Experts Say: "Plus la change; plus la meme chose"

Nothing is new under the sun

But read on for what's been done

To make spring fashions sell.

The A-line has been modified,

And necklines--they will lower ride.

Heels are higher, hemlines lower.

But when all is done and ever,

Fashion's still where it began--

Out somewhere "twixt star and man."

Harvard Square can be either a wasteland or a garden of Eden for those in search of fashion. Those who decide what to put out on the shelves for sale maintain they couldn't care less what Paris decrees, and a continuity prevails here from season to season. Nevertheless, this year as usual there are subtle changes. A recent looking spree corroborated this. It also confirmed the suspicion that the Square stocks much of the same trite, conservative clothing available everywhere, (though at prices often higher than any other place).

Here's a brief look at some of the better stores to encourage the prospective shopper. ADELE BRAGAR (1684 Mass. Ave.) says, "To Hell with the fashion magazines! I buy what I like." She likes the tailored and simple--"You'll find no lace or ruffles here." Again this spring she's showing shifts along with the newer looking A-line skimmers and fitted dresses. Her hottest number: the essential linen skimmer ($15) in black, blue and putty, too. Mrs. Bragar does not "get on the band wagon with the Marimekko jazz" and subscribes to a delightful sartorial inverse snobbism.

Marimmekko is Finnish for "a little girl's dress for Mary." It's also the trademark of an enterprise which annually sells some 20,000 dresses in this country through Cambridge-based DESIGN RESEARCH (57 Brattle). Termed "Fashion's status symbol" and "uniform of intellectuals," the dress is supposed to reflect a "sophisticated plicity." It is designed for the hand-screened cotton fabric from which it is made. (Ordinarily, a fabric is designed for a particular dress.) Marimekkos are sexy by implication rather than by cut. They belong in the never-never land between the housedress and the beach shift--or at least they did last season.

Marimekko Grows Up

This spring Marimekko has come of age. Veering away from the pseudo ivy league button-down, shirtwaist styles, and the blatant tents for which it had become known, its lines are tamer. However, the effect is definitely on the wild side. A few styles retain excess fullness, but most are slimmed down and even semi-fitted. The trend from small geometric and corny floral-like prints to bold architectonic designs is an improvement. Wrought iron and fossil prints as well as the large circle designs really grab you. Specific spring shapes are back fullness, semi-A (fitted to waist), real A, empire, and square bottom. You'll never see anything stranger than the new ankle-length Marimekkos ($48-60). Some look like hospital dresses; others look like you're wrapped in a fence.

Across the street, THE WINDOW SHOP embodies a completely different fashion philosophy. Although most often associated with leisurely lunches, it also houses one of Cambridge's best shops. In its excellent workrooms, imported fabrics become one-of-a-kind dresses at high, though not prohibitive, prices. Its styles are nether super-extreme nor trite, but distinctive fabrics make it certain you won't see yourself on the street.

GERTRUDE SINGER'S upstairs shop on Church Street has the highest prices in the Square, but go and you'll see why. She carefully selects the best of the au courant; such as the silk coat and dress ensemble ($240). She believes in capes and capelets for everything, and only a few of these are under $100; one silk raincape is only $70. Her jumpers and jerkins, summer dresses (including Ann Fogarty) and suits are ust barely accessible. It must be emphasized that no other store in the area carries such consistently fashionable, unHarvard Square-like clothing.

At the other end of the spectrum you'll find the irrepressible KITTY HAAS. Bubbling over with her usual enthusiasm, Kitty breathlessly speaks of the "mad, wild things" she is selling in her new shop on 42a Brattle Street. (A fire on Dec. 31st destroyed everything, so she has begun again from scratch.) Kitty prides herself on her fabrics, imported from the oddest countries. What she calls her "new, darling designs" turn out to be merely a modified and more sophisticated A-line. She has a shepherdess's dress complete with plunge which should be interesting. Kitty and her "fantastic seamstress" will make you a cotton dress ($25) in ten days.

Capes and Things

Capes still enchant most Cambridgiennes, and fortunately an attractive variety has appeared on the market in recent months. ADELE BRAGAR has a narrow, waterproof cape with detachable epaulettes and big brass buttons in khaki poplin ($20) and in lovely blue corduroy. ($24). Most stores carry several good styles, but GERTRUDE SINGER'S cape collection remains unsurpassed in Cambridge. In Boston, FILENE'S is showing some striking models in pastel wools with shoulder button closings ($55).

For basic separates, you can't beat ROGERS (no relation). Formerly men's shop on Mass. Ave., the new Holyoke Center store includes a woman's section which is both inexpensive and adequate. The round-collared print blouses with solid colored skirts and checked blouse and bermuda out-fits will have you looking like a Smithie in no time flat. The VERMONT TWEED and OXFORD SHOP (on Brattle St.) specializes in a more expensive version of the same look.

If pants catch your fancy in the spring. J. BRINE will serve you fine. Everything stretches: long pants, surfers, bermudas, jamaicas, and shorts (not to mention skirts and bathing suits.) J. Brine carries genuine Levi's (and we know they're genuine because of the authentic rectangular red Levilable on the left side of the right hand back pocket.) The "lean, hiphugging masculine fit" comes in blue ($4.75), white $(4.50) and stretch ($7.95). Less glamorous, but certainly adequate, are CORCORAN'S Wranglin' jeans ($3) in 10 oz. denim, sanforized for that "trim western fit."

Velour tops, the European version of the American sweatshirt, coordinate with long and short skirts or pants, and judging by the selection in the Square, are extremely popular. TOWN AND TRAVEL carries the most complete array of shirts in this velvety cotton material--3 styles of cardigan and 5 of pullovers ($12-15) in every color. Their Swiss cotton velour bears an amusing label advising the purchaser, "Don't mind to put this article in your washing machine." But, just the same, I wouldn't recommend it.

THE WINDOW SHOP takes the velour prize for its stunning black-on-red printed turtleneck ($25) imported from Switzerland. ADELE BRAGAR'S Finnish velours ($12) come in