manila fashion observer: Dekada '70

Monday, April 09, 2007

Dekada '70

I've been on a retro mode these past couple of months. Blame it on Uli Herzner and her long printed dresses. For some reason, that dress she wore for the jetset challenge is seared on my brain. Its just so perfect! Its glam and practical all at the same time! I haven't seen anything close to that but this maxi dress from Topshop will do! Anything maxi at this point is an inspiration!

I really think the maxi dress is the perfect dress for summer, as it can go from day to night! I can imagine this worn while shopping, checking out an exhibit in a museum, dining at a restaurant, lounging on the deck of a yacht, popping a sleeping pill in the plane (hahaha), anywhere actually!

If you want a "look see" of these long 70s dresses I'm talking about, watch Dreamgirls. The 60s clothes they wore when they were starting out were cute, but seeing them lounging about in 70s garb when they had attained some amount of success was quite inspiring! They could have done a better job sourcing for 70s jeans though. The ones Deena Jones was wearing as she stormed out her house looked pretty modern to me...

Because this is what retro jeans are all about! The K Jean from Topshop is a high-waisted type that flares like a bull's nostrils! Nah! I'm exaggerating! Modern retro (what a paradox!) jeans don't flare as much as it did then (when I was a kid looking at my mom's pictures, I told her that her flares were enough to make me a skirt if I cut it at the knee!) but still, compared to today's skinnies, these are definitely roomy!

And it looks like 70s jeans are set to become a wardrobe staple for all fashionable women out there! Vogue UK talks about Made in Heaven's "Berlin", a high-waisted, two-button, straight leg jean which comes in a clean blue and road-trip wash. These jeans will be available from July 1 at Harvey Nichols only - and there's already a waiting list. The cult brand, originally launched by Tony O'Gorman in 1969 and relaunched two years ago by his goddaughter Chloe Lonsdale, has continued to find success abroad, selling from Bergdorf Goodman, Japanese cult store Isetan and several other European boutiques.

Now the 70s ain't the 70s without some patchwork sewn in! This muti-colored floral patchwork silk dress with frill trim and paisley bib front from Marc by Marc Jacobs gives off that hippie 70's vibe, without the smell of grass...

But if you are the practical, cotton wearing type of girl, then this patchwork print dress from Topshop comes without the Marc Jacobs price tag...

...it sort of looks like the Marc Jacobs patchwork dress from S/S 07 too! Remember this?

Now what to wear with these dresses and jeans? Wedges! Because there's plenty of authentic looking ones out there! It won't look costumey I promise! And even if it does, who doesn't want to look like a Charlie's Angel? I know I do!!!