Fashion’s top designers have finished presenting their ideas of where style will go in the spring: Models on catwalks in New York, Paris, London and Milan, Italy, mimicked flappers and mermaids, among what seemed like a million highly stylized looks.
Those looks make for great photographs — and conversation — but they’re not exactly office friendly looks.
Still, amid the beaded fringe and swaths of neon, there were some potential sleeper hits will help define what we wear next season.
The Associated Press asked Linda Wells, editor-in-chief of Allure and Adam Glassman, of O, The Oprah Magazine to predict the trends that will likely make it from runway to real life:
Jackets
“This isn’t your basic blue or black jacket,” according to Glassman. “Maybe it’s a color jacket or a printed jacket. Maybe it’s a parka or a bomber.”
The more athletic styles probably are the easiest to incorporate into an existing wardrobe, he says, but don’t limit yourself to jeans or leggings. Jason Wu, for example, paired anoraks with evening ensembles.
The other option is a light summer leather or, even hipper, a perforated leather.
Glassman says designers should get those jackets into stores early in the season so people can really wear them.
Yellow
Sunny, cheerful yellow — especially a green-tinged shade called citrine — seemed everywhere. Unfortunately, says Glassman, it can be hard to wear. He’d suggest a bright yellow shoe or handbag — maybe even a slim-cut skirt or pants. Still, a yellow dress was tempting from de la Renta, adds Wells.
The better bet, however, might be to switch to tangerine orange, which was almost as popular, but more complementary.
White
The trick with white is to not look like a nurse, unless you are a nurse, says Wells. Hints of transparency keep the look crisp and clean but adds delicacy, she advises.
Look up the white outfits at Jil Sander if you want to see white done right, she adds. “There’s always tons of white for spring, but the way these were done, they were so sharp like they were cut with scalpels.”
Glassman is a fan of white, as long you’re not someone who literally attracts dirt. “People are afraid of white, but it’s so flattering. It literally brightens up your face.”
Colorblocking
Colorblocking with graphic chunks of color and an unfussy look can get take care of a lot of trends since it works on so many different types of garments and accessories. The easiest to work with, Glassman says, is a dress because you don’t have to worry about matching a top with a bottom. J. Mendel and BCBG Max Azria did it in a very understandable way, he says.
Even simpler? Celine’s colorblocked handbag, suggests Wells.
1920s
Fringe on a flapper-style dress — like those at Marc Jacobs — are for the party girls. Add the cloche hat, fringed bag and Deco jewelry and you risk looking like the girl headed to a costume party, says Glassman.
But the dropped-waist dress silhouette that was popular during the era deserves another look, he says. “It’s good for a lot of women.”
Ralph Lauren always does “The Great Gatsby” thing so well, he says, and Tory Burch’s collection captured the sporty-chic vibe of well-heeled women of the day.
Sheer
The contrast between transparent and opaque at Chanel, Louis Vuitton, Marc Jacobs and The Row gave dimension, and helped bring clothes to life, says Wells. She likes that it was a way of being a little sexy but not over the top. “It’s like you were peering through one layer to see another,” she describes.
But women are going to have to try anything sheer on in the dressing room, Glassman says. “It can look great, but there’s a leap.”
Start with a sheer hemline on the bottom of a skirt or a sheer lapel on a cardigan or jacket.
Pastel-colored lace
A lot of the women in the audience of the shows — mostly fashion editors, retailers and stylists — were already wearing lace, usually in black or white, observes Wells.
Seeing it in the Prada collections in pretty, soft shades was a wearable, appealing way to evolve the trend, she says. “It takes two things women love and combines them.”
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