Wardrobe

N ew year, old recession. All right, we're willing to try to spend our way out of it, but how about this time we spend smarter? No wear- ' em-once outfits, no glitzy abominations that are incredibly in today and even more incredibly out next week. This time, let's shop with an eye to true style and real value, plugging the holes in our wardrobes with stuff that'll be around for the long haul. Can it be done? SHE: For years, I've tried to spend smart--invest in pricey classics in basic shades.

Mae Laborde Acting career began at 93 Mae Laborde, 102, an energetic senior citizen whose outgoing personality landed her in several Steve Lopez columns and launched a late-blooming acting career, died in her sleep Jan. 9 at an assisted living facility in Santa Monica. A longtime Santa Monica resident, Laborde was approached for TV and commercial roles after Lopez featured her in his Points West columns in The Times beginning in 2002, when she was 93. She became a regular guest on "Talkshow With Spike Feresten," and a spoofing public-service announcement that the late-night TV program made about television's digital conversion process featuring her became an Internet sensation.

Many thanks for Mimi Avins' article ("The Southern California Closet Clean-Out," Feb. 23), a much-needed reminder that the way women often are perceived is according to their dress. It is my belief that many women feel in need of an inordinate amount of attention, and they dress to get it. Too often, what such fashion flashers really want is assurance that they are OK people. But instead, they send out messages of wild exotica that result in disastrous matchups. This need for attention begins at puberty with pressure to dress like the rest or be abandoned by the in crowd.

Middle-aged people don't need lovers or Mediterranean cruises to feel young. All they need is jogging suits. To accomplish this, they certainly don't need to jog--or even walk. All they need is to don the apparel. Jogging suits are comfortable, reasonable in price and attractive. Young people wear them because they're young. Many middle-aged people wear them to feel young. You might wonder why jogging suits are also called "warm-up" suits.

When you think about a wild and crazy kind of guy, Pat Sajak's name simply doesn't come to mind. Yet the late-night talk-show host has taken to wearing some wild and crazy ties on television. "My wardrobe man believes ties should make a statement. And that statement is: 'Hey, look at this tie!' " Sajak quips. "He thinks I'm using the ties to send messages to my friends," says Ivan Marquez, who has been Sajak's dresser since 1986. "So he asks me, 'Does this one mean, 'Meet me at Raoul's"?

There's an heiress on the lam in Santa Barbara, and you might recognize her by her sneakers. They have an L.A. Gear label on the outside. Listen hears this from Deborah Kelman of the daytime soap "Santa Barbara" press office. She says actress Robin Wright (Kelley Capwell on the show) is wearing the sneaks as part of her WANTED wear. (Kelley is suspected for committing murder.) Kelman says L.A. Gear has been supplying athletic shoes for all members of the "Santa Barbara" cast.

Victoria BECKHAM dons a Dior pair on the cover of Elle this month, while Keira Knightley wears the same ones on the cover of Interview, and Kate Hudson sports them in the pages of January Vogue. Suspenders, no longer simply a quirky hipster accessory, have gone legit. It's pretty amazing for a look that barely scratched the spring catwalk's surface except at Dior, where suspenders accented Marlene Dietrich-inspired, full-legged trousers.

The bell you hear tolling isn't your phone. It's the death knell of the music business as we know it, a clang that pealed just this month when Billboard gave out the very first honors recognizing the year's top ring tone. The award went to the telephonic rendition of Chingy's "In Da Club," if you care about such things. But having seen the writing on the wall, or hearing the ringing on our phones, we would like to announce that this very column will soon be available as a ring tone.

The Spring/Summer 2010 men's runways in Milan and Paris had no shortage of fantasy. From the seafaring dangerous dandies of Vivienne Westwood to Galliano's Napoleon meets Lawrence of Arabia desert dwellers, they told the tale of escape and exploration through bold prints, bright pops of blue and kilometers of embroidery. But there was also something noticeably different this season.

Jaclyn Shanfeld moves from garment to garment with the unbridled joy of a little girl rummaging in her mother's closet. From the "wall of Chanel" Shanfeld retrieves a light pink and lavender jacket that once fetched $3,200 but was priced for resale at $750. She shows off the unmarked soles of a pair Nicholas Kirkwood boots, originally purchased for $1,500 that are now offered for $700. She unveils a sheer black, sleeveless Alaia gown bought for a special occasion - but never worn.