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+THE NEWS& OBSERVER

aDThursdayMay 22, 2014

A

Life, etc.newsobserver.com/life

Fashion Q&AWhat to wear to a summer wedding. 2D

Take a walk through the throngs of tailga-

ters at Carter-Finley Stadium, along the

lawns of UNC’s frat court or at just

about any wedding or garden party in

these parts and you’re bound to see

them: “go to hell” pants.

The brightly-colored slacks – in vivid hues rang-

ing from Wolfpack red to lime green – give men a

more refined means of saying “go to hell” to the

fashion mores that restrict them to boring pants in

neutral shades. GTH pants inject a pop of color into

men’s wardrobes, and in the South, they’re becom-

ing more popular than ever.

“I think the South has always embraced fashion in

a slightly different way, and bright colored pants are

no exception,” says Barton Strawn, creative director

and founder of Raleigh-based Lumina Clothing.

Origins of GTH

While Southern men havecertainly been wearingbright colors along withtheir de rigueur seersuckerfor generations, the term“go to hell pants” wasn’tcoined until the 1970s,when writer Tom Wolfeused the phrase in an Es-quire article to describethe attire of Boston prep-pies on Martha’s Vineyard.

“The trend really estab-lished itself in the IvyLeague community withcolors that were just aslight jump from navy orgrey,” says Strawn. “Withthe fraternity scene in theSouth building off of this, itmakes sense that the trendwould grow down here andestablish itself in a differentway. The fact that it gets sohot here, and guys are look-ing for lighter weight pantsto wear, also builds into thebright colors, which for somereason seem to go together.”

The trend may have origi-nally gotten its start in theNortheast, but it hit its strideonce it traveled below theMason-Dixon line.

“We think the popularity inthe South can be partly attri-buted to weather, and also toa slightly more playful atti-tude when it comes to dress-ing,” says Ian Murray, co-founder and CEO of Vine-yard Vines, a preppy retaileropening a store in Raleigh’sNorth Hills this June. “Thatbeing said, we love to sportcolorful pants throughoutthe summer on Martha’sVineyard, and we see the lookin the Northeast a lot, too.”

The GTH statement

For those who wear them,the pants are about morethan just fashion. They makea statement about the wear-er, and his attitude about life.

“We try to not take our-selves too seriously, and Ithink anyone sporting color-ful or patterned pants isprobably thinking the same

JULI LEONARD - jleonard@newsobserver.com

Barton Strawn, left, and Paul Connor wear colorful twill pants from their Raleigh shop, Lumina Cloth-ing. “I think the South has always embraced fashion in a slightly different way,” says Strawn.

Bright-pants

rebellionMEN FLOUT TRADITION WITH ‘GO TO HELL’ SLACKS

By Jennifer BringleCorrespondent

‘We try to not take ourselves too seriously, and I think anyone sporting colorful

or patterned pants is probably thinking the same thing.’

SHEP MURRAY, CO-FOUNDER AND CEO OF VINEYARD VINES

- SOUTHERNPROPER.COM

Southern Proper’s“Shucker” pants in lime,$125, are the ultimate inthe “go to hell” genre.

SEE REBELLION, PAGE 2D

NEW YORK It may require a tadmore attention to detail, but withcare just about anybody can wearwhite at just about any time of theday or year.

We asked celebrity stylist RachelZoe to weigh in on white, with aneye toward women not convincedit can be a wardrobe staple.

Q: We all have a Little BlackDress, but can the Little WhiteDress or outfit be just as versatile?

A: Absolutely! I treat white thesame way I treat black, unless I’mwith my children. I would so muchrather see a pop of white. It’s somuch happier. I love it all yearround.

Q: Are some women afraid ofwearing white? Should they be? Isit perceived as too bridal for everyday?

A: I wouldn’t recommend wear-ing a long, white flowy dress to awedding – but on a daily basis, awhite sundress or white denim. Ilove white denim. I love a crisppair of high-waisted white trouserswith a T-shirt or just a button-up.It’s so chic. I love a white suit. Byday it’s not bridal at all.

Q: Is it just as easy to go fromday to evening in white as it is inblack?

A: Yes, absolutely. I think it’s aseasy wearing a white dress in theevening. It’s amazing. I love it witha messy top knot and a bright lip.It’s great.

Q: Can all body types and ageswear white?

A: It certainly goes across all agegroups, so the answer is definitely

yes for that. For body types, there’sno doubt that black is more slim-ming than white, but I don’t thinkyou should shy away from whitebecause of your body type. There’sways to wear it. There’s a lot of var-iables. There’s di f ferent s i l -houettes.

Celebrity stylist sayswhite’s right all yearBy Leanne Italie

Associated Press

ANNIE I. BANG - INVISION/AP

Celebrity stylist Rachel Zoe says white is just as versatile as black– and that it can be worn almost any time of the day or year.

SEE WHITE, PAGE 2D

While most teenagers were get-ting their first taste of workthrough babysitting or flippingburgers, Raleigh teen Aly Silveriowas starting her own company.

In 2008, the 15-year-old buddingentrepreneur decided to make herlove of fashion a means of makingmoney by creating her own jewel-ry using polymer clay and a thrift-store toaster oven. After muchtrial and error, Silverio perfectedher line and started making mon-

ey selling earrings and other bau-bles to her friends and classmates.

And much to her surprise, thatsmall side business ended up lead-ing to something much bigger.

“Three years into making jewel-ry, during my senior year of highschool, I decided to use some ofthe profits to design some graphicT-shirts,” she says. “I was muchmore interested and invested indoing that instead of jewelry. So I

Stylin’ JENNIFER BRINGLE KEEPS UP WITH THE TRIANGLE’SEVOLVING FASHION AND TRENDS

- JAWBREAKING

Aly Silverio’s company, Jawbeaking, focuses on graphic tees andtanks, which are worn by many young celebrities.

Raleigh designer, 21,runs thriving business

SEE STYLIN’, PAGE 2D

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+2D Thursday, May 22, 2014 A The News & ObserverLIFE, ETC.

dropped the jewelry andstarted to build a clothingcompany.”

Now, at 21, Silverio runs

her own clothing company,Jawbreaking (shopjawbreak-ing.com), with help from hermother, Ree. Her graphictees and tanks – emblazonedwith sayings like “Nobody’sBaby” and “Will Work for

Shoes” – have developed afollowing, being worn by aslew of young celebrities, in-cluding members of One Di-rection.

“Everything I design is in-spired by my life,” says Silve-rio. “I pull inspiration fromeverything – from quotes tomovies, music, even insidejokes with my friends. I likemaking my collections per-sonal.”

The shirts are carried in va-rious online boutiques and ina few br ick-and -mortarshops, and Silverio has evenbeen in talks with larger re-tailers, such as Urban Outfit-ters, to carry the line.

Though barely into her20s, Silverio has a thrivingbusiness that she hopes to ex-pand in the years to come.

“I definitely hope to openour own stores and just keepthe company growing to bebigger and better,” she says.“I’ve been doing this since Iwas 15 and now I’m 21, so it’sfun to literally grow up withmy company.”

Bridal trunk shows

m Traditions by Anna bri-dal boutique in Raleigh will

have new gowns from theAlyne by Rivini collection fora trunk show Friday and Sat-urday. The line featuresgowns in silk, satin, crepe, or-ganza and chiffon, pricedfrom $1,600 to $4,000. Toschedule an appointment,call 919-783-8652.m Brides can check out the

latest bridal dresses from JimHjelm’s spring collection dur-ing a trunk show at VictorianRose Bridals in Raleigh Fri-day-Sunday. To reserve ana p p o i n t m e n t , c a l l919-833-1898.

Stylist starts magazine

Local stylist Mary MicheleNidiffer is launching an on-line magazine devoted toeducating women about fash-ion and finding the most flat-tering looks for their bodies.Secrets of Style Magazine(mysosmag.com) goes liveon Tuesday and offers advicetargeted at women ages30-60. The site builds off Ni-differ’s work as a stylist, andincludes content from guestcontributors, as well.

Send Stylin’ tips to

jenniferbringle@gmail.com.

STYLIN’CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1D

Q: How do you figureout which shade of whiteworks best? A: You choose your

white based on skin tone.O p t i c w h i t e i s m u c hbrighter and it sometimeshas a pink undertone or ablue undertone or a grayu n d e r t o n e . B u t t h e nthere’s also creamy whiteand eggshell and winterwhite. Those whites tendto be a bit warmer. I thinkwe don’t get sick of white.It’s not a trendy color. Q: Where do you stand

on wearing white after La-bor Day? It seems manywomen still adhere to thattaboo. A: I go the other way. I

wear white all year. I wearit in the dead of winter, allshades of white. Q: What is your best ad-

vice for wearing white, forwomen who might be in-timidated by the color? A: You have to try. You

have to experiment andsee what works best foryou. It ’s a lways aboutwhat’s your favorite part ofyour body and always ac-centuate that part. Obvi-ously white is much lessforgiving and typicallywhite shows more. Peopleare scared their skin is toopale, you know, white isnot good on their skin, butthere IS a white for every-body.

WHITECONTINUED FROM PAGE 1D

thing,” says Shep Murray, co-founderand CEO of Vineyard Vines. “It’s allabout having a little fun.”

Fun certainly describes some of thenewer takes on GTH pants. Along withthe bright colors, many companies aremaking the pants adorned with every-thing from tiny embroidered animals tofunky patterns like the oyster shell-printed “Shucker” pants from Atlanta-based clothing company SouthernProper.

How and where to GTH

“Go to hell” pants make a bold fashionstatement, and the wearer must be care-ful to pair them with neutral colors andunderstated accessories so as not tolook clownish.

“If you are wearing a bold or bright col-or on the bottom, balance it with a solid,typically white, or simple shirt,” says Em-mie Howard, co-founder of SouthernProper. “Let the pants speak for them-selves. There is also no substitute for clas-sic navy blazer – it pairs with any and ev-ery ‘go to hell’ pant ever made.”

Knowing where to wear the pants isjust as important as knowing how towear them.

“I think the South has decided thatthey need to be versatile, but in myopinion they shouldn’t be worn forquite as much as they are,” says Strawn.“Football games and weddings are al-

ways good opportunities, as well assummer cocktails and beach parties. Ithink that any time you have a more for-mal event, you should think twice about

them, though. I love a splash of color,but it is not always the best idea andcome come off as a little over-eager.”

Though he’s an advocate of restraint,Strawn can still be found wearing themon a regular basis.

“My favorite pair is an original Nantuck-et red pair in Lumina’s first run of pants,”says Strawn. “I wear them some duringthe week, but normally more casually onthe weekends and to summer parties. I amalso an N.C. State grad, so any chance towear red pants is a good one.”

REBELLIONCONTINUED FROM PAGE 1D

JULI LEONARD - jleonard@newsobserver.com

The Lumina Clothing Company sells cotton twill chinos in a variety of brightcolors including these golden yellow pants, $74.

FYI on GTH

m Brooks Brothers’ advice on GTHing:

http://nando.com/g1

m Designer Alan Flusser’s take on GTH:

http://nando.com/g2

m Look at GTH pants on Tumblr:

http://nando.com/g3

Q: How do you discernGod’s will? We have asituation in our churchwhere a significant pur-chase is being considered.The side that wants thepurchase to go through ispraying for God’s will tobe part of their decision-making. The other side,which is questioning thewisdom of this purchase,is also seeking God’s will.

At what point in ourprayer life should we ableto feel that what we’reabout to decide is trulyGod’s will and not merelyour own desires? Will thedecision about the pur-chase ultimately be ahuman choice, a choicemade according to God’swill, or something else? –C., via cyberspaceA: The problem with

free will is that many of usreally don’t want it. We’dbe much more comfort-able having all our deci-sions made by an all-knowing, benevolent andall-powerful God. Howev-er, that’s not how Godmade us, and for goodreason. Freedom is whatmakes us human.

I’m afraid that you andyour fellow congregantsare stuck in the muck offree will and must do yourbest to make a wisechoice. My advice is toconsider prayerfully thereasons to make the pur-chase.

Ask yourselves whetherit will further your mis-sion or just decorate yourbuilding. What do youmost want to do as areligious community andwill this purchase helpyou reach your highestgoals? Will this purchaseconstitute the best use ofyour resources? Wouldyou be wiser investing ina new youth minister or anew outreach director?

This doesn’t mean thatfixing up your building iswrong. If you have a holein the roof, fix it now!

On a deeper level, yourquestion raises the ulti-mate mystery of revela-tion: How do we everknow that God is speak-ing to us?

There are momentswhen I believe God doesspeak to us in what theBible calls a “still smallvoice” (I Kings 19:12).This true story was themost powerful moment ofdivine intervention andrevelation in my life and ithad to do with my dearfriend Fr. Tom Hartman:

We met on a springSunday in 1987, when asstrangers we were pairedtogether on a cable newsprogram about the simi-larities and differences ofPassover and Easter.

After two hours, wefound ourselves still talk-ing in the parking lot. Ithen said to Tommy, “Youseem like a great guy andI’d love to get to know youbetter, but I’m goinghome now to call a con-gregation in Florida andaccept their offer to betheir new rabbi.”

Tommy said softly butfirmly, “You are not goingto Florida.” I was takenaback, but he continued,“I had a dream last night.In it, God came to me andsaid, ‘You will meet some-one tomorrow. Tell him, ‘Iam not through with youhere.’ ”

I couldn’t say a wordand it was not just be-cause of the goose bumps.You see, the night before,I had prayed and askedGod to send me a sign tohelp me make my decisionabout the move.

That was the momentwe formed the God Squadand I stayed. I can’t ex-plain any of it, but I cantell you it really happened.I believe God showers ourlives every day with signsand love and freedom.What we do with them isall that matters.

Email questions to God

Squad: godsquadquestion

@aol.com

Heedsigns Godsends us

God Squad

MarcGellman

Dear Answer Angel Ellen: With wed-ding season coming up, I’ve beenwondering if there are certain rulesfor what female guests should wear.Assuming it is a traditional formalwedding, are there certain fabricsthat are more acceptable than oth-ers? Are there certain rules about sol-ids versus prints and about dresslengths? What about hose versusbare legs for a summer wedding? Al-so, do you have any ideas about whatsort of jacket or wrap looks best overa summer dress (when the event isindoors and may be overly air-condi-tioned)? – Sweating it out in CA

Dear Sweating: The big rule on wed-ding wear is don’t distract from thebride and groom. So never wear any-thing that will have people gawkingat you instead of the happy couple.That would include a dress so shortor low cut that it leaves little to theimagination.

Still confused? Dan Post, an authorand spokesman for the Emily Post In-stitute – and Emily’s great-great-grandson – says it’s perfectly accep-table to call and ask what’s appropri-ate. In fact, “If there is any question,calling is recommended,” he says.

As for legs, clearly hosiery is amore formal look than bare legs, buteither is acceptable in most circum-stances. After all, style icons like Mi-chelle Obama and Vogue’s Anna Win-tour often go bare-legged.

As for solids versus prints, don’tworry about it. Either is fine. And theold rules about not wearing black to awedding have gone the way of thetypewriter.

However, wearing all white is stilliffy. (The rule about not distractingfrom the star of this show might ap-ply here!) Obviously a hot day callsfor a lighter-weight outfit, especiallyif it’s an outdoor wedding. On the flipside, we’ve all been half-frozen by toomuch air conditioning, which is whyI always carry a pashmina.

Other options are a cardigan or ashrug (like a sweater but shorter).One more thing: If there’s dancing,you will be a lot happier if you bringalong a pair of comfortable shoes.

Supportive sandals

Dear Answer Angel Ellen: My go-to

summer shoe is the flip-flop, and thecheaper the better. But lately I’vebeen having heel pain, and my doctortold me I needed arch support. Arethere any flips out there that willwork for me? – Sandal Lover

Dear Sandal Lover: Yes! And here’s abonus: They’re not all ugly. TheAmerican Podiatric Medical Associ-ation (apma.org) has a Seal of Accep-tance for shoes, and most of the flip-flop styles they list are from three

manufacturers: FitFlop (fitf lop.com), Chaco (chacos.com) andVionic with Orthaheel technology(vionicshoes.com). Prices start inthe $60 range. My sister swears byher Vionics.

Blouse for lace skirt

Dear Answer Angel Ellen: I was won-dering what kind of blouse would gowith the black lace skirt I recentlypurchased. I am 62 years old, so I

don’t think a sleeveless shirt wouldbe an option for me. – Anne

Dear Anne: Lace is totally on trendand not just for evening or dressy oc-casions. Wear that skirt to work, ascasually as you’d wear a skirt thatisn’t lace.

Since lace has a “sweet” vibe, pairit with something a little tougher ontop. An Oxford shirt with longsleeves rolled up would work. Or asimple crisp white men’s-style shirt.In fact, pick up a shirt in the boys ormen’s section of a thrift store for $2or $3, and you’re set!

Get that glow

Dear Answer Angel Ellen: Please helpme find an illuminating product thatwill give me a “glowing” look. I donot wear foundation. BB and CC lo-tions make me look made-up, which Ido not prefer. Is there a product thatwill not cost an arm and a leg and dothe trick or is this an impossiblequest? – Patricia

Dear Patricia: I’ve tested a lot of in-expensive drugstore brands, and I’vefound several that don’t look made-up but do give you a glow. Try May-belline’s Dream Fresh BB (SPF 30)for under $10 at drugstores. Or for alittle more coverage, Olay’s Total Ef-fects CC (SPF 15) for under $25, alsoat drugstores.

T-Shirt solutions

Dear Answer Angel Ellen: I love thelook of a fitted white T-shirt. I havetwo issues: I don’t know what bra towear that will hide my “headlights.” Ifind that all the white T-shirts I likeare see-through. I love the fit of GapBody T-shirts, but can only wear thewhite ones with a full cami under-neath. – Amy

Dear Amy: Don’t you just hate itwhen you have to buy a second gar-ment to make the first garment lookright?

There are a couple of solutions toyour problem. One is a cami withbuilt-in bra cups. I buy mine onlinefor $19.90 at Uniqlo (uniqlo.com).Or take a look at the wide array ofnipple covers on amazon.com.

Also, there are a number of wire-free bras on the market designed toeliminate the “headlights” problem.Type “T-shirt bra” into your searchengine and you’ll find options.

Fashion Q&A

What to wear to a summer wedding By Ellen Warren

Chicago Tribune

- BELK

This floral fit-and-flare party dress from Adrianna Papell, $220, is agreat choice for a guest to wear to a formal wedding.

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