiction.

Editor's note: Camilla Cream loved lima beans. But she never ate them. All of her friends hated lima beans, and she wanted to fit in. Camilla was always worried about what other people thought of her.Today she was fretting even more than usual. It was the first day of school, and she couldn't decide what to wear. There were so many people to impress! She tried on forty-two outfits, but none seemed quite right. She put on a pretty red dress and looked in the mirror. Then she screamed.Her mother ran into the room, and she screamed, too. "Oh my heavens!"

I have a rack full of polka-dot ties. It has become something of a joke in my office. But I don't like striped ties; I have a scar and I think they accent it. Other than dull, one-color ties, in what direction can I go?You can choose from a whole range of patterns. And in 1992, neckties have changed so much that your choice is wider than ever before.For years I stressed in my lectures that a businessman should not own a tie that didn't have a "name," such as a solid, a foulard, a polka-dot, a stripe, a club, a paisley, even a plaid.

I've had a crush on one of my associates at work for years. He's a hunk. We're going to a conference in Puerto Rico this spring, and it could be the big moment for us. Now for the reality:He loves the beach. I'm thick-waisted and big-busted, and I need some help in the bathing suit department.What type of swimsuit should I look for?"A one-piece with tummy control." That's the first advice I got from Miriam Ruzow of Gottex of Israel.She adds:"Try on suits with stripes. Stripes can work wonders in hiding figure faults.

When I was in my early 20s I had a black-and-white pantsuit that I just loved. Then I married, had two children and put on weight. Now after six months of dieting I am back to my original 130 pounds. As a reward I want to get myself another striped pantsuit. But every time I try one on my husband says I look like a jailbird. Should I give up?Of course not. A striped pantsuit is young, dashing and always looks modern. That's why so many designers like stripes and keep using them in different width and color combinations.

THE WAVE of patriotism lifting the country to a height unseen since the 1940s has American consumers turning to the flag as brand - the chosen symbol and badge of honor. Americans have wrapped themselves in it, as if it were a red-white-and-blue blanket. Taken it out of the attic trunk where it was kept folded, suppressed deep down under their worn 1970s Earth shoes. There it rested, buried ever since Abbie Hoffman wore it as a sign of rebellion on his sleeve. Hidden, the flag lost its brand appeal.

June 14 is Flag Day, the day in 1777 on which the Continental Congress adopted the first stars and stripes as the official flag for the new nation.The flag as we know it today came into official being by an act of the 15th Congress in 1818.Aside from knowing that the 50 stars represent 50 states, not many of us realize that each of the segments of the flag has special meaning in heraldry.The red denotes hardiness and valor. The red means the suffering at Valley Forge. The courage of those daring pioneers who braved harsh winters and blazing summers as well as hostile Indians to cross vast mountain ranges to settle and open the West for future Americans.

The number of young striped bass in the Chesapeake Bay fell to a record low this year, a drastic decline from a near-record high the year before, state officials reported Tuesday. State biologists checking Maryland's part of the bay found the fewest newly spawned striped bass that they've tallied in any year since annual surveys for the fish began 59 years ago, the Department of Natural Resources reported. Maryland's state fish, also known as rockfish, is closely monitored because it supports a multimillion-dollar recreational and commercial fishing industry that employs thousands.

Anne Keane, Fashion Director at Lucky magazine, took a few moments to dish with us about the top trends she saw at Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week. Q: What are the biggest trends you saw on the runways? A: So far I love the playful stripes at Marc Jacobs and Michael Kors. It's a little bit '60s with a fresh spin. Q: How do you recreate these trends at home? A: Pay attention to shapes and accessories. A boxy bag and sharp pointy flats were fun compliments to Marc Jacobs' striped looks.

Most of the time, I don't see a lot of commercials -- usually I'm watching after the fact on my DVR and skipping over them or watching instant streaming. But since I've been a little bit obsessed with the Olympics, I've seen far more ads than usual. And one of them is making me a little crazy. The ad for "Stars Earn Stripes" claims that celebrities will face "the same challenges as our Armed Forces. " Oh, really? Insurgents going to be shooting or lobbing bombs at them? Improvised explosive devices possibly planted around every corner?

Richard N. Novotny Sr., former executive director of the Maryland Saltwater Sportfishing Association who also lobbied on behalf of state recreational fishermen, died Sunday of kidney failure at Ivy Hall Geriatric & Rehabilitation Center in Middle River. The longtime Essex resident was 67. "He was highly regarded, and when Rich was in a leadership role, he helped form a strong relationship between [the Department of Natural Resources] and the Maryland Saltwater Sportfishing Association.

There's a new champion in Baltimore. Not a sports team, a tree. Tucked amid a clump of loblolly pines in Druid Hill Park stands Maryland's largest striped maple. Acer pensylvanicum , as scientists know it, looks striking in winter, when its bare branches show off its greenish bark painted with orange and gray stripes. It isn't particularly big, as trees go. It's an understory tree, like a dogwood. This one stands 47 feet high, with a trunk that measures 21/3 feet around.

A year after the rockfish season was cut short because recreational and commercial fishermen were charged with poaching with illegally tied-down gill nets, a bill proposing the ban of all gill nets in Maryland waterways will be considered by the General Assembly. Sponsored by the Maryland Saltwater Sportfishing Association and state Sen. Kathy Klausmeier, a Baltimore County Democrat, Senate Bill 1032 calls for the ban of gill nets whether they are weighted down or not. Gill nets are legal, but it has been illegal to hold the nets down with weights since 1985.

AUCKLAND, New Zealand -- The first America's Cup showdown between Young America and Stars and Stripes began as a slow-motion duel on New Zealand's Harauki Gulf yesterday.As the breeze freshened, skipper Ken Read sailed Stars and Stripes over the finish line first.In the only other race of the day, San Francisco's America True beat Young Australia in the race for the Louis Vuitton Cup and a shot at challenging Team New Zealand, the America's Cup defender.Yesterday was the first time Stars and Stripes had raced since the weekend, when the yacht's running backstays pulled the aft bulkhead out of the boat.

AUCKLAND, New Zealand -- Skipper Ken Read and his Stars and Stripes team have won a 48-hour reprieve from America's Cup preliminary racing in New Zealand while they try to repair their disabled boat.Stars and Stripes was crippled Saturday when the aft deck peeled away from the hull.The team was to race today against Young America, the New York Yacht Club representing Newport, R.I.The race committee's decision means that the race with Young America will be postponed, as will tomorrow's scheduled race against France's Le Defi BTT.The Louis Vuitton committee expects Stars and Stripes to be ready to race tomorrow.

Officers have returned to the scene of the crime, where last year they pulled up miles of illegal nets filled with 12.6 tons of striped bass from the frigid waters off Kent Island. This year they are armed with new weapons: side-scan sonar to detect underwater nets, new laws passed by the General Assembly that expand their authority and public sentiment that has demanded a halt to poaching of the state's signature fish. "It was just a few bad apples, but they almost ruined it for everyone," said Natural Resources Police Cpl. Roy Rafter as he prepared to board a waterman's boat Wednesday near a spot known as Bloody Point.

Mike Dodson will be following a family tradition when he enlists next month in the U.S. Navy. His grandfather, James Dodson, served in the Navy during World War II. His uncle, James Jr., was on a Navy ship that was part of the blockade during the Cuban Missile Crisis. Last weekend, Dodson and his father, Steve, carried on another tradition - fishing together in the Maryland Saltwater Sportfishermen's Association's Chesapeake Bay Fall Classic. Steve Dodson, 52, figured it would be the last time they fished in a tournament together before his 21-year-old son left to pursue a military career.