If acid yellow was the dominant color story coming out of Europe last week, it was a push towards “ladylike” cuts that caught our eye in the shape department. We saw classically feminine silhouettes in the dresses and skirts on nearly every runway, and many designers also showed beautiful high waisted pants, jeans and bottoms in both skinny and wide legs.
We use the term “ladylike”, because a high waisted pant is a more mature, sophisticated look, offering extra coverage for the wearer in both the front and the back, so you don’t feel like a teenager with your backside hanging out. The silhouette also shows a woman’s curves in all the right places, drawing attention to a small waist, and hiding “flaws” like thicker thighs and legs, for those that might be insecure about those areas.
Some of our favorite high waisted looks came from J. Crew and Vena Cava, who went with wider leg cuts, and Gucci, who led off their show with a slimmer version featuring button cuffs. Oh and hey, there’s that acid yellow again in a wide leg street look. HABITUAL will offer several ladylike, high waisted looks in both wide and narrow leg for Spring, including the Almas Hi Rise Zip Skinny, the Harrison Ultra Hi Rise Bell Bottom, and also the Thalia and Inga Ultra Hi Rise shorts.
Paris and London Fashion weeks wrapped up last week and it looks like Yellow is a clear winner when it comes to color story. The tone showed up in nearly every line. On the lighter end, some of our favorite looks included a lemon yellow gown with bead detailing by Andrew Gn and a separates skirt blouse combination by Rue du Mail. On the darker end, Elie Saab did a group of his signature red carpet dresses in a smooth mustard color, and Burberry went the closest to the gold end of the spectrum with a couple of leather jackets. What all of the Spring yellows have in common is an “acid” tone: these are bold yellows, which go deeper than your typical springtime pastel so they have a bit more spice and strength.
Our own take on the yellow trend for Spring 2012 is a wash called “Tapestry”, a mid-range acid yellow dyed denim that falls somewhere between pastel and gold. You will see the Almas Hi Rise Zip Skinny, one of our newest cuts, in the Tapestry wash after the new year.
Valentino, Ferrari, Alessi, Ferragamo – Italy is synonymous with a culture of design. So much so that Prada, one of the most iconic Italian labels, recently took some flack from the blogs for veering from tradition to manufacture several limited edition handbags in India. For spring, we’re pulling in a bit of that Italian design sensibility with the Almas Hi Rise Zip Skinny in Acid Red. The Almas is a skinny cut denim that shows off the legs down below, but comes together up top in a slightly higher rise, perfectly suited to the modern woman (as Refinery 29 asks, who is still buying low rise denim?). But the most exciting part of this style is the Acid Red wash, featuring a beautiful Italian “crackle coating” treatment, which draws upon the colored denim trend and updates it with a bit of extra texture – just the thing to brighten up your mood once winter’s over. And don’t worry, if red’s not quite your thing, the Almas will also come in a black crackle coating called “Night”, an easy, worn-in blue wash called “Ceremonial”, a grey wash called “Rain”, and a clean white wash called “Snowfall”.
