There’s good news for girly girls this Fashion Week.
Pretty is here to stay!
At least that’s what it looks like after the first three days of the fall/winter 2004 New York show, when the same sort of happy, hyperfeminine looks that are going to rule fashion this spring are popping up on runway after runway.
Tracey Reese’s show yesterday morning perfectly summed up this look. Her collections are usually vintage-inspired in their look and very colorful. This season was no different, with its mix-and-match floral print blouses and skirts, beaded tweed jackets, and satiny slip dresses done up in rich shades of rose, jade, gold, rust and puce.
Reese’s vibe may have been unmistakably girly, but it never looked wimpy. Tougher items like frayed denim jeans and slim, leather pencil skirts were thrown into the mix to keep it from looking too precious.
Instead it looked pretty, young and very wearable.
Wearable isn’t a word that always applies to Alice Roi’s clothes. In fact, for the last few seasons, her stuff’s looked too complicated to be comfortable.
This collection was an exception. There were plenty of things that most women would want to have in heavy rotation in their wardrobes, including cute printed blouses, great-fitting suits, and wool dresses spiced up with little rows of ruffles down the back.
But it wasn’t perfect. Roi’s unstructured gowns with brief slip-style tops were among the most unflattering things I’ve seen in a while.
She should take some pointers from Marc Bouwer, who has pretty much mastered the art of making a flattering evening gown – barring a few of the dubious awards-show dresses he’s made for Shania Twain.
Best in Bouwer’s show were the gowns, especially half a dozen velvet ones in jewel tones, a green-tinged, silver-beaded “mermaid” dress, and a range of lacy Latin-inspired numbers.
Perfect dressy red-carpet attire!
At the exact opposite end of the fashion spectrum were the dozens of variations of sweater dresses that made up Imitation of Christ’s new collection. (Yes, new: IOC is now making clothes from scratch instead of restructuring secondhand goods.)