People walk past the Calvin Klein and GANT booths Thursday morning at the Men's Apparel Guild in California show, which is being held at the Las Vegas Convention Center. Photo by Clint Karlsen.

Runway shows in New York City or Paris help designers get their concepts into fashion magazines.

But shaking hands and looking good this week in Las Vegas is what gets clothes in people's closets.

An estimated 115,000 people from every state and about 80 countries are in Southern Nevada for MAGIC, the clothing and fashion industry's largest trade show.

The four-day event at the Las Vegas Convention Center is a twice-yearly show that connects people who buy and sell clothes with the people who make them.

It's a chance for buyers to snag items they think will be hot in upcoming seasons and for sellers to find new markets for products.

Bruce Banafsheha of Tiglio, a family-run menswear company, showed off the company's latest lines of Italian-made suits. He said New York's Fashion Week features more trendy designers and conceptual fashion, but MAGIC is more important to buyers and sellers.

"Most of what you see at Fashion Week may not hit the stores," Banafsheha said. "What you see at MAGIC is the next (season) for the menswear business."

He showed off suits for business and flashier versions aimed at entertainers. The suits retail for $595 to $1,200, he said.

But even the flashier versions were understated, with the brightest colors used in linings and details sewn discreetly onto lapels.

"Our goal is that the guy who wears our suit stands out but does not get pointed at," he said.

Not that MAGIC, which stands for Men's Apparel Guild in California, is devoid of flash.

The show features lines by Green Day singer Billie Joe Armstrong, singer Carlos Santana, entertainer Steve Harvey and others. The show also included a performance by the Neville Brothers at The Orleans and appearances by rap artist Nelly, boxer Bernard Hopkins and Spider-Man creator Stan Lee.

But it's the business of fashion that defines MAGIC.

"MAGIC is more of a barometer of what is really going to be in the stores in the next six months," said Camille Candella, MAGIC marketing director.

It covers men's, women's and kids clothes, accessories, shoes and has recently added a segment that includes factories. Overall, there are about 3,000 exhibitors over 1 million square feet of exhibit space.

Joyce and Leslie Gillard, a mother and daughter team displaying hats from Detroit-based Mr. Song Millinery, said they were hopeful the show would turn up new customers for the hat line.

The beaded, studded hats are geared toward women who would wear them to church, the women said. The hats retail for $80 to $200, they said.

"We hear the trend is fading with the new generation, but as of right now people are still wearing the hats," Leslie Gillard said.

Joyce Gillard said the hats were attracting looks from Southern and Western buyers, but snowstorms back East were preventing customers from the Northeast from attending the show.

"I think what is hurting us is the weather," she said. "The Northeast quarter is not represented."

Jessica Jordan and Russell Paret came to MAGIC to find clothes for a store they plan to open in August in Annapolis, Md.

The store, to be called Paradigm, will cater toward men and women who want stylish clothes for work but don't earn large salaries.

Jordan said eye-catching, yet professional, clothes are important for young professionals in politics, business and government. But many clothes geared toward young people are inappropriate for work and professional-oriented lines can be too stodgy.

"I think there is a large segment of the market that is looking for something better and different," said Jordan, who suggested people who wish to stand out at work should look for clothes with embellished details, not outrageous patterns.

"They are younger," she said of Paradigm's target market, "but they are trying to be professional."