Fashion : The Echo of Deco | Jessica McBride

You are currently viewing Fashion : The Echo of Deco | Jessica McBride

Time to pull your socks up and put your head down. This is serious stuff. Study. Classes. Courses. Books. Essays. Exams. Despite this, deep down one has to concede that the Hogwart beacons of the University tower are not really representative of the degree. Long hair, short hair, short skirts, long mornings: this is what it really stands for. It’s the shoestring epicurist society; a hedonist hub of trial and error. Research isn’t all about books and Wikipedia, you know. Inebriated political arguments with random individuals in the corner of random parties, the swaying and swishing of arms and legs in black rooms with thundering neon, and time shared at the shabby-cool cafe down the alley with the hubbly-bubbly is what it is.

autumn2007fashionAs the days start getting shorter and the weather chills, your wardrobe will have to go along with this conversion in the surroundings, too. This season’s dernier cri has a menu of sophisticated musings. Tailoring, knitwear, waists, evening gowns and polished patents are waiting to be explored. While black is there as it always is, outfits will be accented with a polychromatic attention to burnt-orange, grass-green, fuschia, turquoise, purple and emerald for lux appeal. Perhaps the most understated hue is grey. Aside from acting as the base colour for your accented tones, it is subtle and chic in a way that black cannot always achieve.

The lingering sentiment from the autumn/winter ‘07 shows is empowerment. Which, if anything, leaves one feeling that one cynical rumour has a whiff of validity: trends are recycled every twenty years. The silhouette sums it up: strong shoulders, cinched waist, and a skirt for ladies (not ladettes). But in earnestness, this is not an homage to the brazen feminism of the 80s but rather to the sophisticated 40s wherein women’s style was about studied elegance. It isn’t dainty and it isn’t severe, although it’s not as ‘safe’ as it might appear. Safe is jeans and a t-shirt.

There are wide-leg trousers, mid-length skirts/dresses/trousers, trapeze line, puff-ball hems and over-sized berets, over-sized knits and under-sized body-con dresses. Suffice to say, not all trends will be picked up by the likes of the student populace. Indeed, one would look at odds appearing on campus dressed like a secretary. If you are of the avant-garde predilection then jodphurs, ‘experimental’ fabrics, loose knits, and body-conscious apparel come recommended. This season’s trends suggested a need to re-address the notion of ‘power dressing’. These fashion pages are an hommage to 40s glamour: demure, sophisticated and streamlined. This is what real ‘empowerment’ is: not to dress in a way that mimics crude confidence, but rather to embody the self-assured sense of what feminine style is. Nevertheless, what would fashion be if you couldn’t be inventive? So, when on campus, do what students do: experiment!

All clothes can be found at Circa Vintage, Ruthven Lane; Urban Outfitters, Buchanan Street and New Look, Buchanan Street.

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