Thu, Dec 08, 2005 - Page 13 News List

Old-school's the new rule

The return of old-school aesthetics, going back to the mid-1960s, means parents and kids will be wearing the same this year

By Ruth La Ferla  /  NY TIMES NEWS SERVICE , NEW YORK

Others turn to eBay, which reports a recent run on vintage pieces like hardware-embellished hipster belts, motor-cycle jackets, leather wristbands, old concert T-shirts and Nike sneakers customized with a portrait of Bob Marley.

Last month Cherry, a boutique in Greenwich Village and Los Angeles that sells vintage rock clothing to the fashion set, opened an outlet at the Virgin Megastores in Times Square and in Los Angeles, an indication that the music emporium, which sells new band T-shirts and accessories to teenagers and young adults, has made a commitment to the old-time style.

Ed Baker, a student from England, strolled inside Virgin's Cherry shop in Times Square on Tuesday and gazed longingly at an olive drab field jacket, an artifact from his father's time. "My dad was a Mod back in the day," Baker, 23, said. "He rode scooters and stuff, and he was fond of the Beatles, the Stones and the Who."

That his father might have worn one of the styles on display "is definitely part of the appeal for me," he said.

Shoppers partial to more lacquered rock interpretations can wait until early next year, when spring fashions from houses like Comme des Garcons, Undercover, Balenciaga and Dior Homme begin trickling into stores. In her men's show in February, Rei Kawakubo, the Comme des Garcons designer, introduced a procession of suits and shirts gaudily done up with the Stones' famous lips-and-tongue logo.

Undercover, an influential women's line by Jun Takahashi, includes playful riffs on the concert T-shirt, sliced up and reassembled as A-line dresses, tunics and hip-wrapped skirts.

Rock's stylistic revival comes at a time when the signature music of the 1960s and 1970s reverberates in the popular consciousness by way of made-for-TV movies and books, the latest including "The Autobiography of Donovan: The Hurdy Gurdy Man," out this week from St. Martin's Press.

Boomers with families in tow have packed a recent run of concerts, including the Stones, who performed in New York City in September, and Cream, who reunited for a three-night blockbuster at Madison Square Garden in October.

It was only a matter of time before the wholesale commercialization of classic rock would find a new outlet in fashion.

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