Posts filed under 'Women'
Key Takeaways: Narciso Rodriguez has been experimenting with the same sleek, structured forms for the last few years, but his work appears fresh and innovative against a backdrop of designers moving from layering and volume to a long and lean silhouette. Key trends for both men and women included: slim silhouettes, geometric patterns, and colorblocking. Key women’s trends included sleeved and asymmetrical dresses and long gloves.
Color Palette: Black, grey,beige, and white were spruced up by teal and a dusky emerald green. Colorblocking added a graphic feel to the collection.
Silhouettes: With touches of 60s elegance, Narciso showed slightly big over small, or small over slightly big silhouettes. Overall, the looks were long and lean, with precise tailoring for a snug fit. Structured coats skimmed over skinny pants and dresses. As a nod to seasons past, Narciso showed a few body-hugging, empire waist sleeveless dresses. Other dress trends to note included sleeved dresses and asymmetrical frocks. For men, the look was either slim all over or slightly big over small. Of note was a "paint splattered" graphic print tee–a departure from Narciso’s past menswear.
Accessories Report: For women, the big accessory was long gloves; for men, it was the skinny tie.
What’s Wearable: For women (with a slightly curvy figure), we love Narciso’s signature body-hugging empire-waist dresses. Silhouette-wise, it’s tough to go wrong with the slightly big over small and the small over slightly big silhouettes. For men, the slim cut suits with skinny ties are great for adding visual height.
What’s Not Wearable: For women, avoid dresses and skirts that hit you at mid-calf, as the awkward length visually shortens you. For men, steer clear of pants with tiny patterns–they look more like pajamas than street pants.
February 8th, 2007
Key Takeaways: As expected for Oscar de la Renta, the show exuded unadulterated luxury–for both young and old. Key trends included: fur, controlled volume, embroidery, shine (sequins and metallic fabrics), ruffles, and geometric patterns.
Color Palette: Earthy with blacks, chocolate browns, and greys, accented by jewel tones of deep purple and ruby. Metallic sheen made an appearance, as did shiny sequins.
Silhouettes: Controlled volume at the waistline, hemline, and sleeves. Outfits were gently cinched at the waist with seamlines and belts. Voluminous coats felt wearable, with the shape not overly exaggerated. Oscar fell in line with the sleeved dress trend, but upped the drama factor with asymmetric styles.
Accessories Report: Belts drew attention to the waistline. Bug eyed sunglasses shaded the models’ eyes, while fabric-covered bulbous necklaces adorned their necks. We noted the occasional fur hat, along with handbags with chain straps. Tights were layered under Oscar’s dresses and separates, as appropriate for cooler temperatures.
What’s Wearable: Small geometric patterns work well to disguise problem areas. We loved the oversized collars, which draw attention to and frame the face. Sweaterjackets provide an unstructured alternative to traditional winter outerwear. Bottoms, which sat at the natural waistline, will flatter those with long torsos and short legs.
What’s Not Wearable: Fur made too many appearances on the runway for our taste. Besides, didn’t we all decide that Fur is Out?
February 8th, 2007
Key Takeaways: Has Betsey Johnson grown up? If the
answer lies in her Fall 2007 collection, then the answer is a resounding yes! Betsey is known for
her flirty, flamboyant and oh-so-girly dresses, but this time around, she toned it
down—way down—and went the menswear-as-womenswear route. Key pieces seen on her
brooding runway included high-waisted shorts, men’s socks worn with loafers and
voluminous coats.
Color Palette: So unlike Betsey, but the majority of the
colors in this collection were dark: navy blue, black, grey, brown, green, and dark purple. White, gold, and light pink did their part to lighten the palette.
Silhouette: Betsey usually either does hideously voluminous
or suffocatingly tight. But this time around, her silhouettes were airy but in a wearable way. We spotted puff sleeves, high-waisted shorts, Betty Page-esque high cut
shorts, button-down silk shirts, knit skirts, ruffles, babydoll dresses,
tie-front blouses, and high-waisted trousers.
Accessories Report: Short white gloves, men’s socks,
loafers, white and black opaque tights, white square mod sunglasses, thin
belts, cloche hats.
What’s Wearable: Besides the French maid outfits at the
beginning, most pieces in Betsey’s collection were surprisingly wearable. Especially
translatable to the streets was the brown crew neck long-sleeve knit dress and the tie-front
blouses.
What’s Not Wearable: Unless it’s your Halloween costume,
stay away from the French maid costume. Don’t try the multi-colored
striped boatneck dress, lest you aspire to be a walking piñata. And the
Betty Page short shorts are better suited for professional Burlesque dancers.
February 7th, 2007
Key Takeaways: Unlike his Fall 2006 collection, which featured heavy layering, Marc Jacobs’ Gatsby-esque Fall 2007 collection featured long and lean silhouettes plucked out of the 1920s. Key trends included: menswear as womenswear, slim, boyish silhouettes, high-waisted silhouettes, colorblocking, colorful accessories, and metallic shine.
Color Palette: Traditional fall: orange, navy blue, grey, mustard yellow, maroon, eggplant purple, metallic silver, and shades of white and black. Colorblocking featured prominently.
Silhouette: Nothing Marc showed was too tight or too voluminous–the silhouette was slim, but workable for Real People. Menswear as womenswear featured prominently, with tuxedo-style suits complete with vests, skinny ties, and shrunken jackets. Calling an end to the skinny-jeans-fad, Marc cut his trousers bootcut. Loosely pleated skirts and wide-legged shorts were paired with long sweaters, always belted at the waist. Boatneck styles hinted at the nautical, along with crisp white pants and navy buttoned jackets. Detailing to note: pointed collars, the tiered, tailored ruffling, oversized collars, and bows.
Accessories Report: Wide-brimmed and cloche hats adorned the models’ heads. Belts were key in nearly every outfit, delicately hinting at boyish figures. Oversized clutches and gloves–both wrist length and elbow length–added ladylike drama to daytime attire.
What’s Wearable: Unusually, almost every piece in Marc’s collection can be translated onto the streets. The cocktail dresses are perfect for gals who want to be a bit eclectic, while the suit combinations will work well for business-savvy women who want that intellligently chic look.
What’s Not Wearable: Keep the flying-saucer hats on the runway…or to where you want to make a fashion Statement.
February 6th, 2007
Key Takeaways: A real departure from Carolina Herrera’s typical sweetly light collections. Dresses and separates maintained the designer’s signature elegance, but overlaid a sense of darkness and mystery. Key trends included: high-waisted silhouettes, geometric patterns, bows, open knit fabric, plaid fabric, ruffles, and fur.
Color Palette: Heavy on dark colors–blacks and greys. Brooding browns and regal lilacs were lightened with shades of white, splashes of red, and metallic silver. Both fur and geometric patterns–most notably plaid and dots–featured prominently.
Silhouettes: Generally high-waisted, with an emphasis on the natural waistline. Garment volume felt measured and made to flatter the body. Sleek dresses were complemented by swingy frocks, paired with patterned leggings. High-waisted skirts and trousers were paired with open knit tops, sweaterjackets, and semi-voluminous jackets.
Accessories Report: Black elbow-length gloves and patterned tights emphasized the dark, yet ladylike feel of the collection. Wide belts drew emphasis to the waistline. Bug-eyed sunglasses completed the chicly mysterious looks.
What’s Wearable: Carolina Herrera knows how to flatter a woman’s body–try the sleek dresses, the subtly voluminous skirts, the swingy oversized jackets, and the high-waisted trousers. The sleeved dresses are perfect for women with thick upper arms.
What’s Not Wearable: Fur played a large part in the collection–both as jackets and as cuffs, but we prefer to leave fur on our animal friends. Horizontal "striping" through fabric detailing visually widens the body–beware.
February 6th, 2007
Key Takeaways: An extremely wearable collection of dresses and playfully elegant looks in simple shapes. Key trends included: colorblocking, high-waisted looks, sweaterjackets, ruffles, bows (on blouses and dresses), and dots.
Color Palette: Black and red dominated the collection, along with grey and turquoise.
Silhouettes: Dresses, dresses, dresses. Diane von Furstenberg’s wrap dresses were accompanied by sweaterdresses, tent dresses, kimono sleeved dresses, and bubble dresses. Both big over small and small over big silhouettes were seen on the runway. Loose, breezy jackets accompanied more form fitting dresses.
Accessories Report: Pure elegance–heels with a high vamp, wrist-length gloves, long chain necklaces with jewels, and the oversized bag.
What’s Wearable: Sleeved dresses help camoflauge heavy upper arms, and Diane von Furstenberg’s signature wrap dresses perfectly complement curvy women. We like the emphasis on print–both the dots and the black and white lacelike prints. Though they might not be warm enough for Fall, we like the sweaterjacket and dress combination for Spring.
What’s Not Wearable: The coat with horizonal ruffles, though shown in black, still manages to visually widen the torso. Big over big silhouettes work on the runway–but not on real people.
February 5th, 2007
Key Takeaways: Designer Grant Krajecki (pronounced "G-r-a-a-n-t" and the inspiration for the line’s name) took us into a time machine back to the early 90s and the mid 80s. Fabrics ranged from gauzy and light to shiny and slick to thick and bouclé. Key trends included: high-waisted silhouettes, ruffles, off-the-shoulder and asymmetrical tops, a focus on neutral colors, and metallics.
Color Palette: Greys of all sheens and shades featured in this collection along with strong blacks, maroons, a pale crème-beige and a moody black-gold lamé that puts our early childhood fantasies of being Madonna to shame.
Silhouettes: The modern day version of "Dynasty" — if the women wore more tailored pants and were each a size 0. Grey Ant featured highly tailored pants in charcoal, black, and medium blue denim with a high cut and an intriguing v-cut in the back. Structure was repeated in a broad shoulder silhouette and discarded in a series of oversized sack dresses. Basic off-the-shoulder and asymmetrical tops and dresses rounded out the collection.
Accessories Report: Waists were cinched a bit below the natural waistline with wide belts in a variety of neutral colors (and a high-gloss sheen). Large gold earrings and chunky trapezoidal necklaces framed the models’ faces, while the oversized square eyeglasses overpowered those faces in shades of black, red and a funky clear. Hair ranged from 90’s stringy and straight to a strangely attractive side hair poof, compliments of the innovative Rusk hair team.
What’s Wearable: High-waisted pants work well for those of us with short legs–and we adored the slight v cutout in the back of the jeans.
What’s Not Wearable: Avoid the overexuberant shirt ruffles unless you’re a world-famous flamenco dancer (or Jack Sparrow).
February 3rd, 2007
Spring 2007 was all about continuing, not departing from, the big trends from Fall 2006. Presenting the Top Seven Spring 07 Trends that we hope will continue through Fall.
February 2nd, 2007
Presenting, in no particular order, our Top 5 Graphic Tees for February 2007!
January 31st, 2007
Peter Pan Collar n. 1. A small, close-fitting, and usually flat collar with rounded ends that meet in the front. 2. Possibly the next big collar trend for Spring 2007.
January 30th, 2007
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