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Fashion in the New Year

by Amelia Gray
Fashion School Review Columnist

December 15, 2006


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Another year
Launch Your
Fashion Career
from
The Art Institutes

The Art Institute
, another set of fashion trends gone awry. Fret not—you don't have to be the New Year's first fashion victim!


Keep this list on-hand when you're cleaning out your closet for the New Year, and ring in 2007 with a style-conscious wardrobe. Fashion design school students: don't repeat these audacious wardrobe malfunctions.

1. Skinny pants cut off the blood flow to your common sense.
It's time for a little honesty, ladies: Do you have the hips and thighs of a normal woman? Does your figure really match Audrey Hepburn's? Do you think the phrase "ankle zippers" sounds more like a medieval torture device than a fashion accent? Skinny pants still adorn the front-end mannequins in boutiques nationwide, but if you're not made of plastic, you might have trouble with this misguided fashion trend. Cut skinny pants from your wardrobe, and regain the ability to breathe, move, and wear clothes that accentuate your best features.

2. Gauchos flatten, fatten, and never flatter.
There was once a season where women of all shapes and sizes could slip on a half-skirt, half-pant gaucho, draping themselves in a flowing material that looked classy and fit like sweatpants. Winter 2005 was a simpler time, but fashion trends move on, and gauchos have gone the way of capris. (You have gotten rid of your capris, right?) Fortunately for your working wardrobe, wool and other heavy fabrics in the gaucho cut still make for attractive and comfortable business wear.

3. Crocs: No longer fantastic plastic.
The signature shoe of surfers and triage nurses, Crocs have managed to work their way into popular fashion culture. Fortunately for the toes of trendsetters everywhere, winter is sending these plastic clogs packing. The trend is disappearing faster than jelly shoes, and the fashion world couldn't be happier. In the words of Project Runway guru Tim Gunn: "I hate Crocs. May they please go away."

4. Bug-eye sunglasses are only in if you’re a bug—or Nicole Richie.
It’s a baffling phenomenon: huge-framed sunglasses that cover most of the face, giving the wearer the impression that she is trapped behind a facemask. Only Miss Richie, who has reason to conceal her identity, can pull off this strange, insectile fashion trend. For us non-celebrities, this wardrobe mistake only serves to shrink the facial features to hilariously tiny proportions. Save your oversized sunglasses for undercover missions on the set of "The Simple Life."

5. Tacky velour sweatpants bring casual wear to new lows.
Though it's the second sweatpants entry on a short list, velour still deserves a mention. While big, comfortable velour sweatpants may be acceptable for lounging about the house, walking the dog, and attending Dallas Cowboys cheerleading auditions, the skin-tight variety still found in public may be the biggest fashion trend faux pas in years. To make it worse, many trend victims insist on brands displaying words or brand names across the back-end. Nothing says "my butt is a billboard" quite like this audacious wardrobe mistake.

This season, let's put the fashion trend mistakes of 2006 behind us, and move into a brighter, more fashionable New Year. And no matter what fashion trends are in, designers and fashionistas must remember the goals of good style: Fit your wardrobe to your body type, and keep it comfortable.

Source
Washington Post

About the Author
Amelia Gray is a teacher and freelance writer in San Marcos, TX. Amelia earned a Bachelor's Degree in English Literature from Arizona State University.

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