Calvin Tran fiddled with a fanshaped slice of wool in his New York shop. “You can wear this as a poncho, a dress, a kimono or a hooded cape,” the designer said. He added, “See, when you go to Iraq, it becomes a burqa!”

From playful variations from populist outfitters like American Apparel and Victoria’s Secret to the more rarefied styles of Albert Elbaz of Lanvin , convertible clothes are catching on.

These garments can be hitched, tied, buttoned or draped. In a value-driven economy, fashions that travel from workplace to gym to cocktails are certainly compelling. And this trend, once perceived as a novelty at best, is attracting a new generation of lighttraveling frequent fliers and canny frugalistas. What’s more, the clothes are forgiving. “If you’re having a fat day, it covers all the right places,” said Jeannie Herlihy, a fan of convertible knitwear from JNBY, the Chinese retail giant with an outpost in downtown Manhattan. She wore a wrap cardigan with adjustable ties throughout her recent pregnancy. “If it doesn’t, you can always turn it upside down.”

The appeal of these clothes is “not about money,” Mr. Tran said. “People are buying them to play with. They want to push their creativity.”

Shoppers have embraced Alexander Wang’s racy biker jacket with detachable sleeves; Norma Kamali’s Scarvey, a shawl with sleeves that can double as a cardigan; and Rachel Roy’s four-way coat ($189), which zips apart to stand alone as a vest, a sleeveless dress or a cropped jacket.

Donna Karan recently issued a weighty jersey “infinity dress,” which transforms from a cap-sleeve sheath to a halter dress or one-shoulder gown. Within days of its being posted on the company’s Web site, 100 sold, a spokeswoman said, at $1,000 each.

Aloha Rag in Manhattan sold out of a rugged-looking parka that turns into a dress. Victoria’s Secret will follow its best-selling multiway jersey dress with a wide-leg, disco-era jumpsuit. And come spring, Gary Graham, a designer and merchant with a downtown following, will offer a skirt that does double duty as a shirt or culotte, a successor to his best-selling $354 skirt/dress, ruched like an Austrian curtain.

Mutable fashions are not groundbreaking , yet the trend seems more timely than ever.

Consumers have become more daring and self-expressive, said Sharon Graubard, a senior executive with Stylesight, a trend-forecasting firm in New York.

“They’re getting comfortable with shifting their clothes around ,” she said.

“A lot of our ideas come directly from consumers,” said Marsha Brady, the creative director of American Apparel. Customers share their insights on YouTube, twisting and wrapping the company’s jersey wraps and bandeau dresses into new configurations .

The idea does have its skeptics. As Amber Garrett wrote on We Covet, a shopping blog, “I’ll always be a little bit wary of clothing that requires a how-to video.”

Yet the trend is becoming more popular online. Sites like Style Hive, Trend Spot and Refinery 29 offer diagrams and photo s that demystify these transformers. And YouTube and designers’ Web sites also provide guidance.

Four-in-one jackets, two-way pants and convertible coats have gained a following at Harputs Own, a San Francisco clothier and online retailer. “Our customers are students and bloggers,” said Gus Harput, who heads the business. Bloggers, in particular, have done a lot to advance the concept of convertible dressing.

“These people are savvy,” Mr. Harput said. “They want the kinds of clothes other people don’t have.”


By RUTH LA FERLA