Betsey Johnson

Betsey Johnson is more like a rock legend than a fashion designer. Emerging from a taxi clad in a T-shirt, crushed velvet skirt, maxi-length sweater and sky-high animal-print boots, with tricolor braided hair maintained by a stylist flown in periodically from London, she looks more like someone ready to be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame than a Seventh Avenue mainstay. Armed with cameras, sketches and notepads ready for an autograph, a flock of neon-haired groupies greeted the designer as she arrived in Philadelphia recently as if she were, say, Madonna.

It is just the sort of wacky showroom that Betsey Johnson, 1960s queen of mod fashions, who put Philadelphia on the fashion map as a designer for the now-defunct Alley Cat, should have. Giant miniskirted femmes fatales are etched on the walls, along with colorful murals of plants and flowers. Op art hangs helter-skelter. The furniture fabric is a rose pattern, and the floor is a black-and-white checkerboard. The designer's signature is blazing in pink neon. Amid all this, Johnson's employees - the majority of them young, reed-thin, frizzy-haired women - scamper about in know-it-on-sight Johnson attire: stretchy black biker shorts with swing mini-dresses, frilly plaid rag-doll dresses, skimpy midriff blouses with hip-hugging stretch pants.

Thanks to all of the merchants who provided clothing to make this year's Sexy Singles look so great. Here is what they are wearing: G-N Kang : Betsey Johnson bikini ($98 top and $86 bottom) available at Shirley & Co. Jessica Boyington : Dress by BB Dakota ($73) available at Maxwell James, Haddonfield; satin-wrap sandals by Pucci ($535) available at ViVi G. Shoes, Glen Mills. Shari Smith : Dress by Theory ($275) available at Per Lei Boutique, Media; sandals ($135)

There's something about Betsey Johnson that stands out from other stores in Philadelphia. It's probably the hot-pink walls. Then there's the black-and-white checkered floor and the soon-to-be added murals. Whatever it is, there's nothing quite like it in Philadelphia. And that doesn't frighten one bit the famed New York designer for whom the store is named. Betsey Johnson - one of the world's first designers to come out with the miniskirt - doesn't want to hear about Philadelphians' reputation among many retailers and designers for conservative, tight-fisted attitudes toward buying clothes.

Barbara Spiro-Ryan's closet is not really a closet. It's more like a room that's part pink-floral French country boudoir, part fashion museum. There is no denying that Spiro-Ryan, a retired senior vice president of institutional advancement at Drexel University, has fabulous clothes. No woman could ignore her airy Jason Wu dresses, full-length fur-trimmed Oscar de la Renta coats, or soft leather Rachel Roy jackets. The Louis Vuitton bags in sizes big, bigger and biggest are nothing to sneeze at, either.

A South Philadelphian craving high fashion decides she must drive to King of Prussia mall to buy a Versace caftan dress featured in an ad shot at her neighborhood restaurant, Dante & Luigi's. Despite a closet filled with Ben Sherman button-downs, a Northern Liberties hipster chooses a uwishunu.com T-shirt designed by the Greater Philadelphia Tourism Marketing Corp. to sport underneath a leather blazer for a night out. Welcome to the untested waters of Philadelphia-centric fashion advertising.

If academic programs had real-life mascots, Betsey Johnson would be a perfect fit for the fashion crew at the city's Moore College of Art and Design. An all-girls' school deserves a one-of-a-kind, no-holds-barred expert who, instead of dictating as senior critic, asked each of the 13 seniors, 'What pieces do you love best?' when they presented original-collection sketches for review in October. Like a proud parent, the designer was impressed by what her "girlfriends" showed Wednesday night at their end-of-the-year show at the Wyndham Franklin Plaza.

As the sun set Sunday evening, its rays beamed into the National Constitution Center, onto the very-well-constructed, rebellious and whimsical collections of easy-to-wear fashion presented by 65 Moore College of Art and Design students. Ensembles featuring bathing suits, sportswear, and black-and-white evening attire with little distraction offered the audience a taste of true craftswomanship (Moore is the oldest women's visual-arts college in the country). The stage was simple, so the fashions weren't overshadowed by strobe lights, slightly out-of-focus PowerPoint presentations, or too-loud music.

Queen Sophia of Spain will be among the first-nighters Saturday when Gian Carlo Menotti's new opera, Goya, starring Placido Domingo, opens at the Kennedy Center in Washington. The $1.1 million work, based on the life of Spanish painter Francisco de Goya, will have five D.C. performances in English (all sold out), and a Spanish translation will have a run in Madrid. Menotti, who composed the work at Domingo's request, said he had resisted the temptation to include the legend that the Duchess of Alba was the inspiration for Goya's famed painting The Naked Maja.

This winter's crush on velvet - think sumptuous shrunken blazers, soft leggings, and floor-length gowns - is more than just a cure for the cold. The popularity of the plush pile is a sign that luxury is on the cusp of a comeback. And the ancient fabric's timing couldn't be better. Just like sequins, satin, and fur, nothing says holiday like a velvet dress. This year, however, the smooth-move textile is enjoying a modern twist. "I started seeing people come in October looking for velvet," said Mary K. Dougherty, who this season stocked three styles of velvet Nicole Miller cocktail dresses in her Manayunk and Center City boutiques.

This winter's crush on velvet - think sumptuous shrunken blazers, soft leggings, and floor-length gowns - is more than just a cure for the cold. The popularity of the plush pile is a sign that luxury is on the cusp of a comeback. And the ancient fabric's timing couldn't be better. Just like sequins, satin, and fur, nothing says holiday like a velvet dress. This year, however, the smooth-move textile is enjoying a modern twist. "I started seeing people come in October looking for velvet," said Mary K. Dougherty, who this season stocked three styles of velvet Nicole Miller cocktail dresses in her Manayunk and Center City boutiques.

Barbara Spiro-Ryan's closet is not really a closet. It's more like a room that's part pink-floral French country boudoir, part fashion museum. There is no denying that Spiro-Ryan, a retired senior vice president of institutional advancement at Drexel University, has fabulous clothes. No woman could ignore her airy Jason Wu dresses, full-length fur-trimmed Oscar de la Renta coats, or soft leather Rachel Roy jackets. The Louis Vuitton bags in sizes big, bigger and biggest are nothing to sneeze at, either.

Thanks to all of the merchants who provided clothing to make this year's Sexy Singles look so great. Here is what they are wearing: G-N Kang : Betsey Johnson bikini ($98 top and $86 bottom) available at Shirley & Co. Jessica Boyington : Dress by BB Dakota ($73) available at Maxwell James, Haddonfield; satin-wrap sandals by Pucci ($535) available at ViVi G. Shoes, Glen Mills. Shari Smith : Dress by Theory ($275) available at Per Lei Boutique, Media; sandals ($135)

A South Philadelphian craving high fashion decides she must drive to King of Prussia mall to buy a Versace caftan dress featured in an ad shot at her neighborhood restaurant, Dante & Luigi's. Despite a closet filled with Ben Sherman button-downs, a Northern Liberties hipster chooses a uwishunu.com T-shirt designed by the Greater Philadelphia Tourism Marketing Corp. to sport underneath a leather blazer for a night out. Welcome to the untested waters of Philadelphia-centric fashion advertising.

Among the city's fashionable, there was much to-do when Zara, H&M, Lush, Club Monaco and BCBG Max Azria opened their doors on Walnut Street last year. But when the local development firm ARCWheeler confirmed recently that Barneys Co-op - the cutting-edge offshoot of the high-end New York City department store Barneys - was coming to Rittenhouse Square, high heels clicked with excitement. The region's chic-ometer has officially been raised. "For so many years, Philadelphia has had a reputation of being staid," said Stephanie Naidoff, commerce director for the City of Philadelphia.

Among the city's fashionable, there was much to-do when Zara, H&M, Lush, Club Monaco and BCBG Max Azria opened their doors on Walnut Street last year. But when the local development firm ARCWheeler confirmed recently that Barneys Co-op - the cutting-edge offshoot of the high-end New York City department store Barneys - was coming to Rittenhouse Square, high heels clicked with excitement. The region's chic-ometer has officially been raised. "For so many years, Philadelphia has had a reputation of being staid," said Stephanie Naidoff, commerce director for the City of Philadelphia.

As the sun set Sunday evening, its rays beamed into the National Constitution Center, onto the very-well-constructed, rebellious and whimsical collections of easy-to-wear fashion presented by 65 Moore College of Art and Design students. Ensembles featuring bathing suits, sportswear, and black-and-white evening attire with little distraction offered the audience a taste of true craftswomanship (Moore is the oldest women's visual-arts college in the country). The stage was simple, so the fashions weren't overshadowed by strobe lights, slightly out-of-focus PowerPoint presentations, or too-loud music.

If academic programs had real-life mascots, Betsey Johnson would be a perfect fit for the fashion crew at the city's Moore College of Art and Design. An all-girls' school deserves a one-of-a-kind, no-holds-barred expert who, instead of dictating as senior critic, asked each of the 13 seniors, 'What pieces do you love best?' when they presented original-collection sketches for review in October. Like a proud parent, the designer was impressed by what her "girlfriends" showed Wednesday night at their end-of-the-year show at the Wyndham Franklin Plaza.

Betsey Johnson is more like a rock legend than a fashion designer. Emerging from a taxi clad in a T-shirt, crushed velvet skirt, maxi-length sweater and sky-high animal-print boots, with tricolor braided hair maintained by a stylist flown in periodically from London, she looks more like someone ready to be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame than a Seventh Avenue mainstay. Armed with cameras, sketches and notepads ready for an autograph, a flock of neon-haired groupies greeted the designer as she arrived in Philadelphia recently as if she were, say, Madonna.

Will Yezta Johnson ever be as big a name in the fashion industry as Betsey Johnson? Will people one day seek out the 24-year-old Darby resident's designs for their style and comfort? And will March ever come? That's when Johnson will pack her trunks and go to New York City for the International Fashion Boutique Sale. Scores of retailers will be there to peruse the offerings of fashion designers from all over the country. Perhaps a few of the retailers will like what Johnson exhibits.