After a Fashion
Stephen weighs in on this season's latest trends as put forth by the fashion forward
By Stephen MacMillan Moser, Fri., April 19, 2013
In the Rags
Trendy? I'm not, so I looked up the trends. According to Glamour magazine (and my weigh-ins):
• Knee-length Bermuda shorts for women, often worn with something elongated or oversized: Fresh and cute.
• Black and white: Who doesn't love black and white?
• Peek-a-boo with cutouts and sheer lace: Can be risky.
• Statement sunglasses: Please, not since the Nineties have we worn demure eyewear.
• Beautiful beadwork? A staple in my pantheon.
• Bold stripes: Love 'em.
• Luxe leather? You bet.
• Suits with shorts: Yes. If you're a model.
Harper's Bazaar says yes to stripes and graphic prints as well. Brilliant color makes a return, and I like it a lot. They also like exotic, even tribal looks. New? Not so much, but always good. By the time we got to Elle, we could tell that all fashion editors had gotten the same memo: leather, stripes, lace... Surely we can work them all into the same garment? Elle also adds florals, the color gray, structured skirts, peplums, and bare midriffs. Try that in the same garment. Style.com says ruffles. And power suits. And the Far East. At least they seem to have a mind of their own. Vogue adds patchwork and satin, denim and snake prints, and le smoking. Teen Vogue adds menswear looks, which also suit many age groups, pun intended. Marie Claire credits Helmut Newton for the black and white, S&M styled looks, and hails watery prints and all-white. Thumbs up to Marie Claire for being slightly edgier than its competitors. Huffington Post still loves colored jeans (me too) and neon colors (simply no). They're big on large, bold prints, plaid shirts, and, um, message T-shirts. Yuck. Round or square sunglasses? For the very trendy. Pointed stilettos with an ankle strap? Very Helmut Newton, guys. And that reminds me. Do you agree with my friend Kim Schlinke that the miniskirt was the last "new" garment ever developed?
Suggestion
Get a gander at the stellar lineup of designers for the runway shows and showcases at this year's Fashion Week at www.fashionweekaustin.com. With the emphasis on local, I can assure you that this will be a week you won't soon forget.
The Agenda
Fashionwise, we have the Austin Area Aveda Network, which includes so many of our finest salons, producing Rock the Catwalk for Clean Water, a benefit fashion show and concert to raise funds for the Gulf Coast Restoration Network and the Lower Mississippi Riverkeeper. Anything emceed by the fun and fabulous Quita Culpepper of KVUE is going to be a riot. Participating salons include Avant, Jackson Ruiz, and Maximum FX, among many other fine Aveda salons. The benefit will be held Sunday, April 21, at Mohawk; doors at 7pm... Part of this year's WEST Austin Studio Tour is Stop #95, a pop-up art gallery set up by Austin Art Connections (www.austinartconnections.com), featuring a group show of artists, opening April 26, 7-9pm, at the fabulous Royal Blue Grocery, 609 Congress (second floor). Personally, my interest in it is Charlie Terrell's digital art. He did a portrait of me recently, based on a Linda Hughes photograph, that I found extremely evocative. A list of artists showing and gallery times is available on the Web at west.bigmedium.org... And of course, spring doesn't really start until the annual Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center Gala is on the calendar: Friday, May 3, with cocktails at 6:30pm and dinner at 8pm. This year's theme, How Does Your Garden Grow?, celebrates the center's new garden features including the debut of the upcoming Luci Baines Johnson and Ian Turpin Family Garden. Tickets and further information can be had at www.wildflower.org/gala_landing. Art is viewable on the site, and bids by proxy must be submitted to kaingram@wildflower.org or 232-0138 before Wednesday, May 1, 5pm.
Write to our Style Avatar with your related events, news, and hautey bits: style@austinchronicle.com or PO Box 49066, Austin, TX 78765.
