ORIENTAL STYLE: BEWARE THE DRAGON’S BITE!

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The wind is blowing from the East: China, Japan, Korea and so on seem to be the inspirational mood of Fall-Winter. So, the oriental style makes a splash and harks back to the traditional dresses. Silk, dragons and kimonos: you run the risk of exaggerating.

All the exotic things attract and seduce. If we talk about fashion, the appeal is even stronger, though. The cold season has come, but this year, in addition to the ordinary quilted jackets and coats, the oriental style dominates the catwalks and our wardrobe too. Coming soon!

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VELVET TREND ?

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Velvet is fashionable again…seriously? So, if you don’t have a velvet item yet, in the future it’ll be in your closet. We are talking about a fabric that isn’t easy to keep clean, the lint brush roller will become your best friend. In any case it’ll be the must for the Fall/Winter 2017-18. Because, let’s be honest, it’s really hard to keep it immaculate and not everybody can do it. One of the things that I really hate – beyond the already mentioned velvet – is seeing hair/dust/lint/dandruff on the clothes. I always keep a roller in my car, in the bathroom and (sometimes) in the bag. Well, stop talking about my obsession for these small dressing good manners and get down to brass tax.

 

This fabric was appreciated by the aristocracy because the fiber used for the production was silk. In the past it was loved by the Popes and nobles, nowadays it’s everywhere, even on Zara’s shelves. Some items and accessories appeared already on the F/W catwalks 2016, from Tom Ford, to Valentino and Miu Miu. Seasons don’t exist (almost) anymore, trends aren’t real trends anymore and it’s impossible to distinguish a men’s collection from a women’s one. Didn’t you notice it? So, we can just pick up and personalize as much as we can what is proposed on the runways…

Velvet: top & flop

Over the years (in a distant age) there was someone who considered velvet an obsession, so were there fashion addicts even in 1300? It seems that in 1399 Richard II of England established that the only fabric allowed to touch his skin would be velvet until his dying day. And in fact, he was buried dressed in velvet.

And then, how can we forget about Gwyneth Paltrow at the MTV MUSIC AWARDS in 1996? She looked fantastic in her crimson velvet tuxedo designed by Tom Ford for Gucci. Simply divine, and she was blissful too.

Another appearance, but for sure less amazing, was the one showed off by basketball player Dennis Rodman. Absolutely less perfect and worth being immediately forgotten. He walked the red carpet while wearing a tied shirt that uncovered his abs and a pair of green velvet pants. Search him on Google and forget about him, please.

Velvet, not only clothing…

This fabric, because of its silky and bright tones, is used not only for clothing and accessories but also for furniture. For example, we can mention Marchesi and its famous green armchairs that contrast but at the same time create a harmonious equilibrium with marble tables. Opulence and elegance, if well balanced, will allow you to get good instagrammable results!

LUXURY: VANITY FAIR

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It takes all kinds, and so does fashion. It satisfies all tastes, both the beautiful and the ugly ones. The designers create but always pay attention to their business. And since pecunia non olet, often what happens is that what is sold as luxury and expensive actually looks very cheap.

Sophistication, elegance, style: three words that, talking about look, not always (or almost never) are in any way related to the price on the label of clothes or accessories. If not all that glitters is gold, for sure I can affirm that not all that is expensive is luxury. Or better, it’s luxury but results in pure ostentation.

For those who live in Milan, at least once, have bumped into Russian people that crowd the streets of the city center while holding in their hands the bags from the most famous boutiques: Gucci, Louis Vuitton, Armani, etc.
Well, they are the perfect example. They are flashy like a Xmas tree and accessorized with any object that could be defined as showy, they’ve just one goal in mind: to show off their cash. We could say that’s the eternal competition to have the biggest one…wallet, of course!

 

But even without arriving to the land of vodka and fur hats, we can speak about luxury as also having a look at our ordinary life. It’s enough to think about white trash outfits that we see every single day. Giant logos printed on t-shirts, bags, shoes. They’re so visible that they don’t go unobserved even for somebody blind as a bat. And also belts appropriate for a duel at the time of the wild west, chains around the neck like a saint during the procession and other whims that burn the bank account. Expensive, but ugly and ungraceful. I still remember the age of jeans by Richmond with the graphics RICH just over the butt cheeks, no comment.

“That’s the fashion, baby. The fashion! And there’s nothing you can do about it. Nothing!”, the contemporary Humphrey Bogart would say in a potential remake of Deadline – U.S.A.

The threat is bad taste. Luxury at all costs, because to appear rich is priceless. So, even what is considered ‘high’ can become drastically ‘low’ and CHEAP. That’s the slight line that highlights a clear border between somebody rich and the nouveau riche, even if the attitude to show off without any moderation, often belongs also to people who don’t have ready money but want to build their social status. Each of us has an aspirational model, it’s the well-known What do you want to be when you grow up?: there’s those who want to be Donald Trump and those who aspire to be Dario Fo, even with the cash of Donald Trump. As always, it’s all about class…that cannot be bought. So, please, take cuffs off of your pants: they’re allowed only in Venice if the tide is high, very high.

RECYCLED FASHION: IT’S TIME TO SCRAP

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Every six months we browse glossy magazines, consult websites and fashion blogs looking for seasonal trends. Any news? Not always, almost never. We have seen the same collections over and over again, most of the times designers’ ideas need to be scraped and the result is recycled fashion.

Time goes by, the world changes and also the customs apparently evolve. Apparently, indeed. I was 12 when I wore my first flared jeans and then 14 when I decided to dismiss them forever. They were in when my mum was 20 years old and nowadays, in 2017, they’re in our closets again…you could even say they might be stalking us a bit. Recycled fashion is the only trend that is always in vogue. What happened to designers’ imagination? Collections on the catwalk are a déjà-vu, boredom overflows and the famous Sometimes They Come Back assumes a clear meaning. Baroque patterns, pointed toe shoes, accessories we have hated for ages, etc.: they’re all there, ready to come up again. Recycled fashion makes you regret even the moment in which you trashed the tricot jumper you bought in 1997, “I will never wear it again…”, you said. You made a mistake.

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HASHTAGS: RAIN OF # AND OTHER DISTURBANCES

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Twitter, Instagram and then Facebook: and it’s hashtags mania. Created to group together the posts related to a specific topic and make easier any social interactions, they became a trend that maybe exploded too quickly.

Fabri Fibra and Thegiornalisti sing “Adults that take selfies are upset, they don’t find the words even for the hashtags ”, and I want to say, FORTUNATELY. Because every day we see too many hash marks that are improperly used.

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SHIRT: HOW TO WEAR IT BACKWARDS

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The shirt? Wear it backwards!

Yes, you well understood. Trend or not trend, back-to-front shirt looks stylish. I already told you about how to wear both shirts and t-shirts, now I’m here with new fashion tips to put it on in the best way.

I love them, so I have tons of shirts in my closet. But the ones that I really adore are the classic white shirts. I think that’s the shirt par excellence. An iconic item that every woman and also every man should have in their wardrobe!

 

It was the paradigm-item of Gianfranco Ferrè and the city of Milan honored the designer with an exhibition called “the white shirt according to me” in 2015. The concept had the aim to highlight the sartorial and creative style of the designer.

 

It’s the starting point to “reread the rules of elegance”, an exercise to break up and build again the “various identities” that this item has.

 

Yes, because an “impersonal”  shirt can turn you into a stylish masterpiece.

 

Shirt: here some fashion tips

  • Let’s start from the ABC’s. If it sounds weird to wear the shirt backwards, begin with a basic style. Choose monochromatic fabrics and plain lines. One of the rules to avoid any fashion crimes is to choose the perfect silhouette. For this style, I suggest you pick a shirt with a loose fit, so forget about the slim fit!
  • Do you want to dare? Well, tie a knot in the back but don’t button up the shirt. Patterned and striped fabrics are perfect!
  • Do you prefer an (almost) innocent style? Button up only the first button, the one right close to the collar. If you like this style, I suggest you pick a Korean neck shirt and hard fabrics like linen, for example.
  • Sexy back but with class. For this style, you should button up all buttons except 3 or 4. The back will be uncovered but with a chic effect. If you choose a soft and light fabric like silk or chiffon, the result will be even better.

FASHION: GLOSSY LEXICON TALKS ABOUT THE CATWALK

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Dear fashion, “Speak simply”! Not so much food, not so much words. This one should be the rule of fashion system. But the glamorous universe made of glossy magazines and sparkling alphabets is always ready to create neologisms with an international touch.

If we should list every single entry of fashion dictionary, the list could be endless. Not only words universally recognized but even many other ones created to define a new trend or to make appealing something that wasn’t so. The power of fashion lexicon is the ability to give light and voice to something dull. It’s a spotlight that decides who and what to make protagonist.

Is it enough to call something fashion to make it really cool? Probably not, but for many ninnies obsessed by the sexy charm of the label, words are enough to characterize an item or a lifestyle.

Fashion dictionary victims? Often. Every year designers and experts coin words to define the news from the catwalks or to make politically correct and socially acceptable some standards of beauty that are generally relegated out of the shining kingdom of haute couture.

Let’s think for example about the word curvy and the well-built models, let’s think about the marketing and how it approached to this new aesthetic mood. Only few years ago, these girls were called just fatso. Fashion, thanks to its verbal range, gave them liberation.

Moreover, there are also interesting lexical fusions as jeggings and jorts. The first ones are denim leggings shaped as jeans, the second one are short pants…very short and completely homemade.

You know, fashion can give also immortality. Everybody dreams the Kelly, the most famous bag by Hermès dedicated to the legendary Grace Kelly.

Made in fashion, it matters! Linguists are absorbed in studying the meaning and the mediatic impact of these words, even if the enthusiasm is not comparable to the one of crazy women at Zara at the beginning of summer sales. Could we call it technical language? Yes, at least in part. In other cases, it is only very posh and exclusive but can generate long chats about nothing. If in front of a pair of flatform that your friends have seen on Vogue worn by Cara, you feel like a Martian, don’t lose heart. Remember that fashion legitimizes, therefore if you decide to go around wearing pajamas and a coat-gown, nobody will call you shabby but shabby chic.

T-SHIRTS TELL STORIES: HOW AND WHY A TEE CAN SAY A LOT ABOUT US

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Outfit and personality go hand in hand. In spite of what a well-known proverb says, sometimes you can judge a book by its cover and our clothes say a lot about us. T-shirts are the items that in a way mainly describe our character and make visible our thoughts.

Open your closet and count how many t-shirts are there. At least twenty, some of them are in the bottom drawer and belongs to the past. Do you remember when you were used to pile up the tees with the name of the cities you visited? I have at least five t-shirts from Paris.

Garments for the gym, to stay at home, basic, with colored patterns, with famous characters from cartoons, large or fitted. A very long list that can tell who we are. Except the easy wear items we bought just because they’re practical, the ones we carefully choose can deliver a specific message.

Many times we are attracted by a statement or a picture because they work as a mirror. It’s a mirror that interprets our forma mentis or maybe something that we’d like to shout out.

A t-shirt with Snow White means a back to the childhood, if you put on a tee that says I’m friendly, I can’t be also slim it’s a way to be ironic about your body. And when you go to the Hard Rock Café and buy another tee for your collection, it’s a way to keep with you a memory.

T-shirts speak, there’s no much to say about it. They tell a story. Also the most eccentric ones, the tees from the ‘90s that your mother has partially turned into dust cloth. Yes, also those ones have a past. I scrupulously keep them in my closet. Even the t-shirts I wore when I was a child, the first ones by Disney that someone distractedly ruined ironing.

Nowadays, vintage is fashionable again and in the stores it isn’t difficult to find t-shirts with names and logos belonging to celebrity bands like Iron Maiden and Metallica. The funniest side is that you see them in the hands (and then also dressed!) of callow guys that maybe are used to listen to One Direction. But in the end, this is a way to express themselves. Aspirational maybe.

One tee, one story. For this reason, I can’t throw them away. Today I have been in a department store and a nice lady asked me to translate the statement printed on a t-shirt «I mean, it’s a present and I don’t know if these ones are bad words…». It was in English of course. Live now. Good choice!