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Dain
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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
Updated thoughts and thoughtful updates
Posted by Dain, Wednesday, November 08, 2006 2:54 PM (Eastern)
I've been trying to get away from the mentality that I need more clothes than I functionally need. It is much harder than I thought.
First, it's all fine to speak of fashion as commodity fetishism, artistry in fashion, and fashion as a social expression. All of these things, our site is devoted to. This is not the suggestion that anyone ever wear anything unflattering simply to make a statement. I just don't see the need to buy everything that Lucky or Vogue suggests I buy. And, I've never really explored basics. I've never so much as owned a white t-shirt.
Still, it's hard. I'm used to very complicated clothes, one way or another. It's no coincidence that the first thing I chose was this henley from Urban Outfitters:
Hmm... so maybe my strategy might be to buy a handful of interesting tees? After about a day to two days, it starts to get dirty. So I should have at least eight or so. Trouble is, "interesting tees" is a category like "interesting flats", always open. I'm only going to buy ones that look just right, however. And they'll all be very different from each other.
I really haven't found a sweater/jacket/sweatshirt layer that is "just right" yet. It's hard to say without wearing any.
Adam + Eve $295. Grey is neutral, this must be supersoft, molds to the body good. I like how it's kind of grandpa-ish, but sleek. I have grey pants. Wish this were in... what color? White? Lilac? Something that brightens my face.
Hmm... this is very clean, sculptured, ladylike. It's basic, but clearly made with love. Hard to say, really, until you try it on, but I do know that high cinched waists always flatter me. I almost want to say it's too much, though?
It seems I'm not the only one who is craving a more basic palette. Just got a new issue of Vogue today and what do I see? A countdown of the most luxe basics (See by Chloé pants, shirts by Nili Lotan, Trovata, Brooks Brothers, Pink and Steven Alan, knits from Alexander Wang, Adam+Eve, and even J. Crew, tees from Neal Sperling and Splendid, and the T. Anthony tote. I kind of want them all. In addition, there are articles on Katayone Adeli (the pantsmaster is back!) and the Olsens' new line of hyperluxe tees, The Row.
Labels: adam + eve, fashion, personal, pucci, style, urban outfitters
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1:43 AM, Colleen Shirazi said...
You're still thinking of clothing as art, that's the thing. It's probably more of a strength than a weakness. Or...? It's just different. 4:44 PM, Dain said...
I don't think I'd be satisfied with clothing NOT as an art, though. It's sort of like how you minimalize a stash, you know? Look for holy grails? I mean, if I'm going to wear these clothes every day, instead of all those sophisticated, tailored looks, there's gotta be an aesthetic reason behind it. For me, at least. Otherwise, what's the fun? |
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Staying ahead of the pack...
Posted by Dain, Monday, November 06, 2006 7:07 PM (Eastern)
In high school, I used to call my style "boho chic", long before it became common parlance. I wore everything embellished/laced/embroidered/beaded in any combination of colors. I kept it fairly simple otherwise, though, I always wore these flashy tops with a pair of olive khakis. I lived and breathed the Anthropologie catalog. Nobody wore clothes like me. Nobody wanted to. Then, the boho thing became huge. HUGE. Suddenly, everyone looked like me.
So I went to... Banana Republic and J. Crew and Club Monaco. Found tailored things: beautiful buttondowns, crisp lightweight sweaters, pumps, skirts both a-line and pencil. I started, you know, dressing like a grownup. And now, the tailored, polished look is in. Consider: Balenciaga, Roland Mouret, YSL Rive Gauche.
So what am I going to do? Another direction?
I've been thinking. As women, how much of our time is spent worrying about what to wear, when to wear it, what to wear it with, and how often to wear it? How often do I flip through the pages of Lucky and think, "Yes, I really ought to try a cream blazer with a floral blouse."? I wonder how much more liberating it is to be a boy, uncaring whether he wears the same clothes day in, day out. Surely that frees up a lot of brain space, and a lot of wallet space.
This is my new project. Casual, functional, comfortable clothing. The stuff that other people wear. But I still want to be pretty. That's the condition.
Where to start? A pair of trousers. I usually only wear two pairs at a time, and one of them will be a pair of jeans, which I already have. Mine are dark blue low-rise flares (Blue Cult), which are probably the most versatile iteration. But I'm not one for jeans, in all honesty. I prefer a pair of pants, and I think mine are J. Crew (they make good chinos, they look good but at $58 you're not afraid to let them wear):
I bought a henley from Urban Outfitters the other day. It's a henley, so it's comfortable, casual, functional... warm. It's great for layering. But this one is in such a psychedelic Pucci-esque print(white/blue/pink/green/yellow) of hearts and stars that it's full of personality. I've always maintained that if the fit is right, it looks expensive, no matter how low key it is otherwise.
And what to wear over it? Maybe this hoodie? It matches everything (being white), it's pretty (white lights up my skin) and soft and warm. It's more luxe than a sweatshirt.
Let's see... that's a tee, a sweater, and pants. A pair of shoes... these are as functional as you can imagine, classic Doc Martens in brown. I could get those skull Chucks, though.
fashion, style, shoes, clothes
Labels: dr. martens, fashion, j.crew, personal, pucci, shoes, style, urban outfitters
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1:40 AM, Colleen Shirazi said...
You won't regret getting Doc Martens. It's a stupendous brand. I have a pair of boots and a pair of sandals...they've lasted year after year. And they're great in cold or wet weather. |
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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.