Trousers

Q. Where do the suspender buttons go on pants -- on the outside or inside? Also, I'm not sure whether to keep the belt loops on or have them removed?A. In my opinion it looks better to prepare your trousers for one or the other. Either remove the belt loops and use braces (suspenders), or use the loops for a belt.Some men wear their braces buttoned on the outside of the trousers, but they look best with the buttons sewn inside the waistband, where they do not show. (Buttons that show seem indiscreet, like exposing one's underwear.

An article in the Sept. 14, 1961 edition of the Herald Argus and Baltimore Countian reported on a startling discovery made at a Catonsville dry cleaners. The finding of a .38 cal. copper coated lead bullet touched off quite a lot of excitement in this area last Thursday. It all started when Anthony Crisaufille, who operates a cleaning establishment in the 6300 block Baltimore National Pike, came across the bullet wrapped in a napkin in one of the seven pairs of pants that someone had sent to be cleaned.

Q You often mention cuffs on trousers. You must favor the look. Aren't cuffs old-fashioned, if not actually dated?A: Some styles have an aristocratic air. Cuffs on trousers fit this category. They give a fine-finished, polished look to a suit. Men who pay attention to the details of dress invariably have their suits cuffed. Odd trousers, not part of a suit, also benefit from this well-tailored finishing touch.The abrupt end of a plain hem on pants seems to suggest a hurried bit of casual tailoring.

I come to London for the signage ("Danger: Men working overhead"), and to pick up a tube of Euthymol toothpaste and devour a cup of Mr. Whippy lemon ice and a package of chocolate HobNobs, and to enjoy the roomy taxicabs and the cabbies' no-hesitation style of driving, their bold U-turns, and to observe the gilded gates and the Mounted Guards and all the storybook tinges of aristocracy so dear to us Americans. And terrific theater. Saw a beautiful performance by puppets - life-sized horses in War Horse at the National Theatre - shells of horses with visible frames and legs of two puppeteers inside, another manipulating the head, yet the sight of the beasts grazing, nuzzling, shying, rearing up was the most perfect and believable thing I've seen onstage in a long time.

Lace isn't just for nighties anymore. Young designers are giving their spring collections a generous frosting of the old-fashioned and romantic fabrication. Lace shows up in miniskirts, trousers, sportswear and garden-party dresses. What a pretty picture.

Q: As you said in a recent column, suspenders make trousers hang better. But that's only half of the story.Unlike women, we men don't have much in the way of hips to support our trousers. This is no great problem when wearing tight-fitting jeans or when slim-legged, plain-front pants are the style. But when baggy, pleated-front trousers are the vogue, the slim man has but two choices: cinch his belt good and tight or wear comfortable, practical suspenders.A: You may just have hit upon the reason that so many men wear their belts pulled too tight, resembling a gunny-sack.

NEW YORK -- When Ralph Lauren announced plans for an initial public offering on the morning he showed his fall collection here, the news highlighted the conflict between creativity and commerce that bedevils every artist. Now, the three best-known American designers -- Lauren, Donna Karan and Calvin Klein -- will be represented on the New York Stock Exchange.Even though Klein has yet to go public under his own name, with his logo on everything from underwear to pillowcases he's big business as well.

PARIS -- Hammer pants, samurai pants, genie pants - the kinds of trousers you thought were gone forever were, believe it or not, the centerpiece of the Paris men's shows. After the skinny, cropped, ankle-baring looks in Milan, Italy, the big news out of Paris this week is the return of the voluminous, billowy trouser. While not every designer sent models down the runway in knickers roomy enough to hide a bone-in ham, most offered their own take on the more generous trouser silhouette: high-waisted, baggy at the midriff and tight at the ankle.

QI have a classic bomber jacket that is naturally somewhat beaten up, but still in style. I often have worn it to my office, taking it off when I arrived. My office only requires a tie, not a suit. I just received a promotion and I'm afraid this may no longer be appropriate. What do you think? And if not, what is an appropriate leather jacket?A: Obviously, your office is not one with an executive dress code. It's clear the employees dress more casually. You'll have to check what your peers in your new position are wearing.

"Now, with this darker shade of blue, you'll be able to match the jacket with khaki, tan, or even neutral.""Neutral?"4 "Oh, you don't have a pair of neutral trousers?"I thought neutral was somewhere between reverse and first gear. I never knew they made trousers out of it. And since when are they called trousers? I own pants. Maybe one pair that could be called slacks. But trousers?I was shopping for my first serious clothes for the workplace. As a summer intern in an office setting, I needed to upgrade my wardrobe past the flannel phase.

Add this to the list of dangers facing Baltimore, a city councilwoman says: baggy, saggy pants. Councilwoman Helen L. Holton has introduced a resolution to implore the city's youths to pull up their trousers, becoming the most recent in a string of lawmakers around the country who want to teach the next generation how to dress. Their efforts underscore the discomfort many adults feel about exposed underwear, although opponents think attempts to legislate fashion are a waste of time. Several towns in Louisiana have passed ordinances that carry fines for people exposing their underwear in public.

PARIS -- Hammer pants, samurai pants, genie pants - the kinds of trousers you thought were gone forever were, believe it or not, the centerpiece of the Paris men's shows. After the skinny, cropped, ankle-baring looks in Milan, Italy, the big news out of Paris this week is the return of the voluminous, billowy trouser. While not every designer sent models down the runway in knickers roomy enough to hide a bone-in ham, most offered their own take on the more generous trouser silhouette: high-waisted, baggy at the midriff and tight at the ankle.

Here's the long and the short of it: Long shorts are this summer's most important trend. Yesterday's Bermuda shorts have been updated with new, more tailored styling and fashion-forward fabrics to become today's trouser shorts, the knee-length style also known as walking or city shorts. Stores and boutiques have been filled with them this summer. "They are one of the hottest sellers this season," says Karen Ciurca-Weiner, merchandise manager at Vassari in Pikesville. Walking shorts are the only style that the upscale boutique carries.

This is the tale of two short-sleeved dress shirts.One uncompromising, one generous.One Euro and one consummately American.One moody, one good-natured.One with short, fitted sleeves; one with boxy, expansive sleeves.One made for plain-front trousers, one for pleated trousers.Which shirt do you favor for a Baltimore spring and summer?The answer may depend on how well you know your way around a Nautilus.Either way, this season's shirt expedition is bound to yield a bounty of scrumptious colors, luxurious natural fibers and accessory musts.

NEW YORK -- When Ralph Lauren announced plans for an initial public offering on the morning he showed his fall collection here, the news highlighted the conflict between creativity and commerce that bedevils every artist. Now, the three best-known American designers -- Lauren, Donna Karan and Calvin Klein -- will be represented on the New York Stock Exchange.Even though Klein has yet to go public under his own name, with his logo on everything from underwear to pillowcases he's big business as well.

The other day I had an out-of-time experience. All I did was try on a pair of jeans at the Gap in Towson Town Center -- but when I looked in the mirror, it was my '70s self staring back out at me.The cause was the cut. I had been there, done that cut of pants: the waist below the natural waist, the butt and thighs tight, and the legs flaring slightly a little below the knees. It was the cut for pants about 25 years ago, and it's the cut for pants now.It looked good on me, but I wasn't sure it looked right -- they're not always the same thing.

NEW YORK -- Folded gracefully behind a table in her East Side office, Carolyn Roehm looks serene and demure in gray flannel trousers and a pink cashmere sweater that complements her ivory skin and dark brown hair.It's not the stiffly coiffed, bejeweled Ms. Roehm once featured in fashion magazines that rhapsodized about the glamorous designer/socialite whose let-them-eat-cake lifestyle came to epitomize the unembarrassed extravagance of the '80s.The image you expect is of a very expensive bottle of champagne; what you get is more like warm camomile tea in a fragile china cup."

I never have a problem putting myself together for work. The suit, shirt, and tie formulas I have down pat, and I would say I'm considered well-dressed by my colleagues. But when it comes to the weekend, there are too many options. I guess this is the problem women face every day. What do I need to do differently for casual clothes?A: Color is your big option. Use it. Revel in it. It is fun. It is flattering. And it costs nothing. You can make a totally different impact wearing a luxurious pure white sweater or bright yellow jacket instead of the old safe standby, a navy top, over a pair of khaki pants.

Lace isn't just for nighties anymore. Young designers are giving their spring collections a generous frosting of the old-fashioned and romantic fabrication. Lace shows up in miniskirts, trousers, sportswear and garden-party dresses. What a pretty picture.

"Now, with this darker shade of blue, you'll be able to match the jacket with khaki, tan, or even neutral.""Neutral?"4 "Oh, you don't have a pair of neutral trousers?"I thought neutral was somewhere between reverse and first gear. I never knew they made trousers out of it. And since when are they called trousers? I own pants. Maybe one pair that could be called slacks. But trousers?I was shopping for my first serious clothes for the workplace. As a summer intern in an office setting, I needed to upgrade my wardrobe past the flannel phase.