The New York Times, a paper that is often months or years late in identifying trends on the streets, reports mannish looks are in for ladies and frilly pastel stuff is out. Women prefer the “model off-duty” look of filmy oversize T-shirts, worn jeans, and strong biker jackets or boyfriend blazers to pink floral dresses. But duh, you knew that. This has been the preferred look for years, thank you, Times. But maybe this story — late as it may be — offers renewed hope in womankind.
Although it’s not even January, the fashion industry has moved on to spring. February spring fashion issues come out soon, heralding all the new styles that are supposed to catch on. For spring, it’s a lot of panty bottoms and feminine ruffles and bras we’re supposed to wear as tops. You know, conventional femininity of yore, skank gear, whatever you want to call it. But maybe all that stuff won’t take.
Fashion magazines hardly ever show women what they want to wear. Androgynous looks never replaced the damsels in distress frolicking through the forest in some frilly ballgown or other, or the hookers (for all intents and purposes) lounging on a white pleather couch in thigh-high boots and ass-cheek exposing dresses. So this spring they may give us overt femininity — ruffles, pastels, corsets — but they’ll probably continue to be out of touch. If women really do prefer the covered-up looks of Carine Roitfeld and Agyness Deyn, maybe we won’t see so many prancing around in negligees instead of dresses when the weather warms up. (Say what you will about Deyn’s wacky garb, but the girl keeps it covered.) The Times quotes plenty of women who still like their mannish stuff, so why would they relinquish it for 2010?
Think about it: What’s the goal of most women when getting dressed? To look like they didn’t try, even though they did and always do. A girl who walks out the door with her boobs pushed up to her chin in high-waisted diaper shorts with perfectly curled ringlets and fuchsia eyeliner looks like she tried. Carine Roitfeld never has an air of such desperation.
