How often do we see references to Spring/Summer or Autumn/Winter trends? Magazines littered with the next big craze. Websites and blogs all alluding to the hottest fashion furor. What is all this commotion and how does one keep up? It seems we have just gotten our puzzled heads around studded shoulder embellishments and sporty chic when neon and sheers are thrust upon us!
In between slaving away at our computers, wiping our children’s noses, washing, ironing, folding and the odd time sleeping we are finding it hard to preserve the pace. With ever changing fashion do’s & don’ts we’re in a fad fog. Quite simply, Stella, Marc, Zac, Diane along with the other deciders of all things fashion draw their designs for each coming season. They transfer these reveries into patterns and create their jaw dropping collections. Then mere mortals (or skinny yolks) in the form of Cara, Karlie, Jourdan et all sashay down the runway while some other mere mortals in the form of celebs and rock stars (in the front row) gasp with awe at the fabric flowing silhouettes before them. These capsule creations daaahling or ahem.. designs then get diluted into factories and hung on the high street walls where simple folk like you & I squander our hard earned cash attempting to replicate the divine demos from the runway. Sometimes said trends suit our non modelesque frames and other times (like now, hello, crop tops on an apple shape, seriously? ) we simply marvel at how stunning that would look on a six foot tall teenager.
So with summer upon us, how do we update our tired wardrobes so even a glimmer of the greatness from Paris, Milan, London & New York can be spotted in our sunny season attire? Brace yourselves gals cause us good folk at The Zip Yard have got the answer.
The accessibility is in the alterations! For those without the cash to splash, you’ve got to use your noggins and think outside the box. Or if you’re feeling lazy, leave it up to us. There you go, did you get that? So insanely simple all along, when you know how of course.
Consider remodeling your garments as opposed to remortgaging your house. Take the sheer panelling trend that dominated Calvin Klien & Balenciagas runways for SS14. How many of us have a delicate but dated white number in our wardrobes that has become that bit too last season or more honestly we have become that bit bored of? Couldn’t we kill two birdies with the one stone (cruel analogy I note) by adding a panel of sheer chiffon to the hem, bust or sleeves? Recreate those floaty catwalk offerings on a shoestring.
How in vogue are we? Oh sweetie and just to mention it’s now customised couture you will be wearing. Dare I be so bold as to suggest the catwalk craze of Mesh led by veterans Vera Wang & Isabel Marant? Ok so we are hardly going to fanny about with our fannys out in a pair of nickers and a mesh dress but we could quite comfortably add the illusion of mesh to a classic cut Tshirt using fabric trim to create that criss cross effect, couldn’t we? We could very easily ditch the bra tops and hot pants for a mesh inspired blouse to wear with our favourite jeans couldn’t we? How very bang on trend of us, and how very bang of our buck might I also add!
But ladies please before you head off into the back of your closets to pull and fetch for those dated threads, keep one more notion in your motion, Opposing Patterns. Who knew mixing prints would be so a la mode? Well far be it from us to argue with Chanel or Givenchy. We know our place, perhaps not on the runway starvingly strutting but most certainly out and about (most likely buying groceries or paying a bill) sporting our favourite last season pattern mixed with another print from the period past and looking not quite so mere mortal but every inch fabulous fashionista. Phew we’ve done it. We’ve made it through the season managing to be trendalicious. That’s us! But only until next season of course…