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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (Oct. 11, 1985)
POTPOURRI p Indulge in passions for vintage fashions ByGIGISHAMSY Staff Writer Fabric frenzy meets paisley passion. Take a look around your classes; clothing styles are begin ning to change. There's some thing exciting happening in your classmates' closets and it's called vintage fashion. The newest "line" in fashion at Texas A&M is not the usual fare — the khaki trousers topped with a freshly starched plaid shirt or the mid-calf, "oh-so-vogue" skirt complete with cotton sweater. Some students are jumping off the bandwagon of conservative dress and discovering fashion finds in thrift shops. Katie Cokinos and Kermit Fer rer are two students who've cre ated style and personality in their wardrobe by shopping at thrift shops. They'll sleuth through racks and piles of cast-off clothing and boxes of old jewelry in thrift shops and secondhand clothing stores in Bryan, Austin, Houston, and as far away as France to complete their look. "You do have to spend a little bit more time looking (in a thrift shop) than you do in a depart ment store such as Foley's," Katie says, "but it makes it that much more fun once you find the blouse or scarf you've been looking for." Take heed because vintage fashion is not for everyone. If you're the least bit squeamish about breaking staid fashion rules, think twice about shopping at such stores as Twin City Mis sion Inc. in Bryan or By George! in Austin. But, if you dare to be different, then step into thrift shops, garage sales and secondhand clothing stores for modern style at an in significant cost. You can pattern your winter wardrobe after fashions from Mi lan, Paris, New York or even in your copy of "GQ" or "Vogue." Indulge in the hottest colors, wildest paisleys and newest lengths in skirts and pants, with vintage flair. Leave Sbisa specta tors speechless. Saunter slowly by the Zephyr's crowd as you be come the center of attention in your up-to-the-minute fashions. Bedazzle your Blocker buddies with your tapestry jacket (definite power-impact). Katie's and Kermit's fashion sense, combined with their flair for the dramatic, makes for a fun and fashionable look. These vintage shoppers may be on the verge of something big; Kermit and Katie's paisley and checks seem to be this season's fashion finds. But move over paisley and checks. Make room for the newest trend in the fashion grapevine — the return of "the '60s look," com plete with wide-leg pants. Maybe we should have hung onto those bell-bottom jeans we so religiously wore during our childhoods.... □ Katie Cokinos and Kermit Ferrer show flair with thrift fashions. Katie — 100% silk blouse, $1, Treasure House thrift shop in Beaumont; pants, about $10, Paris thrift shop. Kermit — shirt, 50<r, Twin City Mission Inc., pants, $9, Dressed to Kill shop in Austin. Chamber music injects dose oi 'culture' By WENDY JOHNSON Staff Writer As a rookie reviewer, I set out for my first assignment — Tues day night's MSC Opera and Per forming Arts Society presentation of The Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center. Armed with what 1 could glean from Franz Krager's Lagniappe Lecture, I set out to im merse myself in this new "cultu ral" experience. I learned that chamber music is done by a smaller, more intimate group of performers, rather than on the large scale involved in a symphony or orchestra. In order to coordinate their sound, they maintain a tight, professional inti macy among themselves. I thought this interaction was the most engaging part of the perfor mance. The first piece, Stravinsky's "L'Histoire du Soldat," or "The Story of the Soldier," was per formed by violinist Ida Kavafian, clarinetist Gervase de Peyer and pianist Charles Wadsworth. The lack of a recognizable melody in Stravinsky's work leaves it with little flow and lots of short, jump ing notes, much like a pixie dance, except that the beat is not predictable enough to tap your foot to. Kavafian played with her whole body, shaking her dark hair to punctuate the music. The be-spectacled Wadsworth was also an animated performer, bouncing his blond locks and jowls to the stacatto thrusts of Stravinsky. His energy was remi niscent of a kid viciously mimick ing a concert pianist. De Peyer's staid performance was a contrast to these two dramatic performers. The music smoothed out as Ka vafian, violinist Ik-Hwan Bae, vio list Walter Trampler and cellist Fred Sherry came out to perform Mozart's "Ein Kleine Nactmusik" or "A Little Night Music." The four players were in such synchroni zation that they multiplied their sound, making a little sound like a lot. The harmonious blend and rich sound soothed and relaxed listeners after the intensity of Stra vinsky. With the third piece, Brahms' 'Trio for Clarinet, Cello and Pi ano in A minor," the music be came ominous and sad. Sherry's cello dominated the music and his face expressed the downbeat mood of the music. The last movement of the piece was the most rousing, but still reflected the heaviness of the earlier movements. The final piece was Schu mann's "Quintet for Piano and Strings in E-flat major," featuring much more piano than in the other pieces. This may be due to the fact that Schumann originally wrote the piece to include his wife Clara, one of the finest pianists of the time. The concert wasn't nearly as difficult to understand as I had ex pected; on the contrary, it was very relaxing. But then again, I may have missed some deeper nuances. I left with the realization that one doesn't have to be exten sively educated in the musical realm to enjoy a classical perfor mance. □ TOP 10 Billboard's top ten singles for the week of Oct. 6 are: 1. "Oh Sheila," Ready for the World 2. "Money For Nothing," Dire Straits 3. "Take On Me," A-Ha 4. "Saving All My Love For You," Whitney Houston 5. "Part-Time Lover," Stevie Wonder 6. "Lonely 01' Night," John Cougar Mellencamp 7. "Dancing in the Street," Mick Jagger & David Bowie 8. "Cherish," Kool & The Gang 9. "Miami Vice Theme," Jan Hammer 10. "Dress You Up," Madonna