Spring 2011 RTW Trends

Inspiration for Spring/Summer 2011 sewing from the recent Fashion Week shows:

• Wide leg trousers - I'm lucky, my short-waisted H-shape body can wear many different pant leg widths, as long as the waistline is lowered, or combined with a blouse-y tucked in shirt or (better) a longer top.

Spring 2011 Ready-to-Wear
Elie Tahari

Spring 2011 Ready-to-Wear
Elie Tahari



Bright colors with whites and khakis, as well as white + neutrals (see above) are big for S/S 2011.

Spring 2011 Ready-to-Wear
Oscar de la Renta - Runway

Spring 2011 Ready-to-Wear
Jonathan Saunders - Runway

Full skirts/longer lengths - for me, "full skirt" translates to fullness *below* the hip; again, dropped waist styles and no gathers/pleats/fullness at the waist.

Neutrals - grays, taupes, beiges, khakis, etc.

Spring 2011 Ready-to-Wear
Elie Tahari - Runway

 

Bermuda length shorts

 

Crochet/macrame/lace/eyelet fabrics

Spring 2011 Ready-to-Wear
Luisa Beccaria - Runway

 

Updated shirtdress

White - dresses w/ khaki/brown jacket/vest over, or head-to-toe white.

Dolman sleeves - not overly exagerrated, combined with v-neckline and/or empire waist.  This Ports 1961 look is a little too boxy for me, but I could see this with a bit more waist shaping over wide-leg pants.

Statement necklace - back again this season, great for busty H-shapes like me.

Drapey vests and sheer fabrics in layers

Spring 2011 Ready-to-Wear
Charlotte Ronson - Runway

Updated trench

Florals

Spring 2011 Ready-to-Wear
Barbara Tfank - Runway

Spring 2011 Ready-to-Wear
Barbara Tfank - Runway

Other trends I like:

• Mint, sage, and leaf greens are making more of a mark than usual.
• Chunky summer sweaters over those long, flowy sheer skirts.
• Platform shoes were everywhere

 All I need to do now is figure out which one to make first!

Crazy crotch

I was flipping through the Fendi Spring 2011 RTW slide show on Style.com, and came across this hot mess.  I was totally loving this look...until I got to the thigh area.  Now, it's possible it was just unfortunately photographed, but YIKES that is rather unflattering.  (And those gathered ankles have to be the icing on the cake.)

Trend Report (Rant): Exposed Zippers

OK, I know I'm a little late to comment on this trend that started taking off in Spring 2009; I was hoping it would have come and GONE already.

I. Hate. Exposed. Zippers.

Well, maybe I don't hate ALL exposed zippers. Some exposed zippers, like the one on this Jason Wu dress:

Jason Wu for TSE Structured Dress (note off-center exposed zipper)

are creative and very original.  The (somewhat) exposed zipper is definitely integral to the garment design.

But then there are butt-ugly interpretations such as this:

Jay Godfrey Zippered Tank Dress (front view)

(BTW, this dress retails for over $250 .)

The ones that really set my teeth on edge are those having the zipper TAPE completely exposed (not just the zipper TEETH), particularly if it's a heavy duty (wide tape) zipper, in a weird, contrasting color sewn onto a lightweight fabric. When I was learning to sew, it was drilled into me that a high-quality garment had a nearly invisible zipper, or at the very least, an unobtrusive one.  Now it is "trendy" to have your clothes look like you have them on inside out.  (Remember when exposed serged seams were everywhere?  I never understood that one, either.)

GAP-inspired shirtdress (AKA M5847)

I came across a piece of sandy-khaki colored fabric while sorting out YABFF (Yet Another Box Full o' Fabric) in the basement yesterday.  It's sort of a brushed cotton-y, rather drape-y piece, about 3 yds of 60" which I am thinking about using to make my own version of the GAP khaki shirtdress, seeing how military-inspired clothing is hot for Spring 2010:

What I like about this dress:

• Drawstring tie belt at waist
• Buttons/tabs at shoulders and hem
• 3/4 length sleeves
• Shirttail hem

What I want to change:

• Patch pockets over my boobs (not sure exactly how I'll change these); may add/substitute gunflaps at shoulder instead
• Princess seaming (a la M5847) with pockets in the princess seams, rather than the side seams
• Maybe add back yoke detail
• The rolled up sleeves...not a fan

I'll need to draft the pattern for it from my Unique Boutique dress pattern, though, as the M5847 I have in my stash has sizes 14-22, and I need a 10 or 12.  This will be an interesting experiment, morphing the two patterns together and then adding all the details.  I have an old Burda WOF with several dress/shirt designs incorporating tabs/epaulettes, so I'll probably lift a few of them from there.