An announcement from Style Control ....

What color should you wear and in what theme? Is there a look that's fashionably correct?

Yes, in fact. An international fashion advisory group based in Paris recommends the refined masculine look created by wearing suits in black, camel and dark brown. As for fabric, go for the woolly kind: flanneled, felted or brushed. The British-inspired look is back, but with creative details and styling. If you own a classic hand-me-down jacket, cut off the sleeves and replace them with leather or lace or cotton sleeves off an old shirt. To glamorize your suits, add a shimmering effect. A blouse, for one, can be made of glossy or glittering materials.

This cavalcade of style advice comes from Young-ah Hahn, a representative of the Korea Fashion Color Center, which is affiliated with the International Commission for Fashion and Textile Colors. The international organization dictates trends for colors, textiles and themes, then disseminates its analyses and predictions worldwide. It holds biannual meetings in Paris and other cities, where representatives from 18 countries meet to exchange information on the fashion trends and tendencies spotted in each country.

"Red, for example, has been picked up as the hot color since the Red Devils cheering squad appeared in the World Cup," Ms. Hahn said. "Coincidentally, burgundy is one of the colors that is in worldwide." Once a trend takes hold, she said, it can remain popular for up to two years. Accordingly, the commission predicts trends up to two years ahead.

So what other fashion verdicts does the commission say will be good through 2004?

For nonoffice workers or off-duty hours, the commission recommends ethnic looks: handcrafted and decorative details, such as embroideries, fringes and tapes, and handmade knits in neutral colors. Also, mixtures of fruit and vegetable colors help you stand out in the city like a Bohemian.

And romanticism is still in the air. The right colors include dusty rose, khaki and cream, while the best textiles are Grecian pleats and rich ruffles in chiffon, mohair, velvet. If you're going sporty, pick up accessories and shoes in bright orange, hot pink or red to perk up your outfit. Everything should work fine with corduroy, the hottest fabric of the moment.

If fabric doesn't work, leather will ?as always. According to the people at the Italian Leather Exhibition in Seoul, the trends have gone wild and exotic. Jackets, pants, skirts, shoes, and the daintiest evening bags are being made of exotic skins: python, crocodile, leopard, zebra. A classic leopard pattern adopts a fresh look, dotted with gold or a leopard-skin pattern in pastels.

The newest entry from the zoo is the giraffe. Giraffe skin is, like zebra skin, two-toned and contrasting, but features spots in black over a base of beige. Because real giraffe skin is pricey, realistic-looking prints on cowhide or lambskin are catching on. Buyers and designers check closely to see if the skin looks real. This reporter found an alligator print on cowhide that was dotted with pale blue and light brown, hot colors for the past two seasons.

An interesting discovery is computer technology that enables photographic or graphic images to be printed on leather. Young European designers are really picking up on the technology.

A representative of a company that specializes in the technology, Granziano Carugi, said, "A designer in London put his logo on leather goods, and another used images of old paintings to make a funkier collection."

by Inēs Cho