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Are we out of our skulls? Not yet.

Clothingmakers dig up an unlikely gimmick to put a fresh twist on this season's styles .

By SHARON FINK
Published October 21, 2006

Given how early holiday merchandise starts being hawked - if you haven't yet noticed a Christmas ornament, please share your key to obliviousness - the world at large hardly noticed when skulls and crossbones surfaced in July.

And when the world did, it wondered only where the candy corn was.

But fashion followers knew the real reason skulls were dangling from Prada sandals, printed on scarves at Wet Seal and showing up on clothes and accessories in all price ranges between.

Skulls are one of the season's big trends. And by season, we mean fall and winter, not Halloween.

In fashion, everything becomes mainstream eventually. Skulls, and their sometimes companion crossbones, have been there for a while, but not in a big way. They have remained primarily the province of heavy metal and punk rock lovers, Goths, bikers and people over 30 embarrassing themselves - and their children - at clubs and concerts.

(Rolling Stone Keith Richards and his skull ring get a special exemption in the over-30 category.)

Add their general creepiness to the mix and skulls are the most unlikely trend to break out in any season. Why would a clothingmaker think that Average Woman wants to spend $352 on a pair of jeans with a skull embroidered over half of the right thigh? (The Grail line produces such a thing.)

Not even Gasparilla inspires that kind of enthusiasm.

But it was only a matter of time before skulls became considered as marketable as Mickey Mouse.

Fashion is running low on gimmicks for putting fresh twists on the seasonal cycles, so skulls were bound to get a turn. (They're a logical follow-up to last year's big, creepy bug phase.) And two things in particular positioned them for breakout now: Johnny Depp and Mickey's employer.

The first Pirates of the Caribbean movie, in 2003, and Depp's portrayal of Capt. Jack Sparrow drove skull culture deep into pop culture consciousness and made it lovable in the way only Disney and Depp's sex appeal could. With designers always working a year-plus ahead, that teed up a skull breakout for this year, coincidentally in time for the release of the first of two Pirates sequels.

Understanding should not breed acceptance, however. For most of us, skulls should be nothing but novelty wear. If your banker, real estate agent, kid's teacher or boss is still carrying a skull-studded purse on Dec. 15, you won't think it's stylish. You'll wonder if they have a weird secret life you'd really rather not know about.

Use this skull proliferation to refresh your Halloween wear, stock up for Gasparilla or channel your hopes for next year's Bucs season. You can even get a head start on your Pirates of the Caribbean Part III premiere-party outfit (the second sequel is due out Memorial Day weekend). By then, skulls will have been given back to their specialty groups.

And fish hooks will be the next big thing.

Sharon Fink can be reached at (727) 893-8525 or fink@sptimes.com

Fashion file

Where to buy

Above: Hat, $4.99, Wet Seal; T-shirt, Diane Dal Lago www.dianedallago.com, $48, and belt, $90, DKM II, WestShore Plaza, Tampa; purse, $22, and scarf, $10, Claire's.

Cover: Shoes, Ed Hardy, $64, Dillard's. Socks, $4, Wet Seal.

Inset: Lanyard, $3.50; locket bracelet, $7.50, and key chain, $5.50, both Pirates of the Caribbean movie tie-ins, all items at Claire's.

[Last modified October 20, 2006, 12:36:12]