YOUR PLACE (STARS AND) STRIPES FOREVER ONCE FASHION'S PARIAH, THE STRIPE NOW REPRESENTS LIBERTY, VITALITY.

Even before the great show of patriotism since the Sept. 11 tragedy, stripes were everywhere from Eddie Bauer sweaters to Bombay Company's lamp shades. Today we think of stripes as youthful and fun in clothing, and in interior design they are associated with stability and freedom. But it wasn't always that way.

In medieval paintings, the devil was often depicted in stripes, and later it became the choice of jugglers, prostitutes and prisoners, writes Michael Pastoureau in his new book ``The Devil's Cloth'' (Columbia University Press; $19.95).

Pastoureau has made an extensive study of the history of striped fabric, explaining that it wasn't until 1860 that manufacturers even dared to make striped bed sheets, but by the end of World War I they were a popular alternative to plain white.

The Bauhaus school of design in Germany perfected the stripe as a trompe l'oeil background for walls. The French made it chic using black or navy with white for sport shirts, and the British gave it elegance with monotone stripe upholstery fabric for dining room chairs and settees. American interior designers often use stripes for awnings and tents and nautical things, but fashion designer Ralph Lauren has used the stripes of the flag as the theme of both clothing and bedding.

- Barbara De Witt 

COACH GOES HOME: The New York leather goods company best-known for status handbags joined the pet parade with leashes and collars last year and recently entered the home furnishings market. Coach, in a partnership with Baker Furniture, is introducing two luxury collections of leather-covered chairs and sofas, the Cooper and the Bridgefield, both inspired by designs from the Smithsonian's Cooper-Hewitt Museum. Furniture is available in a variety of leather finishes and a choice of mahogany, British tan, parchment, black, charcoal, red, navy, racing green and bordeaux.

- B.D.

IN THE GARDEN

MAY THE BEST ROSE WIN: Take some of your own, or just enjoy the beauty of somebody else's hybrids and floribundas at the fall rose show Sept. 29 and 30 in Carlsbad's Flower Fields park on Palomar Airport Road. The two-day competition is sponsored by the California Coastal Rose Society and Armstrong Garden Centers and will feature competition in 39 classes, including some for novices. Judges are accredited American Rose Society judges who will award ribbons, trophies and certificates. For more information, call [phone] or pick up brochures at any Armstrong Garden Center.

If you just want to smell the roses and learn more about them, check out the Sept. 29 American Rose Society's Fall Festival of Roses at the Cowan Conference Center in Camarillo. The event will include a sale of rose bushes. For more information, call [phone] or [phone].

- B.D.

TOURING HISTORY

GRACEFUL LIVING: Back in the '20s when Los Angeles was enjoying its spirited youth and the in-crowd shopped at Bullock's Wilshire, Hancock Park was the toniest address in town. It's still an elegant neighborhood and visitors can catch a glimpse of its past on Sept. 30 at the 24th annual Homes Tour sponsored by the Hancock Park Historical Society. The fee for the guided tour of homes and gardens is $25 for adults and $12.50 for full-time students under age 23. No photography is allowed, and guests are required to wear flat, soft-soled shoes. For reservations, call [phone].

Fans of the Victorian, arts and crafts and colonial revival periods can see the best of old Oxnard at the sixth annual Autumn Home Tour at 11 a.m. Sunday. Most of the homes are in the Henry T. Oxnard National Historic District, where Heritage Square docents will wear period costumes. The event includes refreshments and an art show. Tickets are $18 and can be purchased by calling [phone] or [phone].

- B.D.

CAPTION(S):

6 photos

Photo:

(1 -- color) Eddie Bauer, $88

(2 -- color) Corinthian column lamp, $155, Bombay Co.

(3 -- color) no caption (``The Devils Cloth'')

(4 -- color) no caption (leather chair)

(5 -- color) no caption (rose)

(6 -- color) no caption (house)