Tie Power

In any contest to single out the single most useless item of apparel, the necktie wins in a walk. At best, it adds a modest splash of color to the Adam's apple; at worst, it makes a wearer appear to have been the recent victim of a mad tracheotomist. But with the coming of high-heeled shoes and shoulder purses for men, it seemed impossible that the ladies would not strike back. Now they have: in the gilded salons of Manhattan, London and Paris, the flouncy belles of yesteryear are turning out in man-tailored jackets, fly-front trousers and--saddest of all--the plebeian cravat.

An early convert to the menswear fad was Actress Betsy von Furstenberg, now touring the provinces in The Gingerbread Lady, who bought a boy's outfit for herself last fall when she was shopping for her prep-school son. "She's an incredibly feminine woman," says Allen Murphy, an ad man and a longtime friend. "She usually looks best in a pouf of chiffon, but she really looks terrific in boys' clothes."

More Funky. "Fashion goes from one extreme to the other," explains Fashion Director Katherine Murphy of Manhattan's Bloomingdale's. "We've had so many pretty, fancy and outrageous clothes that this change was bound to happen. When I was in Paris late last year, all the darling girls were running around in the menswear look." Neckties seem to be the key to the fashion, but derbies, top hats and caps are selling well too. So are Fred Astaire pants, wide-cuffed and pleated, with matching sweaters.

Several Manhattan stores, including Bloomingdale's, Lord & Taylor, Saks and Alexander's, are selling menswear for women; Bloomie's has a special area called "Tie One On." Designer Betsey Johnson, who accepted fashion's Coty Award last year dressed in black tie and dinner jacket, offers the menswear look for spring in a strictly individual version: the "Our Gang" comedy style, which is considerably more funky and less tailored than the uptown interpretation. And last week the women's page of London's Daily Mirror ran a feature instructing women in a new talent they will need: the art of tying a four-in-hand knot.

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