ask mrs. exeter; How should women of a certain age tackle the season's global-bohemian trend-all those Moroccan caftans and Rasta-striped blouses.

Question I see that the spring collections are loaded with "ethnic" looks, which I think for the purposes of sounding politically correct, I should call global. Beaded pieces, Gypsy skirts, huge necklaces, rich peasant frocks, and probably from some designer, somewhere, a dirndl for sale. Mrs. Exeter, how is a woman of a certain age to dress "global" without looking like one of those world dolls they sell in airports?

Answer Being old enough to remember when a bagel, let alone a cappuccino, was some kind of exotica available only in certain urban neighborhoods and rarely, if ever, in the mountain or Southern states, I encourage any experiment in international relations, from food to frocks, if it will expand one's inner horizons. But a discussion of America's neo-isolationist politics aside, the rules for consuming bagels are much the same as for dealing with global fashions: A little bit goes a long way . . . lest one become weighted down.

In the interest of full disclosure, may I just say here and now that these global styles, or "ethnic" looks, are not my favorites. Oh, sure, in the early seventies I liked to wear Yves Saint Laurent Rive Gauche gypsy skirts that I got in Paris with white cotton tank tops from the little boys' department at Macy's. Saint Laurent always did rich ethnic well, starting in the sixties, when so many creative people rebelled against the testosterone push of post-World War II Western capitalism by idealizing simpler and purer cultures. (Saint Laurent discovered Morocco, while the Beatles, you may recall, meditated in India.) But these days, I prefer a clean, crisp silhouette with some great piece of jewelry.

You see, I don't like anything that droops, and global looks tend to droop. I don't even like chandelier earrings. I don't care how much something sparkles; if it droops, then any dazzling effects are mitigated as admiring eyes are drawn downward. (Which is why we also cut our hair after a certain age, or wear it back or up.) As far as I can tell, the only good purpose for donning something flouncing and ethnic, especially at a certain age, is to bring a softening, and uplifting, feminine aura to any edges that might have withered with the years. It can be camouflage, great if it distracts from any imperfections. (In my mother's day, ladies like Elsie Woodward and Edna Morris coped admirably by wearing a collar of good pearls, adding a new strand as needed every few years. Meanwhile, Kenneth Jay Lane recently reminded me that Diana Vreeland favored "ethnic" jewelry because she believed that one should always wear something "barbaric" to take the curse off a robe de style, meaning a black evening dress.) When successful, something like a necklace of Kurdish coins or feathers or a colorful wrap will succeed unless it droops. I don't do ruffles, either. Too much droop. Fur, yes, ...