Eric Gaskins Vol 22: Trendspotting
With the Spring 2011 Collections just a whisper away, we’re faced with an onslaught of fall looks. Just when you’re brushing the beach sand off your feet it’s time to plan what face you’ll present to the world in just a few weeks. Defining and then distilling the trends that fit into your world is the work at hand; distilling is the operative word. Just because it’s out there doesn’t mean it has an open invitation to the sacred confines of your closet. The challenge is to put yourself first and the clothes second. They have to compliment you, not dominate. There’s nothing sadder than someone who’s been victimized by fashion without even knowing what hit them. My mission now that I’ve chosen to accept it is to lay out the trends that I see, but more importantly, the ones that appear to be valid, accessible and ultimately worth the investment.
The first thing that seems to be permeating the landscape is one particular color: Khaki. Khaki is the new black, the ultimate neutral that can anchor the whole season. A neutral color in the driver’s seat is pretty cool. It combines brilliantly with primary colors like red, black, and white, and is equally arresting with brown, grey, taupe, inky blue, pink and cream. Up the ante with a leopard print, animal stripes or bold, graphic combinations of color and you’re sitting in the catbird seat. Chanel has shades of khaki for nails, lips and eyes, so you can create a palette for your skin to offset what ever colors you choose to wear.
A double-faced cashmere coat in camel is essential. Go a step further and buy yourself a mink in khaki and watch people drop as you pass by. The bag you select is decidedly more subtle and scaled down. The “IT” bag for me is the one that is scaled to your size, no longer a suitcase parading as a purse but a purse as we used to know it. Luxurious, beautiful leather, suede or perhaps a reptile, but always smaller are my picks. Remember, elegance is refusal, so refuse to be a packhorse for your bag…..it’s supposed to be the other way around. One night last fall I had the unexpected pleasure of having dinner with Princess Gloria von Thurn und Taxis, the uber–chic fashion fiend from the 80’s. Her purse was a navy blue Hermes no bigger than a book with a very short strap to be held, not shouldered. I asked what she could possibly carry in so small a bag and she said the 3 things sherequired: a credit card, some cash, her cell phone, keys and lipstick. When you think about it, what else is necessary? The best part was that it was small enough that it didn’t take up an extra seat at the table.
Dresses that fall an inch or two above or below the knee look absolutely modern and flatter every woman. Hemlines that creep up above mid thigh are crass and only flattering on models with legs that are the same width as most people’s arms. So unless you’re on the beach or the tennis court let the hyper mini have a long needed rest. Dresses for day or evening, no matter the color, look most flattering when they’re draped and tucked in an unfussy, organic way. Tucks that fall diagonally across the bust and mid section are great for thin bodies and fuller figures. They add volume and interest to the first and soften and camouflage the waist and hips of the second. If the fabrics are super fine wools with stretch or jersey in navy, charcoal, chocolate or black, then all the better. Khaki and taupe also reign in this category. Mixing and matching is the smartest route and the most interesting.
Tailored jackets in double-faced wool or cashmere in solid colors or earthy, nubby tweeds mixed with a liquid cashmere sweater over fluid wide legged trousers look new and absolutely comfortable. Knits, whether chunky 100-ply cashmere or second skin silk/cashmere blends are the chicest answer to comfort clothes; mix them with abandon. This gives you the opportunity to choose unrelated favorite items as long as colors compliment or harmonize. An amazing fitted jacket from the top of the heap to the most casual slim skirt or swinging pant add up to an elegant, unstudied style. Style is after all the desired end. Fashion is only the means. Gloves are the common denominator throughout all of these configurations. Rich, leather gloves that climb your arm are perfect with coat, sweaters, jackets and dresses. They complete and frame whatever you have on and look incredibly FABU.
Shoes are the great conundrum. Sky-high platform boots and heels are still solidly in the forefront. I’m more interested in the sleek low-heeled kitten. They look absolutely fresh with pants, skirts and dresses. I like the contrast to all the other women teetering around in shoes that risk their lives and limbs. Whether in leopard printed pony or suede in rich earth or bright colors, they look fresh. They’ll give your feet and legs a break as well. As much as the earth bound Kitten is on the rise, one can not ignore the dominance of the “Bootie”, knee high or thigh high boots of fall. They come in the most luxurious, second-skin leathers with spike heels or monstrously exaggerated platforms with “Tranny “ heels, as Rachel Zoe so indecorously refers to them. Still my favorites are Chanel’s faux fur “Yeti” boots with Lucite, Stalagtite heels. They are by far the very last word in Uber-Cool. There are no rules so don’t impose any. Get into the dressing room and don’t come out until you feel refreshed, re-vitalized and renewed.
Eric Gaskins ….. The Emperors Old Clothes
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