Top Time

Tricia Lewis, our Fashion Herald blogger, is out on maternity leave. Following is a post from her co-worker Catherine who is graciously filling in as guest blogger.

I'm usually drawn to simple/classic items, especially tops, and Banana Republic is one of my favorite places to find them. Why tops? For starters, my wee stature of 5’ 1” makes trying on pants slightly difficult. They look a little silly with an extra 6-8” of fabric bunched at my ankles and I feel bad stepping on the excess. The second reason is that I believe the last time I wore a skirt or dress was Halloween 2006 as a “dark fairy,” whatever that was. All I really wanted was to wear wings and have an excuse to put permanent pink highlights in my hair. But I digress...back to BR!

I was pleasantly surprised to learn that Banana Republic introduced a line called Heritage this summer. It seems that retailers are realizing "eco-fashion" can go beyond than selling reusable totes and graphic tees with recycling logos. Heritage features natural and eco-friendly fabrics, including organic cotton and soy silk. (In case you’re curious, soy silk has the texture of silk but is made from soy proteins – soft and “silky” without harming silkworms!) The fit of this top isn’t particularly flattering on me, but it has two details that I love. One: nice shoulder detailing. Two: great print resembling one of my Dad’s ties.

Heritage Printed Shell: $69.50.

Thankfully, you can always count on a good cotton button-down shirt, especially from Banana. This is the “Boyfriend Fit,” which translates to being pretty roomy, long enough for tucking, and having convenient buttons for keeping rolled-up sleeves actually rolled up. Bonus: The medium-weight fabric means you only see the shirt, not everything under it. I also tried a soft silk-cotton-cashmere blend sweater. Very comfortable with a nice deep V-neck and the right thickness for a little layering.

Casual Button-Down Shirt: $59.50 and worth every penny.
Cotton-Silk Long-Sleeve Sweater: $59.50; select colors $49.99.

I picked up a super warm (and rather puffy) down vest in the Men’s section. It looks good and seems practical, too. It features a zipper/button combo on the front, buttonable pockets, and even a little elastic around the arms to keep any drafts out.

Active Down Vest: $89.50.

My instincts paid off. I don't shop often, but Banana Republic always proves to be time (and money) well-spent!

Banana Republic, 17 W. 34th Street between 5th & 6th Aves

Trust: The Banana's Going Green

Support the green efforts of the Banana and buy a cute tank. I visited 34th Street's Banana Republic today looking for ec0-friendly clothing; WWD wrote of a 50-piece collection to be released on April 8. For now, it's more like a 2-piece collection. There are organic cotton tank tops for women ($18) and shirts for men. The tanks are soft and I love the cut. Nothing like classing up the wife-beater with a rounded V-neck. The black is a medium (fit snugly) and the striped a large (long).

The other 48 pieces? No worries, as it seems more will be arriving by summer 08. And good news is this will be a continuing concept, not just a flash in the eco-friendly pan. So as it gets warmer look for the green elephant logo (above) to buy organic. It makes me so happy to see the Banana get back to its safari roots.

Be sure to shop 34th Street's Banana Republic from April 22 - April 27, as they'll donate 1% of all in-store sales to Trust for Public Lands. And here's more incentive:

• the new, upscale Monogram collection for men and women at the 34th Street store;
  
• a huge petites section for women on the second floor;
• women's jeans: there's always a cute pair on sale (right, $64.99) and the fit is always great.
  

Banana Republic, 17 W. 34th between 5th & 6th