RUNWAY TO REALITY : Same Style at a Poetic Price

An outfit as simple as a white blouse and little black skirt looks as chic as ever this resort season. Louis Dell’Olio for Anne Klein is showing his version--a white cotton poet’s shirt and black stretch cotton miniskirt--as part of his resort ’91 collection. The shirt is $315 and the skirt is $67 at Neiman Marcus, Beverly Hills, and at Jona in Studio City. He shows it with a corset-like stretch belt. The belt is $70 at Neiman Marcus. Total cost of the designer ensemble: $572.

Los Angeles designer Bonnie Strauss is also showing the poet’s shirt for resort. The one pictured here is white rayon and buttons up the front. (Dell’Olio’s shirt is a wraparound style.) The Strauss version is $135 at ModaSport stores citywide. It is worn with a black miniskirt--a bargain hunter’s delight from Sheena Fashion in the Santee Alley, a discount shopping alley in downtown Los Angeles. And it is a real deal at $12. There is a vast selection of corset-like stretch belts at Joia Trading Co. on Santee Street right in front of the alley. The one pictured here is $5. The total cost of the plain-wrap outfit is $152.