DALLAS, Feb 22, 2004/ FW/ --- One of Cynthia Steffe’s qualities that make her a very good designer is that she feels the pulse of the market. And she did it again this season by presenting mannish inspired clothing that is made feminine with the rich texture and color of the fabrics.

Though the concept is not new (it started way back in Annie Hall), borrowing your boyfriend’s jacket or your brother’s shirt to make an outfit has been done a lot of times. But Cynthia Steffe gave it a new take and a new look by playing a lot with the new proportions – slim shoulders and slim silhouettes plus tiny ruffles giving it an old world elegance.

Sending models in wide lapel jackets either in tweed or solid colors, matched with cigarette pants and boots, it looked like the first day of school in the university. The look is perfect for Cynthia Steffe’s main clientele, which is the twenty-something generation.

Then she added a few twists like the bustier that also looked like armor and the oversized parka jacket trimmed with fur on the collar. Small buttons and tiny ruffles, sometimes with a bow gave the collection an overall feminine aura.

There is a feeling that you are in the English countryside, which is expected since the designer said in her press notes that “There’s an Eton schoolboy feeling to the collection.”

Yet you don’t see the “stiff British upper lip” to use a cliché. The collection is fun and contemporary and with a very American twist to it.

Cynthia Steffe

Cynthia Steffe

Cynthia Steffe

Cynthia Steffe