Be it using the flannel to emulate nonchalance of the 90s grunge era,
or the stiffness of a varsity jacket to produce symmetry by tying it at
the waists - creating shape & dimension to an outfit was an idea
I've loved for the longest time.
In her F/W '13 Collection for Celine, Phoebe Philo made Faux Sleeved Knots a thing - this probably translated into the Tied Tshirt Dress from Rihanna's collection for River Island & also faux sleeved-skirts we now know of.
The above two pieces are from Carven. Needless to say, they make huge statement pieces with not only their pastel colors, but the oversized structure, and the thick belts knotted at the front. I would very much prefer messily-tied knots rather than them looking prim & proper. A juxtaposition to the decent coat & colors, the rugged/messy factor (when done right) really gives an outfit an extra edge.
The price range for the above mentioned items are definitely too high for us (at the moment). Instead of an impulsive decision to cut arm holes in your coats to create "Faux Sleeves" (which might be a good idea) -
Here's some inspiration straight from the runway that we could immediately incorporate into our daily wear.
Givenchy Fall '13 had taught us we shouldn't restrict ourselves only to flannel & soft fabrics. I particularly liked this collection because of the usage of leather, tweed and guess what - those puffy winter-wear fabrics. The stiffness / puffiness of the different materials' what gives the shape to such outfits.
To emulate these looks,
It's as simple as finding stiffer fabrics & materials to get knotted up! Also, Uniqlo has those puffy winter-wear pieces that you could cop.
Leaving you with more inspiration before I go:
The bleached speckles on the tie-dyed shirt remained in the same color-scheme as the top, whereas red parts created contrast and illuminated the pure white top.
You really can't go wrong with a leather jacket, y'see.
Philip Lim 3.1's Spring '13 went matchy-matchy on prints, that's something we could try to achieve. The second picture's there because THAT'S a white-on-white done RIGHT (plus he's a beautiful man). Imagine it with a white shirt knotted at the waists.
Rather than opting for the go-to flannel shirt, let's resolve to try something a little different for 2014:
- try a different material, a stiffer kind (leather, tweed, neoprene jumpers)
- if you're wearing loud prints, try using a solid color to either color-block/tone it down
- vice versa, if you're wearing solid colors, opt for a loud piece to jazz things up
- attempt at matchy-matchy coordinates
- play with textures while staying in the same color-scheme
Till the next time
xx
(Good lord, I tried so hard to find pictures to illustrate what I was talking about but to no avail. Hope you guys still got something out of this post anyway x)