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| A D & G new release puts a quirky-cute spin on 50s era style |
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| This gorgeous non-floral print Vivienne Westwood is classic but cool |
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| Defined, classic black flowers lay over a cream slip on this 3.1 Phillip Lim number |
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| Roberto Cavalli shows us classy leopard-print at its best! |
There has been a shift in the cosmic winds of fashion recently. A radical one. The popular disheveled, rebellious rocker look that we have seen just about everywhere- from pop stars to peers- is no longer in vogue it seems. What has replaced it? Its exact opposite: lady-like chic, neat and classic.
It's strange that as I write this I feel no nostalgia for the "Ke$ha" look that I, along with everyone else, indulged in. In its prime time, I woke up every morning and literally felt like P. Diddy. I bought a faux fur vest. I teased my hair from its already rebellious state into what I believe is called a "whafro". It was incredibly fun, the "tough-sexy-grungy" look, yet I feel its time is now up. As an ardent follower of fashion (which ebbs and flows of its own accord, not dictated by anyone) I cannot help but feel that magnetic pull away from the old, and to it's opposite: neat, common-sensical, classic beauty. Let Vogue explain further:
"I AM WOMAN. Hear me roar. Hear my issue stock
purchase orders from the Wall Street trading floor. I
am woman; I am not a girl. I do not emulate the pop-
burlesque fashion stylings of Ke$ha or Katy Perry. I do
not aspire to passe morning after chic, with bird's-nest
hair and shredded leather leggings."
This is an excerpt from the latest Vogue's "point of view" section, and just as I was stirred several months earlier by their "point of view" which began the rocker craze, I am stirred once again. "So true!" I whispered to myself fervently when I read it, the astounding right-ness shocking me, "Frank, let me read you this!" But my twelve year old brother did not care, it was apparent, for he quickly returned to his evening session of runsecape when he realized I was reading aloud from Vogue again. Ah well, c'est la vie.
So, by now, every fashion mag everywhere has covered the classic conservative pencil dress, the Jackie O. glasses, the charming under-stated pumps. Where, I wondered, do we naturally evolve from here? Then the answer began to come to me: so far we have only seen, for the most part, pencil dresses in a vivid block colour. The look has not yet matured to prints, but prints will come, they always do. Therefore, all we have to do to remain on the cutting edge of this wave of trend, is to predict just what these marvelous prints will be. Let us brainstorm. Inspired by the fifties and sixties? Of course. This means a certain amount of change from the prints popular right now: the super-vibrant over-clustered florals. The problem? Yes, there were florals in the fifties and sixties, but they were defined, if you see what I mean. They were carefully drawn in the style of the time- the Nancy Drew era etchings.
So, I suppose what I see in this crystal ball- it is yet a bit murky, I must admit- is defined, outlined and drawn prints. I also see the return of non-floral prints: minimalist check and tartan, classy forms of leopard print, Parisian stripes, of course, and polka dots, yes polka dots once again! Large ones especially, as they have been off the radar so long, that to see a classic large red-on-white polka dot print would establish one as a sure-footed fashionista.
Geometric, you ask? I'm afraid it is too early to tell in this case of this pattern. Items are showing up from high fashion sources but I'm not sure it has quite receded far enough into the past as to be cool. My recommendation would be to hold off on any geometric urge you may have as the beast known as "the geometric-patterned stretchy kimono shirt" has not yet faded has far off the radar as one would have hoped.
From a quick glance at Net-a-Porter one can see that my prints predictions are already beginning to come true, judging from the current collections of many of the greats (shown above). I knew my prints would come.
