With the holidays drawing nearer, you may find yourself compiling a wishlist of presents you expect to receive by the new year or browsing the Internet for spectacular post-Black Friday deals. To ensure you are getting the most out of your holiday shopping, I’m giving you a preview of what you should be wearing in spring 2013.
The Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week event is a bi-annual event in which the world’s top designers decide, as Heidi Klum would say, what is in and what is out. This event is held in only the most fashionable cities in the world – New York, London, Milan and Paris – in that order. Fashion Week in February determines what will be trendy for the fall/winter season and September determines the spring/summer trends. In the fashion world, winter is coming to a close and if you want to keep up with them, here are the trends to look forward to in the new year.
Wear your sunglasses, because it’s going to be a white-out! Nearly every designer dressed their models in white ensembles, unanimously making white a must-have for spring. This trend ranges from an entire outfit comprised of white to one white piece to a white patterned piece. The potential with this trend is tremendous – there’s no wrong way to do it! Stock up on white pants, shirts, dresses, shoes, anything and everything. If white really isn’t your thing, wear it in accessories or pick a pattern with white accents; this way you’re not covered in white, but you’re still participating in the trend.
Another trend to expect for spring 2013 is detailed, intricate beading. Similar to the baroque trend of fall/winter 2012, this trend is all about sweeping, elaborate patterns. However, it’s different from baroque in a few ways. First, these magnificent patterns need to be created with beading only. Second, whereas baroque is about gold patterns on black or white, this trend can be any color (or colors) on any other color! Marchesa used detailed beading patterns to shape a brightly colored dress, Oscar de la Renta used beading to bring more dimension to a minimal pattern and Timo Weiland used beading simply to add youth and fun to a piece.
Bringing this trend to Etown will be a piece of (carrot) cake! If the piece has minimal beading, feel free to play it up. If you have a shirt with the slightest bit of beading, wear bright colored shoes and funky sunglasses to bring more fun to the outfit. Don’t go overboard, however! You’re not trying to look like the 1970s lost love child. If wearing a grander or more intricate beading piece, go simply on the rest of the outfit. Wearing a black beaded dress for a night on the town? Pull your hair back, put in simple studded earrings and slip on black heels.
The last major trend for spring 2013 is peek-a-boo pieces. You might already own a piece! This trend has been lurking around since late 2011, containing itself to the shelves of Urban Outfitters and PacSun. A peek-a-boo piece is one in which fabric is missing in an isolated spot, thus showing off skin or a secret layer beneath.
For spring 2013, the hottest way to wear this trend is to have small peek-a-boos. A dress with only half an inch of midriff showing or a shirt with only your shoulder blades showing is correct usage of the peek-a-boo. Another new update on this trend is the allowance for multiple peek-a-boos. This can be accomplished with the peek-a-boos revealing a lace or sheer layer beneath the garment.
This trend is a little tricky for a few reasons. First, the peek-a-boo needs to be strategically placed; you cannot simply punch holes into an outfit and call it fashionable. The peek-a-boo needs to be showing off something interesting about your body, like your rib or the small of your back, but there can be only a tiny portion of it showing. The other more obvious reason this trend is tricky is that you need to know how to dress your body. If you have a large bust, you should avoid peek-a-boos in the chest area; conversely, smaller-busted women: try it out! If you’re a little curvy, buy peek-a-boo pieces that display the side of your body so the material frames you. Experiment with it. The safest way to try this trend is definitely the reveal of half an inch of midriff.