Roller Redux

Associated Press

By Samantha Critchell

Published:  June 19, 2007 

NEW YORK - Dust off that satin bomber jacket and pull on those tube

socks - right to the knee, please - then delve into the attic on a

mission to find your roller skates: "Xanadu" is opening on Broadway this

month.

Could this be the start of a roller disco redux?

Sure, the 1980s might very well be the most maligned fashion decade, but

many of its key looks are being worn today - maybe those wearing

sorbet-colored tube tops and white-trimmed jogging shorts simply don't

know that those pieces had their first heyday as accessories to

old-school, four-wheel skates.

At a recent preview of "Xanadu," a musical based on the 1980 movie

starring Olivia Newton-John about a muse who encourages a starving

artist to pursue his dreams of building a roller rink, the cast wore the

metallic leggings, graphic T-shirts and barrettes made of woven satin

ribbon. That was all to be expected. But what was particularly

noticeable was the mint green dance dress, yellow track jacket and hot

pink metallic shoes on a woman in the audience - she could've jumped

onstage and blended in seamlessly.

"We're definitely seeing 80s as the latest retro influence, from

high-waisted jeans to super bright neon colors to big hair and the

return of perms - spotted on both males and females," says Carla Avruch,

director of consumer insights and trends at market research firm The

Zandl Group.

She points to bands with an 80s throwback sound, such as I Love You but

I've Chosen Darkness, 80s-themed nights at clubs and the success of

American Apparel, a company that's made tiny, shiny workout shorts cool

to people who were probably in diapers when the trend was worn the first

time.

The entire skating industry is in the midst of a generational shift,

reports Nick Skally, marketing manager for Rollerblade USA, which

introduced its first inline boot skate 27 years ago. "The first skaters

now have families and are skating with their kids, so there is this

weird retro thing going on. It's retro in a cool way, feeling nostalgic

for the bold color patterns that remind them of past days."

Andy Young, a 30-year-old actress, puts on her shortest shorts and

miniskirts a few times a week to skate at Central Park in Manhattan. She

says as one of seven children, she grew up watching her older brothers

and sisters roller skate and she was eager to join in.

"It's like a mini little show. There are always people watching us and

we're creative people - I'm an actor, there are a lot artists. We like

pizazz and razzle and dazzle. The more fun we're having, the more other

people want to join us - and it's reflected in the clothes," she says.

The look hasn't really changed much over time, Young observes. "Maybe

it's a little funkier, but it's still about showing your body. Being

skaters, most of us have really great legs."

At American Apparel, designers didn't overanalyze the how and the why of

bringing back roller-inspired fashion, they simply saw "Roller Boogie,"

a 1979 movie in which Linda Blair tries to save her favorite on-wheels

disco, one too many times.

"We become obsessed with that movie. We made a lot of pieces that were

inspired by it. It was a whim and obsession with that film - and the

items have sold," Matthew Swenson, the company's fashion media director,

explains. "On a whim, we also bought lame fabric and turned them into

leggings, and the gold and silver took off."

Now the company is making leggings in seven different fabrics, offering

two different unitards and several bodysuits.

But he warns against being too literal in one's interpretation of the

80s roller skating culture. "It's been modernized to a degree, we're not

talking about oversized sweatshirts and side ponytails with the

leggings. You're mixing them with high fashion," Swenson says.

Macy's Orlando also caught that Linda Blair flick. "She wore a bodysuit

and little shorts and a cinch belt, and puts her skates in a Gucci

skatebag. It's something to see!" he says with a laugh.

And now you will see it at the world's largest department store - in a

toned down way - with a display of shorts, rompers, bodysuits, and tube

and halter tops in a smattering of summery colors such as watermelon,

turquoise, coral, yellow and orange.

Orlando noted how good this whole look was on Jessica Simpson in last

year's video for "A Public Affair."

"I had already seen a lot of 70s and 80s retro and the active trend -

then I saw Jessica Simpson. I said, This is a piece of what's going to

happen in spring 08."

This season's display is a way to get ahead of the trend, he explains.

But while the clothes are making a comeback and even a smattering of

roller derby leagues have popped up across the country, Zandl's Avruch

doesn't expect to see an actual revival of roller skating until the

skates themselves get a makeover.

"I'm actually shocked retro Adidas-styled skates aren't already for sale

at Urban Outfitters," she says.

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How to roll the right way:

The roller disco clothes of the early 1980s are just like the candy

their bright hues and shiny exteriors imitate - they're tempting but

should be kept to small doses.

"The 80s were so decadent and over the top - bright pants, a bright top

with your bright bracelets and your bright flats. We're trying to do it

a little more flattering, a little more mixing and matching," says Stacy

Bendet, founder of Alice + Olivia. "We're trying to do it not so

ostentatious."

In the next breath, though, Bendet says she does a "huge" legging

business and plans a lot of sequin-covered clothing for the fall.

How to get it right:

-Focus on finding the shape.

"The inspiration I've taken from the 80s is the general silhouette,"

says Bendet. "A high-waisted pant - you can be completely elongated by

it. Skinny jeans can be sexy," she says.

Use of color to get the right shape can help too. Try black legwarmers

tucked into black or brown boots and worn with a black sweaterdress and

black leggings, she says.

-A pair of Dolphin shorts can go a long way.

The thing about the roller disco look is that while it is flashy and

even sometimes skimpy, it always looks neat and not too revealing. There

is an athletic practicality to it, too.

If you have short shorts, consider a top that is either looser, perhaps

a blousoned halter, or a bodysuit, which, although it's tight, provides

a lot of coverage.

If you want to be more subtle, a T-shirt and flouncy miniskirt can give

off the 80s vibe, especially if it's in an upbeat color.

-If you remember the 1980s look from the first time around, act your age.

Macy's fashion director Russell Orlando describes the modern version of

the 80s look - camisole-strap bodysuits with a front cinch detail,

tie-back halter tops - that his store is mimicking as "East Coast preppy

meets Venice Beach."

The preppy details are the all the pink-and-green color combinations and

slim polo shirts, styled with the collar up, of course. Somehow roller

skates bridged the style between the boardwalk and the tennis courts at

the club.

Orlando adds: "You'd like to dress like that even if you didn't have

skates on."

Women who don't want to wear tube tops and short shorts can still go for

pieces like a zip-front track jacket, yet another take on the hoodie,

and a great pair of low-profile, contrast-color sneakers, like the

recently relaunched Vintage Nike Running collection. The sneakers, based

on designs from the iconic swoosh shoes from the 70s and worn by

Olympians in 1984, were recreated down to the stitch.

A man can balance modernity and nostalgia with a nylon bomber jacket and

big sunglasses - perhaps with colored rims, suggests Anoma Whittaker,

fashion director of skater magazine Complex.

- Create the right face.

Debbi Hartley-Triesch, national beauty and fragrance director for

Nordstrom, says it was important for the face to glimmer and glisten but

not have the overdone eye or the sticky lips of the mid '70s.

She suggests MAC Cosmetics' Tendertones colored lip balms and Bobbi

Brown's Shimmer Wash Eye Shadow, a lightly pearlized powder.

"There was a bright sheerness - not matte. The look was shiny and dewy,"

Hartley-Triesch says.

- Don't take it all too seriously.

Macy's Orlando is excited about stocking wide headbands - the kind worn

horizontally over the forehead - and tube socks with a band around the top.

"What we're saying is have fun!"