-This Article is a good example of how celebrity Cameron Diaz made the Designer fashion forecast of mini skirt a reality by wearing a mini dress to her premier of Charlies Angels.

-Also comments on how the hem rises as the economy is good

- Shows how people take a fashion forecast and make the trend into the fashion of the time.

The Express
October 25, 2000

THIGHER AND THIGHER
BYLINE: BY VIV GROSKOP
Legs are back. Well, sort of. They're only back if they're long-limbed, toned, taut ones, preferably dangling on the end of an impossibly famous and glamorous woman with a very large stock of anti-cellulite cream in her bathroom cupboard. When Cameron Diaz stepped out in a thigh-line mini dress for this week's Los Angeles premiere of Charlie's Angels, her choice of hemline declared her as one of the high-profile women campaigning for a return to Mary Quant's 1960 Chelsea Look.

Diaz is in good company in the pelmet camp. Kate Moss is pictured in Vogue this month wearing a virtually indecent Eighties-style Gucci suede mini. Singers Sophie Ellis-Bextor and Kylie Minogue often wear itsy-bitsy thigh-bearers. And the Queen of the mini skirt, Victoria Beckham, has pioneered the 21st-century belt with an admirable disregard for fashion cycles. Her motto is: if I'm wearing it, it will soon be the latest thing.

And she's right. Officially, the mini is not in fashion yet, says Nicole Thompson, fashion director of She magazine, but it's about to be. "Skirts are getting shorter but not for this season; for spring/summer 2001. In six months, they'll be creeping up the thigh. Celebrities have access to designers' ideas and collections much earlier than we do so that could be why there are so many around now."

If Cameron or Victoria saw any of the recent collections in Milan, New York or London, they'll know way before us that the mini is back. "Several designers showed minis for next year," says Nicole. "It's all part of the Eighties revival around now."

Even the usually conservative Nicole Farhi had them in her collection. This could be a sign that other designers who don't usually go short will also start chopping off hemlines. Another reason we're seeing more minis at movie premieres, according to Nicole, is that when it comes to evening dress, celebrities make their own rules. They are expected to be leaders of fashion, not followers, and will often wear something that leaves the rest of us, including fashion designers, desperate to copy.

This week's Cameron Diaz mini, for instance, is much shorter than even the ones that are coming in next year: "The new ones will be short but not bottom-skimmingly short," explains Nicole. "A short skirt, whether in fashion or not, is going to grab the headlines more than a knee-length skirt. Minis immediately look more glamorous."

Which leads us to the physical issue: a mini only looks good if you look good in the appropriate body area to start with. Don't forget, celebrities have access to personal trainers, plastic surgery and fake tans, making minis a lot easier to wear well.

Even the best-groomed celebrities don't always get away with it, as the usually glamorous Sadie Frost and Jennifer Lopez have found by trial and error.

There could be yet another indicator for the mini's return. The economy has always been a good tracking device. "People have said there is a link," adds Nicole. "In the Sixties and Eighties, hemlines rose as the economy grew stronger. As the economy is strong at the moment, maybe it's having an effect."

Perhaps we are starting to see a cycle for the mini: a revival every 20 years. So, until 2005, where does that leave the fashion-conscious?

The bold will be reaching for the M&S control tights. The less brave of us will just be investing in the best trouser suit we can find.

he real women's guide to mini skirts Be very careful with your choice of underwear. Do not risk a Basic Instinct flash and wear practical pants to guard against over-exposure.

To avoid any Barbara Windsor carry-ons, remember you are unable to touch your toes. Get others to pick up a dropped purse or shine your shoes, and do not play snooker or pool.

If you have not been blessed with Gisele's never-ending limbs, cheat by wearing high heels. But be warned that towering stilettos could ruin your look if you end up on the floor in an unglamorous heap.

Avoid embarrassment by taking a lift wherever possible. When faced with a tricky staircase, enlist the help of a friend to walk behind you and guard against prying eyes.

Avoid escalators.

If liposuction is not an option, hide those lumps with the aid of reinforced Lycra tights which will give you legs like Naomi Campbell and not Roseanne Barr.

In case your skirt is prone to riding up, carry a scarf to protect your modesty when sitting.

Wear thermal knickers.

To prevent a sagging rear drooping lower than your hemline, buy bottom uplift tights.

Do not get into or out of a car without a long coat on, or the cameras won't be the only things flashing.

STATE: NEW YORK, USA (72%);

CITY: NEW YORK, NY, USA (72%); LONDON, ENGLAND (72%);

GEOGRAPHIC: UNITED STATES (72%); ENGLAND (72%); UNITED KINGDOM (72%); NEW YORK, USA (72%); NEW YORK, NY, USA (72%); LONDON, ENGLAND (72%);

COUNTRY: UNITED STATES (72%); ENGLAND (72%); UNITED KINGDOM (72%);

SUBJECT: FASHION & APPAREL (90%); CELEBRITIES (89%); FASHION DESIGNERS (89%); WOMEN'S CLOTHING (76%); FASHION ACCESSORIES (74%);

PERSON: CAMERON DIAZ (85%); KATE MOSS (57%); KYLIE MINOGUE (56%); VICTORIA BECKHAM (56%); VICTORIA BECKHAM (56%);

LOAD-DATE: October 24, 2000

LANGUAGE: English

PUB-TYPE: Newspaper
Copyright 2000 EXPRESS NEWSPAPERS