Fashion

UPDATE, 4 p.m. Monday, May 14, 2012: On Monday, NBC entertainment chairman Robert Greenblatt announced that next season would, after all, be the last for "30 Rock," apparently contradicting what he'd told reporters only the day before.   SO MAYBE NEXT season won't be the last for NBC's "30 Rock," after all? Following days of online reports that the network had given the sitcom created by and starring Upper Darby's Tina Fey 13 episodes to wrap things up, NBC entertainment chairman Robert Greenblatt said Sunday that "we haven't definitively said that" to the people at "30 Rock" or to those at "The Office" or "Community," both of which will also return.

With so many bright solids, bold prints, and slim silhouettes dominating spring fashion, what's a plus-size woman to do? Wear it all and wear it well, says Chanea Davis, owner of the six-month-old Germantown Avenue clothing boutique BellaNOR. The 32-year-old fashion entrepreneur doesn't believe in silly fashion rules that apply only to plus-size women. ("Don't wear color on your bottom. Never do horizontal stripes. ") Her pear-scented, 1,000-square-foot space is generously stocked with one-shouldered and ruched frocks in pretty oranges, yellows, and mint greens.

Jen Green looks out at the 80-some millennials chatting it up with local designers at the art gallery studio: christensen in Rittenhouse Square. Clad in this spring's must-have brights, the guests look swank. The rhubarb cocktails are flowing. And Green couldn't be more pleased. The April soiree, featuring Germantown-based women's-wear label NIC*FISH and calligrapher/jewelry designer Danny Fox, marks the one-year anniversary of HyLo Boutiques — short for hyper-local — Green's consulting company and design collective that uses a unique-to-our-time business model to promote fashions conceived of and manufactured in Philadelphia.

The sunlight surrounding Urban Outfitters' loft-like corporate headquarters Saturday afternoon illuminated Drexel University's end-of-year fashion show. As usual, the 40-plus presentations were stellar, all exemplifying a keen sense of design. The garments' construction was very top-of-the-line; no unraveled hems on this runway. Among the first works presented was a grouping of dresses fashioned from airy fabrics donated by Lilly Pulitzer, showcasing the students' ability to create ruching and draping techniques.

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.

Baby boomer women might not want to wear their daughters' jeans and men may refuse to don muscle shirts, but the generation that brought us tie-dye still wants to remain fashionable and hip well into middle age. How to monetize that desire is both a marketer's conundrum and dream. "Even with mature figures, boomers want to have fashionable options," says Roseanne Morrison, fashion director for the Doneger Group, an industry consultant. "That doesn't stop just because you hit a certain age. " The problem is, designers and retailers often don't know how to reach a demographic that is varied, numerous, and affluent.

10 tonight CHANNEL 3 Luminaries such as Anna Wintour (right), editor-in-chief at Vogue , prepare for the event that celebrates fashion worldwide. The one-hour special also tracks the night itself as it unfolds around the globe.

Fashion and appearance are high priorities for 14-year-old Myira. A typical teenager, she delights in having her hair done, using makeup, and shopping for new outfits with matching accessories. She dreams of becoming a fashion designer and even now does sketches of clothing. An animal lover, Myira particularly likes small dogs that she can cuddle and play with. She enjoys going to school, where she receives some special education services. Art, gym and computers are her favorite subjects.

Springtime in Paris: A harsh winter, with unusually heavy snows, is abating. People on the streets are shedding their heavy togs for cooler, lighter-weight clothes. But for designers and followers of the fashion world, springtime in Paris means the return of wool, tweeds and fur, for spring is when fall ready-to- wear collections are unveiled. And for hundreds of designers, buyers, reporters and fashion devotees, it is the best time to be in Paris. It appears that French designers, like their Italian counterparts who showcased designs in Milan earlier this month, are calling for shorter skirts and more subdued silhouettes than they did last fall.

Under billowing tents in Aviator Park, Moore College of Art & Design presented its annual end-of-year fashion show Saturday night with aplomb. The collections showed depth and creativity and represented looks from decades past, with Laura Galindo's Mad Men-esquetailored pieces and Caralyn Scudner's children's wear infused with 1960s flower prints. Scudner won the Charming Shoppes Inc. Award for the most salable collection and the Jannaman Award for best construction. Great choice.

Jen Green looks out at the 80-some millennials chatting it up with local designers at the art gallery studio: christensen in Rittenhouse Square. Clad in this spring's must-have brights, the guests look swank. The rhubarb cocktails are flowing. And Green couldn't be more pleased. The April soiree, featuring Germantown-based women's-wear label NIC*FISH and calligrapher/jewelry designer Danny Fox, marks the one-year anniversary of HyLo Boutiques — short for hyper-local — Green's consulting company and design collective that uses a unique-to-our-time business model to promote fashions conceived of and manufactured in Philadelphia.

They come for the humblest of plumbing products, the brass shower stem. From New York, New Jersey, Delaware, or just around the corner, old home lovers and cost-conscious flippers program their GPS units for the intersection of Fifth Street and Champlost Avenue seeking an $11 or a $19 solution to a leaky faucet. They've looked everywhere by the time they wander into the overstuffed time capsule called Fern Rock Hardware. It's always their last stop. Once inside, they realize it should have been the first.

IN HIS SPORT of preference, basketball, Matt Simon is finding it's not that simple to earn the acclaim he so much desires. In the meantime, baseball is filling the emotional gaps. The 6-foot, 185-pound Simon, a junior, plays first base and bats cleanup for Roman Catholic High. He took the second part of that job description as literally as possible, right when it mattered the most Wednesday, in the home seventh of a Catholic Red classic at Boyce Field that churned on and on for 2 hours, 43 minutes, and included 27 hits (11 for extra bases)

From Ben Franklin's glasses to Patti LaBelle's crazy '80s hair to Grace Kelly's, well, everything, the City of Brotherly Love's impact on American style goes beyond Phillies ball caps and Eagles jerseys. New York runway designers Ralph Rucci and Tory Burch call the region home. And dynamic boutiques such as Center City's Joan Shepp and Lafayette Hill's First Impressions keep us dressed in high style. As of late, our town is home to a burgeoning class of innovators such as Michelle Shannon of the Center City District and FBH Philadelphia Fashion Week founders Kevin Parker and Kerry Scott, who are coming up with fresh ideas to spotlight our creative economy.

With so many bright solids, bold prints, and slim silhouettes dominating spring fashion, what's a plus-size woman to do? Wear it all and wear it well, says Chanea Davis, owner of the six-month-old Germantown Avenue clothing boutique BellaNOR. The 32-year-old fashion entrepreneur doesn't believe in silly fashion rules that apply only to plus-size women. ("Don't wear color on your bottom. Never do horizontal stripes. ") Her pear-scented, 1,000-square-foot space is generously stocked with one-shouldered and ruched frocks in pretty oranges, yellows, and mint greens.

There are two tales to be told in fashion's look book this spring. One is a color-driven story featuring classic skirt suits in daring neons, maxi dresses in popping primaries, and a bold array of rainbow denim. The other starts with the label; we're talking Made-in-America chic. "We have so many people come into our store and ask, 'Is this made in the U.S.A.? Is this made locally?' " said Ali McCloud, owner of the Northern Liberties-based, eco-friendly boutique Arcadia.

Gloria Sachs, 85, a fashion designer who tapped into a growing market of women seeking understated elegance in clothes as they rose to new heights in the workplace in the 1970s and '80s, died last Monday at her Manhattan home. Under her label, Gloria Sachs Designs Ltd., Ms. Sachs seized on a cohort of women coming out of college in the 1970s, entering the white-collar workplace, and searching for clothing that would be stylish and comfortable while also being appropriate for the office.

There was a time when white cotton undies reminded me of my dad. In other words, definitely not fashionable. And so . . . not . . . hot. But then there was Mario Lopez posing for his underwear line Rated M. And Tim Tebow for Jockey. And David Beckham for Bodywear for H&M. Suddenly, the tighty whitey, and all of the T-shirts and tanks that go with it, are kind of - pause for some throat-clearing - sexy. As men's underwear revenue increases - the NPD Group reported that total men's underwear sales jumped 6.4 percent, from $3.08 billion in 2010, to $3.28 billion in 2011 - men's white briefs are getting a makeover.