Look, everyone, this model is giving us the cold shoulder! Should we be offended?
(Sorry, we couldn’t resist it…)
OK, we speak in jest. Well, sort of. There’s no denying that anyone wearing this shirt would probably HAVE a cold shoulder, is there? In fact, they’d have two. It’s that old conundrum: cold enough for long sleeves, but warm enough for bare shoulders. Philosophers have puzzled over this kind of thing for years.
We’re puzzling it over too, now, because the fact is, this is not an isolated incident. Nope, no sooner had we spotted this offender, than we suddenly started seeing cold shoulders EVERYWHERE. We’ve started to wonder if they’re stalking us, actually, and seriously, a Shirt Stalker isn’t something we’d wish on ANYONE. Trust us on that.
Anyway, having seen this style a lot more often than we usually would recently, we naturally got to wondering what you’d all think of it. Of course, there are worse things in the world than a cold shoulder. Like a cold ass, say. Or a clutchbag that looks like a pair of men’s underpants. But what do you think of exposed shoulder garments? Pretty? Or just pointless?
Take a look at our gallery of this winter’s offerings from Miss Selfridge, featuring our old favourites: colour-blocking, 70s-style, and some very bright tights…
Sure, there are a few skirts here which are knee-length or lower, and if you want midis, well, some of the other retailers we’ve previewed recently will be more than happy to oblige with that. But at Miss Selfridge, hemlines are much, much shorter, with a selection of mini skirts and dresses, and some items that look suspiciously like tops to TFP, but which are being worn as dresses anyway, as if the good people at Miss S are sticking two fingers up at the rest of the fashion world and saying, “Screw, you, fashion: if you want to persist with this ‘midi’ nonsense, we’re going to make our models wear tops and tights: see what you make of THAT!”
2. Colourblocking is giving way to monoblocking
While the other brands we’ve looked at so far this winter have gone for a “every colour we can find, all worn at the same time” approach, Miss S have, once again, gone their own way on this one, and are using an approach we’re going to refer to as “monoblocking”. You know, like in the driveways? This involves wearing just one colour, or different shades of one colour. The colour in question can be anything, as long as it’s BRIGHT. So, in the image above, for instance, we have a bright yellow “dress” worn with bright yellow tights, a bright yellow headband and… is that a CAPE? Because that looks like a cape to us. Are capes going to big in winter 2011? Will we be able to stand it if they are. (*makes note to put a detective on this asap* ). Similarly, we have a tomato red dress worn with tomato red tights, and a pink dress worn with pinkish/purple tights and red shoes. OK, so that one is more like the colourblocking we know and love, but still.
3. 70s style, blah, blah, blah
You know the drill with this by now, don’t you? The 70s will be big in winter 2011. And there’s not a thing any of us can do about it.
We’ve provided more items from Miss Selfridges Winter 2011 Lookbook in the gallery below, some of which are already available to buy – click here to do it.
What do you think of these looks, though? Are you ready to monoblock your closet?
From the brief look we’ve had at winter 2011′s fashion trends, courtesy of Primark and River Island, one of the (many) thiings that’s stood out so far is the pussy bow. This is, of course, part of the 70s revival that’s hitting the fashion world this winter, and while pussy bows can always be found on the occasional item, next season we’ll be seeing a whole lot more of them. They’re on dresses. They’re on blouses. They’re on… well, they’re on dresses and blouses, but that’s more than enough to be getting along with, don’t you think?
Today, then, we want to know what you think of pussy bows.
On the plus side, they can be cute, sassy, and they do help add a touch of the “sexy, seventies secretary” to a standard shirt or dress.
On the minus side, however, the high neck, combined with the midi-length dresses these are often attached too, can also look fussy, prissy, and be very hard to pull off.
Some people will be able to pull this look off with panache, of course. Are you one of them? What do you think of pussy bows? Take a look at our gallery before you decide…
Last week we took a a look at Winter 2011′s fashion trends, courtesy of Primark’s 2011 winter collection. Today, it’s the turn of River Island, and, unsurprisingly, you’ll only have to take a quick look at our gallery to see the same kind of story, and the same kind of items, namely…
The bright colours. Specifically yellow, red and green.
The pussy-bows, attached to dresses and blouses. 70s secretary style is back with a vengeance!
The 70s look in general.
And a little bit of the 60s, too, in the form of Peter Pan collars and mini dresses.
The jumpsuits. Oh, the jumpsuits…
We were pretty impressed with River Island’s 2011 summer collection, which managed to incorporate a lot of the season’s big trends, without too much of the usual clubwear and blinged-up denim the brand is often associated with. Of course, we’ve always had a soft spot for River Island shoes, so we’re a bit biased. What do you think of this winter collection, though? Will you be buying any of it?
It’s no good: we’ve been trying to delay the inevitable for as long as we could, but even The Fashion Police are powerless to prevent the march of time, and even although we’ve only just dusted off our bathing suits, and Shoeperwoman hasn’t worn even half of her collection of summer sandals, we’re forced to admit that winter fashion is upon us.
The stores and websites we frequent as part of our daily Fashion Policing duties are starting to fill up with winter woolies. Our favourite fashion bloggers are talking about coats and boots. It’s time to talk about winter fashion trends for 2011, and what the future holds, and what better way to do it than with a preview of that pinnacle of fast fashion, the Polyester Palace of Primark.
Here at The Fashion Police, we always look forward to seeing what Primark has to offer us each season, because it offers a pretty good insight into what people will actually wear in the coming season. Sure, Net-a-Porter will offer up the inevitable “Must Haves” of the season, but how many people do YOU know who buy an entire new designer wardrobe each season? We thought so.
(We say this will give us an insight into what people will wear. We’re not so sure about the orange satin maxi dress, to be honest, although we’ve been surprised by things like this before…)
So, what can we conclude about 2011 winter fashion trends from this quick look at Primark? Well…
There will be colourblocking. Lots of it. You will throw on every colour in your closet at the same time, and you will like it. Or maybe you won’t like it. If you don’t, it’ll be too bad, though, because it’ll be hard to buy clothes that aren’t bright yellow, bright blue, bright orange, bright pink, or bright something-else. There are five different colours in the outfit at the top of the page. Maybe you could try to beat that?
There will be darker colours too, though: tweed jackets, wool skirts, muted, earthy tones. Same as every winter, really.
We’re going back to the 70s. Jumpsuits, pussy-bow blouses, floppy hats: they’re back! Again.
There will befaux fur. Specifically dalmatian print. Let Cruella De Vil be your fashion icon, folks!
Some people will wear that orange maxi dress. They will be braver people than us.
What’s the verdict, Fashion Jurors? Take a look at the gallery and tell us what you think!
First, the good news: the particular 2011 winter fashion trend we’re referring to ISN’T the shorts. Or the little tweed jacket. It’s not even the hat, although the fact that all of these items are available to buy at ASOS is, indeed, worrying.
It’s the socks and shoes combo:
Now, we put it to you, ladies and gentlemen of the Fashion Police Jury, that either of these items would be bad enough on their own, worn with this outfit. The thick soled creepers, for instance, will make even the daintiest of feet look roughly the size of small boats, while black ankle socks should really only ever be worn with trousers, as far as we’re concerned. Pairs with shorts and black shoes, the look is very “elderly man at the beach”, and if that’s the look you’re aiming for, well, you’re probably on the wrong website.
So, at this point you’re probably thinking this is a one-off, aren’t you? A moment of madness by a stylish who thought Old Man Chic was the way to go with this particular outfit: or who just really hated the model. (Modelling is hard, remember.)
That’s the bad news. Unfortunately, by the time winter 2011 rolls around, Grandad Chic will have taken over your entire closet:
Admit it: you’ve always wanted to wear black ankle socks with your mini kilt, haven’t you?
(Oh yeah, that was the other bit of bad news for you: mini kilts are back. It’ll be like the 90s all over again, but with added ankle socks.)
According to our survey, 9 out 10 grandads wouldn’t be seen dead in this outfit. Fashion victims would, though. Because it’s FASHUN. It is edgy. It’s, like so totally unexpected. It’s unintentionally hilarious:
All this model needs is a couple of grazes on her knees and she’d pass – from the waist down, anyway – for a small boy, playing in the street, in the 1950s or something.
Well, the blouse is certainly more grandma than grandpa – and once again, with a dash of 1950s-schoolboy thrown in - but the combination of sensible lace-ups, dark ankle socks (again!) and baggy, high waisted shorts is going to be unflattering on even the very best of us.
Luckily, help will soon be at hand, in the form of dozens of fashion editorials with titles like “How to wear this season’s schoolboy/grandpa crossover look!” In fact, The Fashion Police also have some advice for you on how to wear this look. Here it is:
DON’T.
Of course, as we’re just an imaginary police force, you’re free to completely ignore this advice. Will you, though? Do you think you could make this look work for you?
As with many other so-called “new” fashion trends, skater dresses aren’t actually particularly ”new at all”: in fact, those fitted waists and circle skirts harken back to the 80s, while the typically short lengths are more reminiscent of… well, of an ice-dance costume, which is where the name comes from. (And try telling us you’d wear a skater dress and NOT want to twirl in it a couple of times. We find it physically impossible. A girl’s gotta twirl when she’s wearing a full skirt…)
Skater dresses on the high street
2011, however, has seen more than it’s fair share of skater dresses, which are currently being sold, in almost every high street store in the UK. The current crop of dresses come in all the colours of the rainbow, and are typically high-necked, with cap sleeves (or no sleeves at all), and are designed to hit at around mid-thigh. We like the Ponte Di Roma fabric skater dresses are often made in because it holds its shape well, and tends not to crease too badly, but the current popularity surge has seen them appear in various different fabrics. Lace is particularly popular with this style of dress:
Long sleeved versions, like this one from Topshop, are also fairly common, and perhaps a little more practical for daywear, and colder temperatures.
Longer length skater dresses
The skater dress is normally mini-length (although not quite as short as an actual skater’s costume, for which The Fashion Police will be forever thankful), but if you prefer your hemlines just a little longer, fear not: the current trend for midi skirts means that it is possible (although not exactly easy) to track down similarly shaped dresses in a longer length. We found this one at ASOS:
This dress is basically a fashion editor’s dream right now, checking the boxes for three different trends in one:
- Midi length? Check. - Bright orange colour? Check? - Can have the word “skater” applied to it? Check.
So if you’re the kind of person who worries about being “bang on trend”, go for it. If you’re not, it’s also available in a shade ASOS call “cafe creme”, and which we’d probably call “beige”
How to wear skater dresses
One of the joys of the skater dress is how easy it is to wear. The simple shape and typically bright colours these dresses come in mean they really lend themselves to a similarly simple outfit: they’re the kind of thing you can just add a pair of shoes to, and maybe tights if it happens to be cold out, and be ready to go. A slim belt will also help accentuate the fitted waist even further, and a brooch or necklace doesn’t hurt if you really want to accessorize.
What do you think of skater dresses, readers? Got any? Want to get any? Just desperate for them to disappear off the face of the planet?
Following on from the colourblocking trend (and often an integral part of it) comes the brightly coloured jeans, which we’re sure you can’t have failed to notice in the stores, on the streets, and on your favourite (and not-so-favourite) celebrities and fashion bloggers.
These can be any colour you want them to be, really: green, red, blue, pink, yellow… Any colour, that is, as long as it’s not a traditional “denim” wash. And as long as it’s bright.
They can be any shape you want to. They’re most often seen in skinny cuts, but the ones shown above, for instance, are very slightly looser, and we’ve also seen these as flares, or boyfriend jeans. They can be worn with other, similarly bright colours, if you want to try your hand at a spot of colour-blocking. Or you can play it safe and try to tone them done a little by keeping the rest of your outfit neutral.
In other words, they’re exactly the same as any other pair of jeans in your wardrobe: but they’re really freaking bright!
Of course, brightly coloured denim isn’t a new thing. It’s been around the fashion block before, and we’re pretty sure we’ll be seeing it again at some point in the future, once the current trend has died down a little. We’re seeing an awful lot of it right now, so we want to know what you think of it?
As for us, we really quite like this look. It adds something a little different to the traditional “jeans and a top”, and can look fantastic when done right.
Look, everyone, this model is giving us the cold shoulder! Should we be offended?
