At last winter is over – well as far as the
fashion pack are concerned.
Sure
it’s still snowing in London and my graphic print dress and t-bar heels haven’t
a hope of being cracked out the wardrobe for another few months (unless teamed
with black opaques and a ski jacket) but London’s boutiques and flagship stores
are bursting under the weight of the trends upon trends upon trends now in
store to welcome in the Spring.
Selfridges and Topshop window displays never fail to disappoint and are
always worth a trip over to London’s west end.
Now I like a good fashion magazine… in fact my
bedroom floor, and window sill, and shelves will tell you I love love love them
– the couture, the bitchy gossip, the ‘how to style’ every piece of your life
down to the mug you use to wish away your Sunday morning hangover - mine is a
battered old pink I heart NY number of which I’m sure Vogue wouldn’t approve -
and of course last but not least they will always feature the trend predictions
for the coming month, season, year.
Now quite helpfully – or so I thought – every fashion journal I’ve
thumbed through in the last 2 months has screamed on the front cover ‘guide to
top Spring/Summer 09 trends’ – and with each one as I scrambled to rip the
cellophane off and devour the contents I was left even more confused than when
I started.
After reading what’s in and what’s out .. I’m
none the wiser – 80’s, denim, global, nude, assymetric, polkadots, fringing,
gold, block colour, textured, floaty, tailored, sportluxe, ruffles, sheer and
where would we be without the staple – black is back – wow edgy.. the list goes
on and on. In a global credit
crisis where tightening the belt is for financial purposes and not creating an
hourglass silhouette what’s a girl to do to keep up – don’t get me wrong – I
love the heady rush of fast fashion, juggling trends and rather wonderfully in
London anything goes but bringing my wardrobe up to Spring/Summer 09 will be
more than painful on my bank balance if I listen to the current fashion
dialogue. And yes, yes fashion can
be frivolous and we shouldn’t talk about something as vulgar as affordability
but yeah I said it. I’ve never
paid much attention to investing wisely - capsule wardrobes and key statement
pieces – I’m more of an impulse girl but I think this season in the spirit of
functional fashion, I’d like to give it a try.
Spring/Summer 09 to me is do what you feel –
clash trends, be brave and bold and make a statement with your style. So that said, here’s my list of
what I’m keeping a look out for in the coming weeks and months – a reasonable 5
key trend pieces which I will get slightly giddy about wearing and most
probably will throw on almost immediately regardless of the weather outside
being frightful .. who said hunter wellies and 80’s Balmain-esque body con isn’t
a good look?
Floral
Laura Ashley circa 1985 or oh so now? I was never a fan but those prints at
Luella have worked their magic and I am now convinced I absolutely need a
floral sculpted dress in my life.
Gladiator flats and a denim waistcoat will set me up nicely for
Glastonbury.
Denim
I may be cheating slightly but I think 2 items in
the denim family are essential for Spring/Summer 09. The mini-ish washed out jacket (think Chloe Sevigny and
Peaches Geldof) worn over mini dresses and ankle boots. Mine is from the H&M girlswear
department from about 3 years back – tiny and fitted – perfect.
Then there’s the bleach washed skinny. The beloved skinny in yet another new
treatment. I’ll team mine with a
boyfriend blazer and sky high heels.
Check out the new Acne collection on FM for their Blue Her Crossed jean.
Note – the jacket and jean are not to be worn
together in a country and western style - we are not Britney and Justin at the
2001 American Music Awards in all their matching denim glory.
Global
Aztec print frightens me a little - perhaps if I
had legs like Jourdan Dunn then print leggings would give me a thrill but
no. Gentle animal print chiffon
and layered safari lightweight spring jackets however are another matter. I’ll be adding a chunky necklace
and some bangles which were shown at Missoni and DKNY to add a little bit of a
tribal touch but if you’re feeling adventurous check out songstress MIA’s Okley
Run line for statement print hoodies, Ts and leggings.
Texture
I have a dirty little secret. I had a quick affair with some online
dash and grab shopping last week and am currently waiting for an ostrich
feather mini (and it’s a blush nude shade as well – trend tick!) to arrive in
all it’s glory sometime next week – never will the postman be so welcome at our
door. There may be a sitting down
issue (crumpled feathers oh no..) but who cares when you have volume, glamour
and your own little bit of Louis Vuitton fluff (if Madonna can, I can). Feathers, studding, quilting give me a
thrill.
SportLuxe
The play suit - a sexy, high impact look for
Saturday night or Ibiza-tastic when the sun does finally make an
appearance. Whether it’s in an on
trend hue, long or short, this is a sure fire winner with heels or flats,
dressed up or down. I think I’ll
go shocking pink this year. For
actual sportsters, Stella’s gorgeous Adidas range is the ultimate in sportluxe. Layered fabrics, stylish cuts mean
feeling pretty at the gym is actually a near possibility. I wonder if this might inspire me to
visit the gym .. hmm, probably not.
Enjoy your Spring/Summer 09 shopping – do it
wisely but never be safe. Try and
trend and make it your own.
P.S. Don’t forget London Fashion Week kicks
off next week – FM’s own Kirsty Glenne will be over in London hitting some of
the most exciting shows so look out for her report coming soon..
