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"  With the reversion to low-lit house parties, hole-in-the-wall clubs, and everybody-knows-your-name dive bars comes an old-is-new kind of party outfit. Not surprisingly, three designers known for their smashing social skills and &amp;quot;what&amp;#039;s next&amp;quot; intuition have given birth to a fresh way of dressing for the occasion.  Abigail Lorick\u2014who can be found sipping Scotch with red lips at time-honored classics like the 21 club or the Algonquin\u2014made her debut at New York Fashion Week with pieces that are as nostalgic as her choice of watering holes. Her quietly beautiful tankdresses recall Ren\u00E9 Gruau&amp;#039;s midcentury illustrations of the leisure class on holiday. &amp;quot;There&amp;#039;s a lot of the &amp;#039;50s in the spring collection, but there&amp;#039;s also a relaxed romantic element. I see girls going to an early dinner by the seaside in the South of France,&amp;quot; Lorick says. In a similarly intimate manner, Katy Rodriguez, a Los Angeles designer and owner of the bicoastal vintage store Resurrection, debuted her collection of colorfully piped crinoline miniskirts inspired by nightlife in Mexico City to a small group of guests in the backyard of a John Lautner estate off Mulholland Drive. As onlookers gazed at the bevy of Angeleno It Girl gallerists, musicians, and artists who modeled the clothes in situ, one could see why Rodriguez only entertains at home unless she&amp;#039;s on vacation. &amp;quot;I want people to wear the clothes and have a good time,&amp;quot; Rodriguez says, &amp;quot;regardless of where they are.&amp;quot; If you&amp;#039;re going to go out, Manhattan-based designer Chris Benz advocates a return to playful conservatism (yes, it&amp;#039;s possible with some imagination), with his buttoned-up Civil War\u2013inspired collection. &amp;quot;My tap-pants-and-tailcoat look is a tongue-in-cheek way to dress up,&amp;quot; says Benz, who made his runway debut for spring. &amp;quot;It maintains all of the flirt and fancy of a party dress,&amp;quot; he says, &amp;quot;but it&amp;#039;s the opposite of one.&amp;quot; What notion could be more fitting for this year&amp;#039;s 180? "^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://www.elle.com/fashion/a10116/fashion-spotlight-dress-rite-317394/>