Denim, lavender, glam for day are runway hits - Arkansas Online

Those of you who have followed my full-length cover features in the Democrat-Gazette may remember that I once did a recurring commentary on fashion trends for looming seasons. The top trends were grouped into Good, Bad and Downright Ugly categories.

Hang onto your seat belts, readers. Here's a column-size version of that commentary, based on the major spring/summer 2018 fashion trends as shown in the fall on runways in New York, London, Paris and Milan.

The Good

• Denim -- specifically, dark denim and head-to-toe denim looks. According to Women's Wear Daily (wwd.com), "The all-American staple got the formal treatment at the spring shows as designers paired [denim pieces] with evening attire and in some cases, 'bejeweled' them enough to take you into a gala."

• Pastels, in general; and in particular, the color lavender. The "little sister" to the 2018 Pantone Color of the Year, Ultra Violet, rocked the runways. A standout shown on multiple websites: a beautifully cut, exquisitely draped lavender trench coat by Dries Van Noten.

• Speaking of trench coats, they'll be in, too. The classic ones never go out of style anyway. And some designers updated them with perks and quirks ... case in point, Loewe's maxi trench, fashionably shredded into "streamers" at bottom.

• Art-infused prints. My favorite for-instance: Versace, which did images of Marilyn Monroe, all Andy Warhol-style but different hues, on a dress, bag and boots.

• Shimmery stuff/bling. "Certain fashion houses are never afraid of some embellishment and shine, and yet this season, it seemed like everyone wanted to escape into the sparkling lights of the party," according to a trend piece at Wmagazine.com.And, according to Popsugar.com's trend feature, glittery fabrics will be dazzling us even in the daytime.

• Feathers. You may be leaving the darn things in your wake everywhere you walk (check out any dance floor immediately after a Mardi Gras ball), but you'll be fashionable in your ostrich or marabou-accented pieces.

• The color pink, from pale to deep fuchsia, the latter of which I'm a fan. (Some of the top-trend lists also mention the color red; one mentions red paired with pink ... a combo that happens every year anyway when the Valentine's Day merchandise comes out.)

• White suiting, mentioned by Elle.com, and "white ethereal maxi dresses," mentioned by Harpersbazaar.com. So there will be no excuse for not having something chic to wear to the growing number of all-white-attire parties.

The Bad

• Sheer, in general: Elle.com made mention of "exposed briefs" in its trend story: Yep, show your skivvies under your sheer clothing! I'm a fan of leaving something to the imagination. But then, we old-school Southern ladies had it drummed into us by our mothers to always wear a slip.

• Sheer, in particular: Clear plastic. Used to make corsets, rain boots, skirts. Won't we get hot in that?

• Checks and plaids. I like checks and plaids, but the ones shown for spring were generally unsubtle and were in colors that looked like they'd burn the wearer up during Arkansas in August. I don't see Northern Exposure (the '90s sitcom set in Alaska) taking flight here.

• The windbreaker/parka/anorak jacket. Although they'd come in handy during our cold spring days. And when we're getting on an amusement-park-ride gondola that's going to go down a long slide and make a big splash into some water.

The Downright Ugly

• Fanny packs. Who thought to bring these back? Didn't enough derision arise around these benighted things ... the first things we're warned not to sport when we go traveling abroad lest we are pegged as tourists and attract pickpockets (or at best, that country's Fashion Police)?

• Dresses on/over shirts. The only thing one could do to look slouchier is to put on one of those windbreaker/parka/anorak jackets. If you want to "modest up" a revealing dress, best to get a shrug.

• The trench coat done wrong. Some designers ventured too far from the farm. A Faustine Steinmetz version was cut and shredded all over ... as though by someone's boyfriend's vengeful ex.

• Sport/athleisure wear paired up with dressy effects. No thank you; I would not like to wear my MotoGP World Championship-looking outfit with a tutu. We can only hope that was done for runway effect.

The "Could fall in all three categories"

• Fringe. There are some cute fringe treatments; there are some not-so-cute treatments, and then there's that Calvin Klein multicolored "Cousin It/Addams Family/cheerleader pompom fringe dress.

• Mixed prints. I think back to the mixed-but-coordinating prints that ran in household linens and which became popular around the early '90s. That's about as much print mixing as I personally can stand, hokey or no.

• Jumpsuits, specifically the flight-suit-inspired ones mentioned by Popsugar.com: "Some are boxy and boyish, others fitted and dotted in florals." Some are reminiscent of Ghostbusters. All remind me that it would be difficult to go to the bathroom while wearing them.

Other spring looks mentioned in fashion magazines: Red, white and blue patriotic combos, some complete with stars and stripes. Satin. Tulle (just don't wear it with the sport/athleisure stuff, please). High, cinched waists, some with a hobo effect a la Elly May's rope belt in the old Beverly Hillbillies TV comedy. Shorts suits/sets. Ruching (which can be quite figure flattering). Asymmetrical necklines. Black-and-white polka dot. Square necklines.

Put all the trends together and spring 2018 sounds like it'll be ... wait for it ...

A 1930s movie in which the characters go-go dance and flirt with Air Force pilots at a Night at the Museum-theme party during a fateful three-hour yacht tour in Scotland -- televised by ABC Sports.

But we Southern girls know how to comb through those trends and wear them in a way that will make sense.

Dressing Room appears monthly. Send Arkansas fashion-related tips and news releases to:

hwilliams@arkansasonline.com

High Profile on 01/14/2018

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