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Dressing goes retro, this season
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`Old is New' is the dressing mantra for the season. Go retro, says, clothes stylist ARCHANA NANDAL
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IT'S YESTERDAY once more... It's that time of the year, when all of us glamouramas begin to pause and ponder over our wardrobes, what with a host of festivities and celebrations looking us in the eye. So, in our quest to look gorgeous all the time, where does one begin this season?
Here are some trend-bytes to let you in on what's "haute" and what's "naught", and to help all you style-seekers see through the season with aplomb.
Well, to begin with, OLD is the NEW style-mantra! It's time to hit the history books and get into vintage mode. Fall ramps the world over are besieged with retro-mania. So, look over your pretty shoulders and get nostalgic over the "has been" - designers are reviving the glamour of the 70's, which themselves were a time for deja vu, with looks from the 30's and 40's being re-worked.
Remember those divine drop-waist knee length beaded dresses worn by Mia Farrow in the vintage flick `The Great Gatsby'? Retrieve those from antiquity and try wearing them with jeans - and be the toast of today!!
Grandma's attic is where all fashion femmes are heading .Old lace, weathered embroideries, patinated brocades, frayed hems, old folk, layers and layers of Muslin, are, what is cutting-edge style now. The up shot is, mix the old with the new - wear a frayed lace top with denims, a slinky crepe-de-chine sari with an old brocade blouse, drape with languor the exquisitely embroidered handed-down shawl over a chiffon tunic and pant, or simply just patch up a few old brocades to create your own textile and don it daringly as a fitted shirt jacket over a bias cut narrow skirt. Rediscover fabulous folk - designers have been on a global treasure hunt nosing into vintage shops for eclectic fashion finds to give you a delightfully mismatched, bohemian, anything-goes kind of a look - from Kashmiri paisley to English florals, from the Japanese kimono to weaves from South America, from vintage coins worn in the neck to riveted boots worn under a full blown ghaghra skirt, from animal prints to fringed suede - you think of it and there it is!
The season's style-coup, however, is doing the peasant-chic act from Russia. With much love, of course!! The Iron Curtain has collapsed to let us into the magical world of Ruski style - from simple flower patterned Siberian peasant skirts to the opulently simple Cossack costume inspired dresses, from babushka doll hair clips to Ruby necklaces - the Red army is coming!
So much for the look ! And the season's hippest colour? It's time to go GREEN. Jealous or otherwise - green is the colour screaming loudest from the season's ramps. Get it in all possible shades, the most covetable one being the vibrant green of Emeralds. Needless to add, bring out that Emerald choker from the treasure chest and flaunt it with élan. To shrink and to stretch, is the fabulous new way to do the hemline. After hovering over the knee for several seasons, the smart new length is now swinging both ways - the mini and the maxi are back. The maxi, a delightful come-back from the flower power seventies (think Zeenat Aman singing "chura liya hai tumne jo dil ko" in "Yaadon ki baaraat") is best worn in dresses with an empire line, the flattering below-the-bust seam that never fails to look gorgeous. Wear the maxi length, brimming over your ankles, any, which way though - in flared, pants, straight skirts or voluminous peasant (read ghaghra) skirts. Get gorgeous in embroideries - if there ever was a good time to look like a fairy tale princess, it is now. Fine needle work on all conceivable surfaces will have you turning heads - on scarves and shawls, on kurta shirts, on skirts, pants, sarees and sari blouses. For that added edge - have it on a purse, or shoes or belt. The waistline has been dropped, `Gatsby' style, held around the hip with a belt, or a sash or a piece of antique jewel. The sleeves are long, almost caressing the wrist, and belling out for high drama.
Amidst all this chaos, there is hope for all you classicists - Black rules. It's the reigning king, the black gold of all fashionistas that never really went out of style. It shall remain, even when they say Black is de-mode. Isn't it always becoming, always distinguished!! So go, girl, go.... and get on with the zeitgeist!
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