Fashion Shoot
Do the trends without looking silly
As high summer rolls in (we hope), micro trends are starting to emerge that are like the tinsel on a Christmas tree: lovely at first, but there is always a danger of over-application; oppressing the underlying, more beautiful, form.
American frontier-era fashion, with its love of hand-made-looking texture, and fringing, especially, is one of those fashion micro trends that I believe strongly necessitates the consideration of the three As: age, area and appropriateness. Let’s take age first. Some (if not most) high-fashion trends are really only credible on people aged between 18 and 25 — and possibly on those of you aged 70-plus, and ballsy. The rest of us need to know to behave wisely and go gently. So the head-to-toe looks on the first two pages of our shoot, while stunning, are for that 18 to 25 and 70-plus bracket. The following two pages show you how to do the trend by treating it as a detail, rather than a whole look.
Area comes into it because some trends only look right in the actual culture they come from. If you don’t live in Nashville, Tennessee, or on a cattle ranch in Argentina, and are not actually a cowgirl/boy/Native American who regularly rides the Rockies or somewhere in the Americas, what credible cultural reason is there for you to dress like a member of the hard-working outdoors fraternity there?
Which leads to appropriateness. When considering any fashion conundrum and whether to bite or not, ask yourself, is this really my life? Where am I going to wear it? Do I really believe in it enough to hang myself out to dry? Beware fashion faddism. I love fringing — its movement, the sway and the luxury feeling of all that fabric swishing as one walks. It’s the equivalent of a bustle, in that it feels feminine and draws the eye to the wearer — but, unlike the bustle, not to one’s bottom.
I think George Murray’s fringe denim trousers are fantastic and extremely cool, and when I am 70-plus, I will definitely wear them. Or if I am reincarnated as a pop star.
Were I filthy rich, I would go to Louise Kennedy and buy her Cassie cashmere wrap with leather fringing because it is just divine and rather perfect.
But I am not. So, I will trot along to the great stalwarts of fashion affordability, such as Marks & Spencer — which has fantastically strong collections this summer; River Island, Zara, and Designers at Debenhams, all of which have pieces that give the all-important nod to our trend, but that are still grounded in reality.