After many seasons of baring skin, fashion finally covers up
In the window of
There are blazers, long skirts, and T-shirts that cover once-exposed belly buttons. Many of the half shirts and tank tops that the store had been marketing as wardrobe staples are now on the sale rack.
Apparently, skin is on its way out.
''You don't see the belly shirts anymore," said Stephanie Amancio, a fashion design student who works at Wet Seal in the Burlington Mall. ''We actually had backless tops for the summer, but those didn't sell at all, really. The longer skirts are more popular."
Local fashionistas say an incoming trend toward modesty in young women's attire represents what's next in the circle of couture life. For several summer and fall seasons, it's been exposed backs and bellies, minis and short shorts. Now, Boston stores are showcasing layers, length, and baggy, embellished, Bohemian styles.
''There's absolutely no more belly out," said Christina DeFalco, a Boston designer who said she has had great success selling less-revealing jewel-studded T-shirts out of her store in the North End. ''The jeans have come up a little and the tops have come down a little."
The coverup can be seen in retail stores across the city. Jasmine Sola is sporting an extensive collection of shrugs and hippie skirts. H&M has moved from mini to knee- and ankle-length skirts. Old Navy has led the pack with bottoms that approach the ankle.
Retailers say it's a change inspired by stars from Mandy Moore to Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen, young women who have chosen high necks and covered calves over the skimpy styles most often associated with Paris Hilton and Lindsay Lohan. And it's a shift many young women are welcoming, especially those who have had to hunt to find modest attire. Gina Manning, 15, of Belmont, said she prefers less revealing attire. But the affordable stores in her price range -- the Wet Seal and Tello's -- have been stocked with low-cut tops and barely there attire for the past several years.
Earlier this month, Manning bought a pink knee-length skirt at a local American Eagle store.
''It depends on where you shop," Manning said of styles for young women, saying she hopes to see more substantial clothing in teen stores such as
Steve Simon, co-owner of National Jean Co. in Newton Centre, said young women like Manning may get their wish soon. Mainstream retailers generally copy high-end stores and designers, and his pricier boutique has been showing less skimpy tops and full bottoms for months.
''Tops are longer and fuller," Simon said, pointing to longer T-shirts that sell for $45 to $195 at his store.
While National Jean Co. still has its fair share of tanks and thigh-high skirts, newer items include T-shirts with sleeves that stop at the elbow and tops that extend past the thigh. Simon said he believes that this look is a good thing, especially for young women. Teens should learn that less is not always more, he said.
''We've gotten away from all of that stuff," Simon said, pointing to the belly tops now on his sale rack. ''If they're revealing less, it's so much sexier."
Marla Bergman, manager of the high-end fashion shop Gretta Luxe in Wellesley, said a return to modesty means a return to fashion for young women. Gretta Luxe carries big-name designers such as Stella McCartney, Chloe, and Michael Kors. Bergman, who has a 15-year-old daughter, said that skimpier wares are meant to be worn with layers.
At a recent women's fashion event at WaterWorks in Quincy, Bergman shook her head at the bar full of women in revealing tank tops. She gave an approving look to one of her own employees, a young woman wearing a skirt and two layers on top, arms covered.
''For me, it's never appropriate," said Bergman, of revealing tops and bottoms. ''To me, you're not dressed unless you have layers."
Bergman and Simon said there is at least one exception to the modesty movement. Low-rise jeans aren't going anywhere. Simon said the market is still strong for jeans that rest at the hip and below, and that such denim styles remain on shelves.
But Bergman said the trend toward longer tops is a solution for those who are antilow-rise. Finally, the tops cover the bottom.
''Even with low-rise jeans, you're not going to have your tush hanging out," she said.
Meredith Goldstein can be reached at mgoldstein@globe.com. 
