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For those who look to Paris instead of Peking for their guides to style, however, the classic look seems sure to prevail at least through next spring. The midsummer showings fell almost unanimously into what Women's Wear Daily calls the "civilized" look. Ohrbach Fashion Consultant Sydney Gittler declared that the Paris clothes "were the most exciting clothes of the season. Seventh Avenue will have a picnic with them next spring" (referring to the fact that designers work six months ahead of schedule). As if to back up Gittler, a number of Seventh Avenue manufacturers scurried onto Paris-bound planes—even though they are operating on tight budgets—once word of the new styles reached them.
Generally what Paris had to offer was a somewhat more elegant, sophisticated —and costly—version of the Minneapolis look. Fitted coats were back in season —even the full ones fell from narrow tops or were tightly belted. One new trend sure to appear in the U.S.: shorter coats in various forms, from Yves St. Laurent's Chinese padded coolie coat to Lanvin's not quite full-length duffel coat and Givenchy's ponchos and shawls. Evening dresses were back, the grander ones—Dior's 30 yds. of chiffon—inspired, some said, by the imminent celebration of Iran's 2,500th birthday. Day length was firmly around the knee. Suits were fitted, with fairly long jackets over flared or pleated skirts. High boots were out, but high—though not necessarily narrow—heels were back in, which will possibly mean that a whole new generation will have to learn to walk in them.
Maidens in Uniform. Teen-agers and the young twenties who say they no longer believe in fashion can be expected to stick with the bird-of-paradise styles of the past year and even come up with some new ones. Among other things, they will probably pick up more enthusiastically than ever the fad for olive-drab, uniform-style garb now the rage of teeny-bopper Europe. But for a time at least, the mainstream of the fashion industry is directed toward Minneapolis' Nicollet Avenue and its even lesser-known environs.