This reminds me of the all-too-often-quoted add: Where’s the beef?
So the funniest thing about this, is that she was asking the question we were all asking at the time which was why was the hamburger 30% the size of the bun? Of course, it was to save money and keep their burgers at a hugely low price, but then you didn’t get any beef. Today I wonder where the fashion is? – especially the pretty fashion?
When I opened this morning’s email from BOF (Business of Fashion) with the headline “New York’s Dress Boom,” I was all excited. Then this article popped up.
:quality(70)/cloudfront-eu-central-1.images.arcpublishing.com/businessoffashion/QPJKT3S7TZD5LCUX736PUWITLY.jpg)
And I’m thinking: Whoa! What dresses? Are these dresses? I’ve clicked on the wrong article.
But delving deeper into this article….
For many independent American fashion brands, last year was good for business, with several boasting about revenue increases of 30, 40, even 50 percent from 2019. Demand for knitwear got them through the pandemic, and a dress frenzy lifted them up even further starting in late March 2021, when unit sales of women’s dresses were up 50 percent from 2019, according to research firm NPD.
https://www.businessoffashion.com/articles/fashion-week/in-new-york-are-good-dresses-enough/?utm_source=newsletter_dailydigest&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Daily_Digest_140222&utm_term=4GSZW46ZIBCP3DTCRP2G3SDFTE&utm_content=top_story_1_title
And then this:
But looking at those dresses on the banner of this article, I’m like. Huh? And what hits me most is the lack of creativity as well as beauty in most fashion shows. I’m desperately in search of it most of the time.
People want everything from them: new ideas, but also clear accessibility. It’s an almost-impossible ask, and it was easy to call this derivative: a corseted waist felt too familiar, as did some of the suiting. And yet, there are no new ideas in fashion, only new interpretations. Perhaps they should be judged not on whether the proposition is entirely new, but whether they made it entirely their own.
Well, nothing could be closer to the truth. As I’ve mentioned several times lately in my weekly email – there actually are “no new ideas in fashion, only new interpretations.” And yet that seems to be what the Instagrammers?…social media?…fashion editors/writers?…are all clambering for – something completely different. How about pretty, featuring a feminine silhouette, something that flatters – how about those for something completely different?
Ulla Johnson is a designer whose aesthetic is so strong, she’s able to mingle with the ideas of the day while maintaining a solid grip on her own thing. She gets that there will always be demand for a pretty floral dress, as long as it’s rendered with relevance.
So taking a look at Ulla Johnson’s collection (after that comment, who could resist), here’s what there is:
Well, looky here – some really beautiful things – even if Vogue calls it “an aesthetic is so strong, she’s able to mingle with the ideas of the day while maintaining a solid grip on her own thing.” I think I would rather call this: that she’s able to be reasonable and pretty while all the world is going mad around her.
This isn’t so much a dress and it lacks any interest in being beautiful or flattering, but I do adore the mix of prints and the use of the semi-sheer in the whole look.
This is a case where the sheer is in enough depths that it does finally cover the subject.
Something like this is a perfect example of how many layers of chiffon or semi-sheer fabric can more than cover the subject and look deliciously flattering and pretty at the same time.
And finally, this ending piece has a lot of great looks to it – granted I won’t be wearing that deep V neckline (you can thank me later for the lack of visual pollution in the world). But the waist, cute skirt (I won’t wear it that short) but would be interesting to sketch this up to see how this would look in a longer flowier version. Not bad for a little something newer.
The two huge takeaways from this article were:
Johnson’s business was on fire long before the pandemic, and the seemingly endless category launches, most lately denim and eyewear — not to mention the gaggles of women wearing her wares in the audience — indicates things are still on the up.
And…
Dresses may be back with a vengeance, but knits continue to dominate.
And there is your fashion forecast not from the Instagrammers (who sell themselves to the highest bidder) or the wannabes (who are just glad to be there) or social media (that will overpower you with too much information), but from Vogue, which is a reputable, albeit sometimes side-tracked, source for well-edited fashion.
What is easy to notice about those “dresses” is NOT ONE is even remotely alluring. NONE of the models wearing those “dresses” would draw the interest of a young Marine a day and a half home from a war zone. When a woman wants to improve her social life, she buys new clothes. usually “fashion” but sometimes “style”. When a man wants to improve his social life, he wears his courting clothing of “style” and pays notice to women wearing new clothes. . . . And then the Dance of Ages starts, a woman and a man each circling the other hoping to form a Gemini Couple. . . . . . “Your Turn To Curtsy, My Turn To Bow” was a book/movie of some time ago. . . . . . . There is NO suggestion of ANY potential Dance or even potential dance, certainly NO potential Gemini Couple as the gentle evening light lengthens to candles flickering in the background with the camouflage-the-female garments those models are wearing. As a signal of desire “to curtsy”, that clothing has all the allure of tree bark.
You are so right. And therein is the most magnificent of observations. When these styles are the best that’s out there, what does that say about the state of design today? It says that someone with some moxie will come out with pretty dresses, and make a killing. It doesn’t have to be couture. But pretty, flattering, and lovely feminine dresses will always be appealing no matter what phase of fashion we are in.
I don’t have a dress anymore, nor do I even have a skirt. But I do have a couple of simple figure-flattering dress patterns that tempt me from time to time. What you’ve written has me thinking. Maybe I’ll give the idea a try this spring. But then I’d have to get stockings of some kind and a different style of shoe. My husband says he doesn’t care if I never wear a dress again but maybe he really does. . .. . .
Styles should change and this is the change we’ve been without for almost 30 years. Thirty years of hipsters, torn, ragged, worn-out, ill-fitting clothing. The idea of dressing up and looking pretty, wearing clothes that flatter with finished edges really appeals to me. The “newness” and fun of it sounds so much better. I’m hoping that a wonderful way to come out of this pandemic is a happier and prettier fashion look. I’ve had enough of the post-apocalyptic look for a long, long, time!
I’m glad to hear you want to try something new. BTW, the Duchess of Cambridge (aka Princess Kate) wear hose, particularly when she’s wearing a short dress
I don’t care how shiny your legs are, then don’t shimmer like this without hose:
So hose are coming back, and I particularly like them when the more “mature” legs have those sagging knees, and a semi-opague or very opague hose can hide those knees beautifully and give a nice look to a shorter look for a mature figure.
Hose have never been out of fashion in London. Everyone wears sheers (aka nude) tights or black depending on the season, outfit and where you’re going. Tights manufacturers have figured out that there are lots of different skin colours, so nude tights also come in many different skin tone shades these days. You can get them almost everywhere here
No joke – beautiful, well-made hosery is beautiful and always in style. This is from John Galliano’s 2021 Spring show and there is nothing more elegant that these legs (the model on the runway – I don’t think you can see my legs!!!!)
I love wearing slightly sheer hose in the winter to make the line from my black shoes, black hose, black bottom all look like one long line. I’m short and I need all the help I can get. This “solid black line” (with the help of black hose) can make a stunning look. But during the summer I adore those slightly shimmering hose to make it look like you’ve been sun-kissed, but with my skin (out in the sun I look like a lobster, not sun-kissed), I can cheat all I want with those shimmering hose!