Retro grade: Ring-a-ding-ding. Swing into a fabulous Fifties moment, from fashion to food. (Trend).

W, February, 2003

Fun, flirty, fabulous. Whatever adjective you want to tag onto the Fifties, one thing is certain: The decade is an inspiration gold mine. These days, Fifties facets are everywhere--in movies like Far From Heaven and The Hours, in the retro food at Terrance Brennan's new Seafood and Chophouse in Manhattan, even in the graphic Dixie quilts currently on display at the Whitney Museum.

But most of all, the Fifties theme has spilled into fashion. Designers are playing to a girl's frivolous side with a bounty of bows, flared skirts and twin sets. Still it's not all about good girls. Doris Day--types and blushing debs can find their counterpoint in bombshell babes who favor provocative looks to keep them swinging well into the night Sogo ahead, mix those daiquiris.