Westfield Group
2009 is channeling 1929 in more ways than one. Just like our depression era sisters we are fixated on the silver screen like never before and just like the flappers we’re using tinselly accessories to enliven the glad rags we’ve trotted out season after season.
On the runways the dropped waist echoes the plunging economy and a sort of wistful elegance is replacing the super-sexualized brash fashion of the naughty nineties. Sober times call for a certain ladylike reserve and a great deal of artful fakery. All you really need to marry a millionaire is one butterfly thin evening dress and a whole lot of bangles. And all you need to jump ahead of the breadline like a Modern Millie is a cloche hat. Oddly, the shades that dominate twenties style are silver and white. Subtle? Yes. Because a gold digger you might be but there’s no reason to be obvious. White is for virgins and movie stars. Silver is for goddesses. This season you’ll need to be a little bit of all three to get by.
WHAT'S NOT: BAG LADY RAGS
Knotty hair, faded skin tight black jeans, scuffed suede moccasin boots and somebody’s blazer stolen from the back seat of a club…well, essentially Kate Moss’s eternal uniform of Ragamuffin rock-scruff is just not funny in this climate.
One needs to look employable if no employed. Clothes can be retro but don’t need to look aged anymore. So back catalogue the band T-shirts, the faintly distressed denims and the beat up worn down cowboy boots. Autumn’s new bohemians are drinking tea rather than vodka at brunch, darling, and looking to be well dressed but never depressed.
What to keep from Kate’s style book? Her witty sequined silver art deco cape-let. What to lose? Spray on jeans, weathered footwear and ragged scarves. Basically anything that doesn’t shine.
WHAT'S HOT: ART DECO DIVADOM
Flapper fashion is easy to merge with modern trends because you don’t need much to make the statement. Mimco’s cloche hat can be worn with white linen pants and a singlet and look cool rather than school play silly. And an armload of bangles makes a simple jersey mini dress on trend. It’s a cheap thrill. Why not load both arms?
For those shy of headwear try a delicious little comb shaped like an art deco fan (also Mimco) with a touch of femme fatale drama. The whole point of twenties style is high impact/low cost.
So all you really need is one floaty chiffon tea dress like Collette Dinnigan’s butterfly silk frock or Alannah Hills’ lacy froth tea gown and you then wear a million ways: over jeans with silver tap shoes, bare legged to opera in the park, with bright tights for cocktails as the weather cools and even to work under a smart pin striped jacket. Wave your hair like Ginger Rogers, line your eyes like Clara Bow. Pucker up a bee stung vampish mouth and kiss the recession goodbye - well, in your dreams at least.
