I am no expert but its seems to me that the fashion world is now looking backwards for inspiration with so many of the current trends having their origins rooted firmly in the past.
I always thought that if I kept my old clothes long enough I might live to see the day when they were fashionable again and that day appears to have arrived! Sadly I did not hold on to my treasures from times past and looking at the reinventions on the high street I am beginning to think that was a good decision.
The Return of the 70’s
The fashion of the 1970’s was a strange mix of hippy psychedelia, glam rock excess and anarchic punk and the decade appears to be generally condemned as the worse era in clothing history. I am, therefore, shocked to see the reappearance of shirts and dresses covered in psychedelic patterns reminiscent of the period.
These awful designs always remind me of hideous 1970’s bathroom tiles and wallpaper and should be consigned to history as one of fashions greatest mistakes, not resurrected for a reprise. Oddly the inspiration for much of what I saw this summer was clearly ‘1970’s bathroom’ as this is the only possible explanation for the proliferation of mustard garments that has been inflicted on us all recently.
I hope the bathroom thing stops right there because if designers cast their eyes over the succeeding decade we will all be forced to wear avocado next year and for the record I look anaemic when I wear green!
Vintage
I have absolutely no problem with the current popularity of clothing which could be described as timeless & classic. These are simple, classic designs from previous eras which have stood the test of time and are enjoying a huge resurgence in popularity.
There are a proliferation of styles recreating the smart/casual looks of the 1950’s and 1960’s such as Farah Vintage and Fred Perry and a number of brands moving towards environmentally friendly materials and traditional production methods to slow down the damaging effects of the fashion industry on our precious planet.
Tasteful vintage clothing and saving the planet I agree with but there are some other trends that I find rather curious.
Punk
It would appear that the punk era might be rearing its ugly head again. Anything and everything seems to be studded at the moment. I actually quite like a few metallic additions to boots and leather jackets but not when the concept is taken to extremes.
There are now garments which look more like deadly weapons than clothes, with huge spikes protruding from all angles! They are a positive health hazard as illustrated by that wonderful clip on this season’s X Factor when Rylan Clark managed to stab Dermot O’Leary in the face with a shoulder appendage on his top!
I have visions of A&E departments being overrun by people who have been mortally wounded by their own jackets.
Updating the Past
The classy and ethical updating of classic styles gives us timeless new additions to our wardrobes which will serve us well but there really are some things which should remain amusing curiosities of the past.
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Sally S writes on a wide range of subjects and owns a wedding shop so is exposed to the vagaries of fashion on a daily basis. A child of the 60’s, Sally really hopes that fashion designers abandon their current route of bringing back 70’s pshycedelia and start designing clothes which people actually want to wear!