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Septuagenarian style
Don’t say good advice is the only thing your grandmother ever gave you
BY NINA WILLDORF

From the schoolyard to the streets, one simple rule is always and everywhere enforced by the fashion police: don’t get caught wearing the same thing as your neighbor. That purple wool coat I bought last year at the Gap has been a source of repeated frustration as I find myself blushing my way past girls in The Now Ubiquitous Purple Coat.

Little did I know I’d be at risk of breaking the very same rule on a recent visit with my grandmother.

Preparing for a dinner out, we met in the hall outside her room to throw on coats and bags — the final touches. And there it was: we stood there, sized each other up, and started to laugh. We were both wearing the same bag, a slouchy LeSportsac Deluxe Everyday Bag ($58),with its thick strap, numerous pockets, and signature nylon fabric — hers in khaki, mine in black. "That’s crayyzy," exclaimed Grandma, a glint of pride in her eye. Together we admired the finer points of the sturdy, rugged, sporty bags: they’re comfortable, they last, they fit everything and everyone, and they’re reasonably priced.

In retrospect, it wasn’t so surprising that my style matched my grandmother’s. Practicality, comfort, and being sensible — three concerns typical of the older generation — are all au courant. And who better to emulate than Grandma — from her durable bags to her comfortable orthopedic shoes?

LeSportsac bags have bridged not just my family’s generational closet gap; they’re now the darlings of both grandmothers and the younger, flitty, fashion-conscious set who’ve been eagerly plucking up the bags, many of which were redesigned by style guru Jonathan Adler last season. Next season, geometric-design-favorite Diane von Furstenberg, famous for her wrap dresses, will have her way with the bags.

My grandmother was also wearing her favorite kicks: tan, side-laced orthopedic shoes. What next? I thought to myself. Will these soon be on the shelves at Urban Outfitters?

Little did I know that Urban Outfitters indeed sells a similar line these days, as does Aldo, where a brown loafer with an orthopedic-looking side-lace system sells for $59. "We carried it last spring and something similar this year," says Dana McGivney, manager of Aldo at the CambridgeSide Galleria. "It’s a good seller with the older clientele — you know, 24 or 25." But he flinches at the word "orthopedic." "Weeell, no," he clarifies. "They’re platforms." Um, okay.

And then there are Earth Shoes. The company, which originally manufactured an orthopedic shoe that became popular among young people during the nature-conscious 1970s, went out of business, but recently re-launched in Waltham. With their defining feature — the heel is fixed at a lower plane than the foot’s ball, for better posture — the shoes are back on the shelves, inspiring a surprising amount of fashionista fawning at magazines from Vogue to In Style. Comfortable, cool in a clunky way, and twisting up some contemporary flairs with retro touches, Earth Shoes are making a stir.

Bags and shoes aren’t the only defiantly clunky, aggressively sensible accessories gracing the closets of both grandparents and their progeny these days. The other night, my friend Molly had on some over-the-top, clunky, colorful earrings. "They’re my grandma’s," she enthused, pulling off what turned out to be — ready for this? — clip-ons. Another twentysomething, McKenzie, was toting around a small zebra-print bag — a hand-me-down from her grandmother.

What can we say? Grandma knows best. Just as long as she doesn’t touch my purple coat ...

Where to get it:

• Aldo, 180 Newbury Street, Boston, (617) 266-1501; CambridgeSide Galleria, Cambridge, (617) 494-9008.

• Earth Shoes, available at Sola Shoes, 344 Newbury Street, Boston, (617) 437-8465; Serendipity, 1312 Mass Ave, Cambridge, (617) 661-7143; and www.earthfootwear.com.

• LeSportsac bags, available at Lord & Taylor, Macy’s, and www.lesportsac.com.



Issue Date: March 14 - 21, 2002
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