Preview of New York Showings Recalls Luxury of Times Past

Do new clothes have to look new? Do they have to be last word, up to the minute, full of flash and dash? The current thinking is no.

Judging from the preview photos of fall fashions to be shown in New York next week, Old Money styles are more bankable than those freshly minted. And good bloodlines in design are as important as in British family trees.

Perry Ellis’ walking suit, for example, is an update of a standard that was first seen on upper class fashion plates in 1901. It hasn’t changed much since then, but that, precisely, is its charm.

Cashmere, having yet another heyday, certainly has good lineage. A simple little sweater set like Oscar de la Renta’s, or a cashmere sweater dress like the one by Calvin Klein, has been a staple in upper crust closets since the 1850s, when sweaters were invented.

And perhaps the newest thing about Louis Dell’Olio’s blazer for Anne Klein this fall is that it adheres so strictly to tradition.

Of course, there are timely (rather than trendy) touches in all these new fall clothes. Skirts look longer (although many will probably be offered at knee length as well). Shoulders are a bit broader than in the late ‘30s and early ‘40s. But the primary effect is one of timeless elegance, unobtrusive luxury.

The strapless lace dress by Bill Blass is similar to those worn by post-debs through the decades, and Geoffrey Beene’s slim gold lame gown has little to mark it as “hot off the racks.”

Ralph Lauren, of course, is a primary projector of this gentrified mood. He’s built a $1.2-billion retail volume with his updated preservations of Old Money styles--and all the accessories that go with them. His are the kind of outfits presumably coveted by the clubby, elegant, aristocratic set--but available to anyone who can pay.

The layered Ralph Lauren outfit is a compilation of Old World sporty luxuries. The tweed greatcoat, over a belted coat with cowl-neck cashmere sweater and slacks, would have been perfect for a voyage on the Queen Mary to the British Isles.

Port out, starboard home, of course.