Fashion

Aisles of STYLE
Summery souvenirs you can buy (and remake) on the fly.

BY RACHEL BECKMAN

Truck stops have more to offer than just a place to pee and check your tire pressure. Wedged somewhere between all those bags of Cheetos and pork rinds is style inspiration. Now, this takes work (we're talking cheapo Americana here, not Armani), but the results

CONTENTS

INTRODUCTION
FOOD & DRINK

TRAVEL

OUTDOOR

FASHION

MUSIC & ARTS

LIFE

HOME & HOOD
CONCERT and EVENTS CALENDAR

are well worth your artistic efforts. Following are fashionable items available at almost every truck stop, as well as at your local supermarket or drugstore, that with a bit of imagination and just a simple pair of scissors (and, in some cases, thread), can be completely fabulous pick-me-ups worthy of a night out on the town.

Highway: Size 2X "Truckers Drive America" T-shirt ($10-$15, Jubitz, 10310 N Vancouver Way, 283-1111).

My Way: Snip fabric off the top and bottom of these god-awful tee until you have a really long strip with the graphic print in the middle. Tie the ends in a knot in the middle of your back, and voila: tube top good enough for an episode of Survivor 7. If you're not on the road, you can get even craftier by using a sewing machine to make it into a halter-top.

Highway: Racks of tourist shirts that sprout up in supermarkets and drugstores every time the Rose Festival comes to town.(approximately $10, Safeway, 1025 SW Jefferson St., 223-5379, and other locations).

My Way: Forget adult sizes. Scour the kiddy rack for extra-large kids' T-shirt. To turn it into a hot little baby tee, throw the shirt into a hot shower and watch it shrink. Guys really dig chicks with bears on their shirts--especially if looks like their eyes are popping out.

Highway: Two Portland city street maps (around $4, Travel Center America, off I-84 at Exit 17, Troutdale, or Made in Oregon, 1710 Lloyd Center, 282-7636, and other locations).

My Way: To make a handbag, laminate both maps (try Kinko's) and cut two 11-by-11-inch squares, two 3- by-11-inch rectangles (for the sides) and one 3 1/2-by-11-inch strip (for the bottom). Sew the pieces together with a sewing machine, leaving a quarter-inch from the edge to your thread. For the handle, poke holes one inch from the top and enforce them with metal eyelets. Use strong fabric or whatever you want for the handle. Bonus: When you get lost, you can nonchalantly consult your own purse.

Highway: The seasonal aisle at any convenience store.

My Way: You know how when you spend the big bucks on Gucci sunglasses they're lost in a week, but that five-dollar pair you bought a decade ago seems to always stick around? Cut to the chase and buy a cute cheapo pair ($5, Walgreen's, 12335 NE Glisan St., 256-2675, and other locations). Walgreen's also has foam beer cozies with bumper sticker-ready phrases like "How can I miss you if you won't go away?" and "If you're not living on the edge, you're taking up too much space!" (99 cents). Also check out the rubber flip-flop section ($5.99). The platform J Crew version is probably made in the same Third World sweatshop anyway.

GETAWAY GRAB BAG
10 Essentials for Fashionable Summer Travel
BY ELIZABETH DYE

Getting away from it all hardly means surrendering every city luxury. How can you possibly brave the hordes in the Hamptons (or, OK, the crowds at Cannon Beach) without a satchel of stylish necessities? Pack light if you must, but don't leave home without the following.

Preppy Galore: Crisp cottons in retro graphic and island prints give your après-swim ensemble a '60s sophisticate look. If it can't be a vintage Lilly Pulitzer pareo, at least let it be pink. Pink-and-white dotted shell top, $26, Ipnosi, 616 NW 23rd Ave., 223-4373.

Candy for Baby: Summer's outdoor pursuits are murder on heirloom jewelry. The Popsicle-bright, durable polymers can survive all those dips in the pool and wind-whipped convertible cruises. Plastic earrings $12, embossed bracelet $12, polka-dot headband $10, Urban Outfitters, 2320 NW Westover Road, 248-0020.

Sneaking Out: Sure, docksiders are dandy for Daddy's yacht, but those grueling treks to the gift shops require sturdier footwear. Chic trainers by Dutch company Quick protect your pedicure and add ounces of bounce. Men are in Coral, women in Typhoon. $55 on sale, Bad Doll Shoes and Oddball 2, 808 NW 23rd Ave., 525-2202.

Ear Apparent: You've mastered a rapt facial expression for dreary outdoor classical concerts, but even educated ears need a break from Bach. Keep your Jay-Z on the DL with a pair of Japanese-imported Audio-Technica camouflage headphones. $75, Rudy's Barbershop, 3015 SE Division St., 232-3850.

Hot Pants: Part vintage gymsuit, part car-wash fantasy, these are the shorts for girls who think miniskirts might as well be chastity belts. Get the map--those thigh-baring slits go all the way up to Schenectady. Puma short-shorts, $32, Urban Outfitters, 2320 NW Westover Road, 248-0020.

Paris When It Sizzles: It's a rainy June Sunday, and there's nothing in the beach house but musty Robert Ludlum paperbacks and Cher eight-tracks. Transport yourself to the City of Lights with the Colette No. 5 CD, featuring handpicked tracks from France's chicer-than-chic boutique. $32, Rudy's Barbershop, 3015 SE Division St., 232-3850.

Urban SOS: Traveling to the Midwest? How will that cute ice-cream truck driver know you're cool when you're surrounded by Ohio cousins? Send a smoke signal that says, "I may be related to these yo-yos, but back home, I am the go-to guy for info on underground graffiti artists/action-figure designers." Futura Laboratory hat, $70, Rudy's Barbershop, 3015 SE Division St., 232-3850.

Borneo in a Bottle: Sure, you could rub your head in a mixture of sand, salt water and seaweed, but how icky! Bumble & Bumble Surf Spray mimics the beachy, dune-dusted look of summertime hair, without that louche low-tide odor. $16, Rudy's Barbershop, 3015 SE Division St., 232-3850.

Miami Nice: Why tuck your ducats into a status handbag to be manhandled by bumbling bellhops and brutish baggage handlers? This winsome billfold keeps folding money safe and fits snugly in the pocket of your clam diggers. Kissing Flamingo wallet by Transversion, $20, Retread Threads, 931 SW Oak St., 916-0000.

WWeek 2015

Willamette Week’s reporting has concrete impacts that change laws, force action from civic leaders, and drive compromised politicians from public office. Support WW's journalism today.