Ask Mrs. Exeter; If you're old enough to have worn retro looks the first time round, are you too old to experiment with today's youngest designers.(Column)

Question Ever mindful of the mutton-dressed-as-lamb concerns of a woman of a certain age, should I consider any young designers for fall, Mrs. Exeter? Or should I just stick to the tried-and-true?

Answer Of course there are young designers you should consider. Let the sun shine in, dear. To stay young, think young. Always expand your horizons. Investigate all-the new, the old, the somewhere-in-between-and if you make a mistake, do not worry: When it comes to fashion, you can always go home again.

But before I continue to articulate my enthusiasms, for self-prevention's sake we should address the threat of mutton-dressed-as-lamb disease. Consider the various trends that hover for fall, and realize: Some should be avoided entirely; others must not be taken too literally.

For instance, flat-heeled go-go boots and other flower-power apparel reminiscent of what Twiggy might have worn in the sixties. Cute? After a certain point in life, cute gets to be really historic, so beware. Nouvelle black? The danger with some of the bright colors and patterns of recent seasons, including also this season's czarina pieces, was that ladies like us might end up looking like those duty-free-shop world dolls. But too much of this season's brooding black-and it's aplenty in the collections-is too grave, too mournful, I fear, for modern women like us. Balance the nouvelle black with nouvelle white, then add high heels and luminescent pearls and diamonds. Empire shawl collars and other dramatic necklines? Mainly for the wee young swans, though there are exceptions. Count to ten and think before saying, "I'll take it." Thick-belted dresses and jackets? They make the short look shorter and the tall look bigger. Volume, ruffles, puff sleeves, and other romantic material notions? Does the name Bubbles Rothermere ring a bell? Do volume with sable, I always say. (But then again, some marvelously big blouse balanced with slender trousers and a good high heel is a powerful silhouette if you have height.) And last but not least the military look, epaulets and brass buttons. Beware too much add-on and tinsel at our age-don't you agree?

Now, here is a shortlist of young-designer do's for fall: Olivier Theyskens for Rochas, Nicolas Ghesquiere for Balenciaga, Derek Lam, Proenza Schouler, Peter Som, Behnaz Sarafpour, Thakoon, Doo.Ri, Zac Posen, Roland Mouret, a bit of Libertine, Francisco Costa at Calvin Klein, Stefano Pilati for Yves Saint Laurent Rive Gauche, Bryan Bradley going solo at Tuleh. And then there are Alber Elbaz at Lanvin and Martin Grant, two fellows still relatively new to certain cognoscenti and two favorites of Lee Radziwill this season. (Yes, European clothes might cost more if the dollar still droops against the euro, but you are worth it, aren't you?)

What I like about the young designers suddenly this season is that, for the most part, their heavy-going nostalgia of the last ten years is passing, and hurrah! The young are no longer content to just recycle looks we ladies of a certain age have already worn (or our mothers did). Who wants to wear the same look too often in one lifetime under the guise of new clothes? ...