Now & Later
Diane Pollack
So I hate to be a hater, but…
And everyone is entitled to an opinion, but…
And fashion rules are now being broken, but…
OK, so let me explain. As I was recently reading my Instyle magazine, I saw a spread about fashion for now and for later. Now I love mileage out of a multi-seasonal item, but not everything works!
And even if some items can work for more than one season, I think this spread looks like a bunch of fashion don’ts. And if the models, in a professional fashion shoot look bad, you can only imagine how the woman who is not “model-like” might look.
I have already talked to you about THE OTHER 1%, who are fashionistas, purposely breaking all the old rules and are the rare few who can get away with it.
So let’s dig into this spread, so I can explain to you why I think these styling choices are not good options.
Instyle Magazine
This spring dress looks great with the open toe sandals. A denim or other light weight jacket could be added for a little extra warmth on a cool spring day. Cute!
What is wrong with the NOW?
The cardigan isn’t bad (I could split hairs, but won’t) and I do love the belt for extra styling and shape definition, but the heavy black books, look just that, heavy. Since the dress is full, you don’t want a full slouch boot. Something that clings to the legs would be better to give her more shape, but then you still have the heavy dark color; so this dress is just not great with tall dark boots.
Instyle Magazine
Once again the LATER outfit looks cute, but “oh my!” I think this lady got swallowed up in the NOW. This is a major proportion issue and would be especially worse if you are petite and / or fuller. You are working with an over-sized blazer, so unless you are the “one percent” you are best to stick to the rule of proportion; when one item is full the other should be slim.
Actually, we just referenced that above with the boots. You need to see some part of a women’s shape underneath or you can risk looking larger with all of the fabric.
So not only should her pants not be so full but they should not be cropped. A long pant would serve to elongate her and not truncate her. And then adding sneakers to this only serves to make it worse. Please add some kind of heel to carry all this volume of fabric.
Instyle Magazine
The LATER is adorable. Light weight dress and light colors are perfect for spring. Please don’t break out this dress and do what the stylist did here in the NOW. This dress is not made to wear a turtle neck under. Dark color, heavy fabric, all underneath just looks terrible; too heavy and out of season for the dress. Again a denim jacket or other light weight jacket on top would look adorable. In this case the coloring in the boots is OK, but still shows little leg shape and looks bulky. Please wait to wear this dress till it is warm.
Instyle Magazine
In this last case, I actually like the NOW much better than the LATER. The colors are mid-tone and it is long sleeves and looks great with jeans boots and leather jacket for the cool transitional season days. Although the LATER is not the worst outfit, it is not the best either. In this case the blouse looks too fall-ish and too dressy for the shorts. For these light neutral shorts, you are much better off with a blouse in a breezy fabric in lighter colors (similar to the dress above).
I am interested to hear what you have to say. What do you think of these outfits? Hit reply and let me know your thoughts.