The Aughts: A Decade of Sad

Since it's almost the end of 2009, lots of magazines have been hard at work making lists in an attempt to define what some might define as one of the most miserable decades in recent memory. (Come, come, it wasn't so bad! After all, our generation has learned to deflect our anger at the failures of our moral and fiscally bankrupt world with snark and apathy.) The Cut is your friend: they've made a slideshow of some of the defining fashion moments of the Aughts. Relive the pain and the glory here. But mostly pain. Lots of pain.

Spring 09: Round Sunglasses

I know at least among my group of friends, this trend has been a hot topic of debate. Despite the never-ending John Lenon references directed at anyone donning such shades, they are quickly becoming a hot 'must-have' item for Spring 09. While I only recall a couple people who have successfully pulled this look off (Mary-Kate Olson, my friend Stevie who is a make-up artist..) " a diverse group of designers embraced the trend" this season including Proenza Schouler, House of Holland, and Ralph Lauren(!!). What do you readers think about this trend?

Proenza Schouler S09

WAIT, DON"T THROW THAT AWAY!

"I have 60 chests of clothes in my archives – I’ve always been a hoarder. People shouldn’t spend just for the sake of it, so you need to rework existing pieces to work for this season. There’s no room for throwing things away any more."- Zandra Rhodes on why the cyclical nature of trends. She is 68, she knows.

Mad about Plaid

This look is from the Marni Fall 2009 collection. Make sure to check out our article about Vassar's take on plaid in the Contrast Spring 2009 issue coming out soon!

Horizontal and Vertical

I really like the combination of a vertical waistband on a horizontal striped garment. The first dress is from Topshop and the second is from French Connection. Horizontal stripes are typically unflattering, but a vertical stripe around your waist would draw attention to the thinnest part of your torso. Plus I love gray.

Ann Demeulemeester Wannabe(s)

I post last week about how I really wanted Ann Demeulemeester shoes, and it looks like the copycats of the shoe industry heard my cry.
These shoes, by Bijux Max, are pretty much an exact replica of her lace up flats. And for only $115, they are a great deal (at 1/10 of the price of the real thing).
Even Dolce Vita has gotten into the game of copying Ann Demeulemeester. These look just like her wedge, lace up heels, even down to the suede fabric. Of course neither are anywhere near the real shoes. Sigh, my craving will continue, unfullfilled.

What I want NOW

Ann Demeulemeester lace up boots. If I won the lottery tomorrow right after paying off Vassar loans and giving a little something to my family/charity, the first thing I would buy are these boots... and maybe a Chanel bag. But that is beside the point. If I could buy one uber-expensive trendy item right now it would be these boots. I mean look at them!I could wear them for summer, for winter (with tights), every day! Unfortunately they cost over $1000, which is a bit more than I can afford. Here they are featured in Sea of Shoes. I have never been more jealous of a sixteen year old!

TOPSHOP/LONDON

“Five girls out of 30 will all buy the same skirt in London, and we’ll never wear it the same way. We can all wear it on the same day and never know it. Someone will wear it as a top. Someone will wear it as a hat.”
-Eric Wilson, NY Times, discussing Topshop's impact on style

read the rest of the article here.

I have to be honest, having spent time in London I am constantly amazed by how much more innovative and fashion forward people are. I remember about 4 years ago I bought my first skinny jeans there, and was terrified to wear them. Now they are all I wear. The same thing goes for knee high boots with either tights or jeans. Something else that amazed me though was the lack of variety in stores. It seemed like everyone in England bought their underwear at M&S, their trendy clothes at Topshop, their shoes at Office, and then dabbled in Mango, Zara, Karen Millen, etc. The turnover in these stores, however, was unreal. If we think about Forever 21's two week stocking pattern, Topshop and Office put them to shame. Topshop is able to produce high fashion trends fast, allowing the girl next door to look like she stepped off a runway. It is their innovation and creativity that allows all of these girls to look so unique- even when most of them are shopping at the same stores.

Silk Turbans

So The Sartorialist and Garance Dore must be dating. The two fashion photographer bloggers have both posted a series of images of women wearing silk turbans this week. Also- she has been in New York all week. That's all I am saying. But turbans must be in a pre-trend stage, as I have yet to see any on real people recently. Garance writes, "And then I also like how sometimes, when I wake up with an unidentified hair-like object on my head, 'Oh hello Amy Winehouse,' my mirror says to me, I should say, this happens a lot more often than I’d like, but I like that I can just grab a headscarf, tie it up, and off we go." If only life could be that simple, I don't think I am quite ready to rock a turban, but these women look great. Am I alone here? Would you wear one?

Kim Kardashian's Blog/Thigh High Boots

So I didn't realize Kim Kardashian has a blog. Now I have a whole new way to procrastinate.
"Spring is here and my stylists, Monica, Angela and I hit up the stores to see what we could find. It seems as the day went on, my outfit kept changing! I stopped at Vionnet on Robertson and picked up a headband, then at Intermix I added on the camel leather cropped jacket, then at the end of the day my feet were killing me, so I bought some amazing thigh high suede boots that were flat so that I could make it through the rest of the day. They were 50% off, which was cool. I definitely love shopping. Who doesn't! I love to see what other stores have, compare it to Dash, and see what we could do better! Are you feeling my hippie look? I loved it!"
-Kim Kardashian
This is a girl who has two stylists and shops at Intermix. Why does she dress like this? Now Kim, I too love a good bargain but just because it's cheap doesn't mean it works on you. Thigh high boots are in and all but you don't need to do all these trends at once! It looks like this style might only work on super skinny french girls.

Back to the 80s!

Robin Ghivan, the fashion critic for the Washington Post was recently offered her opinions on the current 80s revival: "I think that it’s just a lack of imagination whenever so many people latch on to something like that," she said. "And I think I would feel differently if I thought it was sort of lovingly being done well and with a certain panache. But I don’t think the world needs MC Hammer pants ever, ever again. Michael Jackson is back and he wants his clothes." Her own eighties wardrobe still scares her. "I mean, acid-wash jeans, hello? Hasn’t everyone had some horrible run in with acid-wash jeans?"

Read more here:

-Ceci Cholst

those are some tight tights!

Looking for some rockin' tights? Bebaroque is a relatively new brand whose tights are hand screen printed and embroidered in the bonnie land of Scots. A little more trendy than a kilt, and definitely quite a bit warmer, these tights make me want to do a jig.

www.bebaroque.co.uk

via Kingdom of Style