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The Lipstick Page Forums Fashion Blog
Trends! Honestly...
Posted by Dain, Wednesday, November 15, 2006 12:13 AM (Eastern)
I hate layering. You know, leggings, complicated dress, tunics, tailored jackets, whatever, all on top of each other. I don't care if you do it in neutrals. It looks stupid. I hate to see it whenever I flip through glossies (Lucky in particular reeks with too much layering. What is happening to this magazine? It's going downhill. Whatever happened to the Consumer's Digest of fashion? Now it's, vanity fair.). It's too multidimensionally significant. Too "interesting", rather than attractive. Clothes should look good, first and foremost.
The trends I prefer:
1. Dresses that are interesting, not readily identifiable, and fit to perfection... that, I think, is a trend to yield clothes that will last you a lifetime. Because really, when will you ever hate a beautiful dress? Yes, they're more expensive than tops, but the amount of real wear you get out of them is far greater. Might as well snap some up while it's the fashion to design beautiful, well made, and interesting clothes.
2. Pristine, well-cut basics. This, I think, is an emerging trend. One that hasn't really shown its face yet. It's time. Yeah, $300 jeans are ridiculous, but these trends filter down from the top. GAP makes precision cut jeans, Express makes editor pants... and now tees and shirts are getting the treatment. What next? Sweaters are coming. A mania for precise, handcrafted artisanal sweaters.
Things I'm not sure about:
1. Organic jewelry? But then, my taste is to the baroque. I don't know that I want gold and jewels to look as if they grew on me. And yet, to look at, they are, very pretty.
2. Really, I don't like the shoe trends. Architectural? Please. There are two shoes I'm contemplating this season, it's just that boring to me:
Doc Martens: I revere Christian Louboutin, but the ubiquity repels me. Before, Louboutin was something like a fledgling Roger Vivier without feathers (no pun intended). Now? It's like Louis Vuitton: common but expensive, beautifully made but still! common. (Is this elitist of me? Or fair to demand of an artist? Cobblers, presumably, artists.) I don't know, perhaps it is too much to say at once. All I know is a part of me is a little sick of seeing that red heel. The antidote? These.
I do, sometimes, just love Louboutin, though:
What am I craving? Rich, rich, colors: just a little "off" from true colors. Both Fall 2006 and Spring 2007 are playing off very neutral palettes, so I want, actually, the most intense color I can find. I suppose the makeup trends are bright enough? E.g. Instead of cobalt blue, you have this quasi-violet-toned ultramarine, in lush suede:
One Big Trend: An Analysis
Neutral, neutral colored accessories, in rich skins (or plastic, as the case may be), a parade of shoes, and bags. Wear with sharp, tailored clothing:
But...
Labels: alexander mcqueen, bags, brian atwood, calvin klein, chanel, christian louboutin, dr. martens, fashion, handbags, marni, personal, pucci, purses, salvatore ferragamo, shoes, steve madden, style, tods, VBH
Dain's picks (Spring 2005)
Posted by Dain, Tuesday, May 17, 2005 2:55 PM (Eastern)
This is entirely a meaningless, wishful-thinking, castles-in-the-air type of post, but it's fun to do, nevertheless. I'm a minimalist at heart (while I can devote endless energy poring over makeup, fashion tires me out, though I do love it), and I try to create a "capsule wardrobe" of about six or so items (read "The Definition of Style" for a fuller picture) each season—six items is miniscule, which forces me to seriously reckon with the wearability of each item (Herculean versatility and sheer adoration, therefore, are required criteria), in the context of what clothes I do own.
a classic Chanel bouclé jacket: In that slinky, belled-sleeve style that always looks so effortless even though it's the "hautest" of the haute. I'm thinking of a muted teal, which is a very unique shade (and entirely in my head, because Chanel is certainly not offering any such outlandish shades), but strangely flatters all the colors in my wardrobe. It's not a perfect match (which is too cookie-cutter for me anyway), but it's the perfect contrast. Just "something" light to throw over jeans, or contrast with vintage tees, or add a conservative edge to flirty skirts, or infuse a bit of eccentric polish to a ruffled chiffon blouse and a pencil skirt. This is merely a figment of my imagination, so let's give the average ready-to-wear price for a Chanel jacket, about $3000.
Viktor & Rolf Spider Blouse ($652): Diaphanous silk chiffon in an austere Atlantean green-grey. Has a high neck, a delicately pleated front, the back leads up to a keyhole with rows of hook buttons (like a Victorian dress), with a crystal spider embellished on the shoulder, and silk bows at the cuffs. Phew! Lots of detailing. Do I own a fancy, secretary-type blouse? High time I did. (This is actually Fall 2004... I think.)
Express Camisoles ($34 or something): If you've got any bent whatsoever to dressing ladylike and feminine, how can you resist a lace-trimmed silk camisole? These may not be Khurana, but you're not paying $275, which seems like a fair enough trade to me! I've my eye on a fresh orchid pink with melon lace, and the black with ivory lace.
Chloé Wide-Leg Jeans ($445): They make so many tight, low-slung bootcut jeans nowadays, haven't you gotten sick of it? Oof. This is wonderfully retro, evocative of the wide-leg (not flares, exactly, which expand out from below the knee, but genuine wide-leg, which start from the thigh) from the 90s (remember that hoodlum skater look?) with the slightly more contemporary update of a fitted waist and butt. I'm all for baggier jeans. The wash is a refreshing shade of sunny denim, evocative of more freewheeling times in fashion (everything's so contrived, these days... just look at what I'm doing!).
Joystick embellished cashmere sweater (~$278): Just something charming, soothing, and pretty, that doesn't require much in the way of highjinks to wear. Can be worn over a pretty buttondown, of course, with stylish trousers. Otherwise, it's the perfect touch of refined whimsy to the otherwise haughty line-up I've arranged here.
GAP Africa Tote ($20): I'm still loving this bag, and I'm still loving this price. The only item I'll probably actually own from this list. ; ) Summery, chic, and very functional.
Dolce & Gabbana zebra flats: I'm usually not a fan of animal prints, indeed, they're a little too "sexed up" and bold for my taste, but what is more austere than a pointy flat? Especially when paired with sober, clean-cut, polished clothing, or even to jazz up a casual outfit with dark vintage-style jeans?
Labels: chanel, chloe, dolce and gabbana, express, fashion, gap, jeans, joystick, personal, shoes, style, viktor and rolf
Spring 2005 Couture: Chanel
Posted by Dain, Friday, April 22, 2005 3:35 PM (Eastern)
RIGHT Ahh... lovely. Who but Chanel could make tweed ethereal? Don't get me wrong, this looks strange, but it's part of the haute-couture package. Could you imagine wearing that jacket to work, with a tough oxford shirt, a black pencil skirt, and colorful but basic pumps (treat the jacket like a "basic", and showcase shoes)? Switch the skirt for jeans, and you've got something special but casual.
LEFT This is along a similar vein, but where there was lace and delicate tailoring, this is a more classic cut, with straight lines. I love the pailettes—very tongue-in-cheek kitsch. It works because it's Chanel.
RIGHT That's one sexy suit. Military-style jacket, with a pencil skirt. But a bit of surprising sweetness, with the delicate ruffs at the neck and at the sleeves. And those cutoff black leather gloves? Hot. And the sense of the ornate: the brooches, the cuff bracelet, the belt, the shoes. A complete fantasy outfit, if you ask me; I don't know anyone who could successfully pull this off.
LEFT I just like this. It's simple, classic, and timeless, with impeccable details: the frills bursting out of the flared sleeve, the soft shape of the pleated skirt, the slinky collar (plenty of room to showcare a nice blouse and necklace, as they've done here, or a camisole). Much of couture is fantastical, but this is more a piece you'd love for years to come.
RIGHT Another ethereal suit, this time with lace galore in ivory. Just look at that tailoring... unbelievable. A jacket you could wear with jeans for a casual but superfabulous outfit (or, again, with demure pencil skirts). Or, for an eccentric twist, with bright red trousers (or orange, or blue, or army green cargos).
LEFT This is a whimsical piece. I've no idea when you'd ever need a dress like this, but the artistry of construction is amazing (those pockets must be hand-beaded). It might be a wedding gown... it looks like one, done in a flapper-style with the Victorian twist of full gown skirt.
RIGHT This is a fantasy piece, and kind of a hideous one if you ask me! But the artistry, the technique, it makes for a very interesting, exquisite piece of work.
LEFT If someone made a dress out of dusky night, this is what it would look like. Gorgeous no matter how you look at it. What a dress!
All pictures courtesy of www.style.com.
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2:02 AM,
Hermmmmm...layers are like Uggs. I suppose. I never see Uggs around here, only read endless complaints about Uggs on the Net.
Uggs supposedly look like crap, they were at one point ubiquitous, everyone dissed them, yadda yadda...but from all reports, they're warm. They even keep your feet dry. This makes them interesting to me. Not here and now...my Doc Martens boots keep my feet warm and dry in our relatively mild climate...but the concept.
Now layers, you find in California. It's not a fashion. People have always worn layers here. You have to. The weather is crazy.
For example, this morning it was so cold I turned the heat on. (Okay this is California, you have to turn the heat on.) By afternoon, it was hot. Short sleeve hot. In the evening, it was back cold again.
Almost any time you wear clothes warm enough for the morning and evening, you have to have a creative way of shedding at least one layer of them in the afternoon. Whenever it looks hot outside, it can suddenly turn cold; you almost always have to have a wrap of some kind with you, and preferably some way of tying it so you don't have to carry it.
It was slightly worse in Washington because of the rain. It starts raining right out of the blue. So, add a waterproof layer to the fact that it's freezing there.
Layers for the sake of layers just strikes me as silly. If it's cold though, I always throw on another layer.
2:10 AM,
Ohhhhh...I know exactly what you mean about "not readily identifiable."
It's been in the back of my mind for some time...how, more and more so, we are buying all of our clothing at exactly the same stores. The same brands, the same models even.
I think the trend will be toward smaller designers, boutiques, people making their own clothes or starting their own cottage industries...in the same way the trend is toward esoteric perfume houses. Ultimately, people will want something different.