How to dress like a seventeen model from 1959

This is the year of the beautiful, long-sleeved shirt. Plan on several dazzling whites - cottons, pure silk, or Dacron crepe - and an assortment steeped in color.  And do wear belts with them!

The great male robbery, part of the legal and lighthearted return to the classics, now extends to jewelry.  Search through family keepsakes for men's watches, chains, cuff links, stickpins, tie clips, anything to point up the gentle man-look of your clothes.

For a change of pace, investigate the easy ways to add provincial flavor to your wardrobe.  Small silvery buttons and rickrack trim will transform a blouse or dress.  Embroidered ribbon makes a colorful belt.  Prequilted fabric can be sewn into a circle skirt.

Tailored classics take a striking jewelry accents, especially heraldic or geometric pins.  Here's how to give your an individual look.  Cut a piece of bright ribbon (at least one inch wide) into a strip twice the depth of your pin.  Fold the ribbon in half crosswise, trim the ends diagonally or with a pie-cut, and pull them apart slightly.  Then attach pin through ribbon.

Everyone has a case of the tights-omania these days (the symptoms are patterned or plain).  But do you know how to put tights on for the best possible fit?  Roll them like stockings, step in, then unroll gradually from the ankles up.  They'll stay smooth all day.

First aid for fallen hems in an emergency: use Scotch tape (and remove it by the end of the day for a real needle and thread aid).

Try wearing a classic cardigan sweater buttoned in the back, with a string of pearls.  With a bow blouse, cross the ties in front, and knot them in the back.  Even the belt boom backs up nicely; try it with contour belts.

Tie a long piece of narrow ribbon to your keys; pin the other end to the lining of your handbag (ribbon color should contrast).  Keys will be easy to locate, hard to lose.