Go wild with fashion
Every season they say that animal print is out of fashion. “You will be dismissed as a fashion relic if you wander anywhere close to this beastly creature.” And then, just before the fashion guru could even complete her sentence, Roberto Cavalli launches his stunning python print collection.
Everyone rushes to the Cavalli store in Sloane street and cleans out the racks buying whatever they can lay their hands on. Dresses at £1,200 and tops at £600. Their black America Express has no limit and they shop till they drop. Only in this case it is the husband who drops on seeing the bill. The shopper (the wife) is beaming wide as she sashays towards her table at Nobu, lunching away with her girl-pals in her latest acquisition. And everyone is wearing animal print all over again. My verdict — animal print is now a classic and will remain so in our lifetime. The moral of the story is don’t listen to the ‘they says’.
Same with cold shoulder asymmetrical dresses. When I was eyeing one, the salesgirl at Alberta Ferreti said its days are numbered. “It’s a look that’s been done”, was the unanimous litany. But wait a moment. Think Marchesa. It looks chic on anyone. A ‘prettily plum’ woman, which by the way means anything above a size 0, also can carry off a cold shoulder dress. It has a forgiving cut, it forgives you for eating that chocolate muffin at Starbucks without screaming it out to the world.
Ditto for maxi dresses. Last summer my stylish friends who shop ‘the look’ warned me to put away all the maxi dresses I had in my wardrobe and even forced me to give away a few to charity. My favourite ombre long flowy maxi dress which was dyed in hues of turquoise and lilac which I loved and lived in was given away to my 4 feet 0 inch Filipino cleaner who held it up and looked at it and said that two people her height could fit its length.
Walking the high streets this season, one can see a sea of women floating around in maxi dresses. This is a trend here to stay. A maxi dress gives a woman height and a Grecian-goddess-like feeling. Makes the most mundane butt look magical. It is something that a woman can wear even on a ‘fat’ day. And still manage to go out for tea with the girls and tuck in a scone or two (with cream and jam) without the concave-ness of the tummy being obvious to the onlooker. Women do look at other women’s belly with no subtleness in the gaze. There is blatant comparison in the mind. “Is she slimmer than me?” So what if she’s slimmer. I am carrying a crocodile Hermes Birkin. She is not fashion aristocracy.
The writer owns a fashion brand based in Europe. She can be reached on info@amishi.eu
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