I am a perennial trend-dabbler. A sense of adventure and curiosity about the unknown are the primary engines that drive this blog. Just when I think, “I am spent, there can’t possibly be another trend that will ignite in me an inextinguishable flame,” a trend will emerge that will be so electrifying as to be irresistible.
But that speaks more to the power of advertising than to my suggestibility.
The reinvention of “baroque,” a word that previously carried a pejorative tone but in recent years has been meliorated by the fashion industry, has spawned the “bejeweled” trend.
And this trend has spread like wild fire; just take one look inside the new J. Crew Style Guide (August 2013). The first forty pages contain nary an unembellished outfit.
Jeweled sweatshirts, jeweled flats, jeweled sweater tees, jeweled pencil skirts, jeweled sateen shells; if you can name it, J. Crew has embellished it.
Even chambray shirts and silk capris couldn’t escape this treatment.
(Let us pause for a moment and acknowledge the absurdity of beaded pants. What a terribly uncomfortable way to sit.)
Bejeweling street clothes may have been a concept that many designers shunned in the past because of impracticality but in the fast fashion age in which we live, labeling something “do not wash” no longer carries a stigma.
As a lover of all things shiny, I can’t protest this trend but find the shift–to things becoming ever more makeshift–troubling. Should we be more alarmed?
 |
| Zara Combination Jacquard Top | c/o LaCaCl Colorful Printed Stretch Pants | Prada Saffiano Lux Double-Zip Tote | Marc by Marc Jacobs Rose Gold Watch | Zara Wedge Court Shoe |
I will be reviewing LaCaCl, a retailer based out of South Korea, more thoroughly in a future post. The turquoise printed pants worn here is on sale and measure 13″ at the waist, 15.5″ at the hips, 37″ in length, and has a 28″ inseam.
The pants looked roughly a size–maybe closer to two–too small for me but I tried them on anyway. They ended up being very stretchy and accommodated my meatier-thighs better than expected. I’d recommend them to people who have slimmer legs than me (I can measure my leg circumference and post it here if you want to order these pants but are unsure about fit.)
