Mixed Fashion Design: fringe

Thursday, September 25, 2008

What I got - Retro Floral Dress, White Blazer and more

It's been quite a while since I've had a successful thrift hunt but I got lucky last weekend and scored a few great items.

First up is this 50s/60s style abstract floral print dress that I bought from a garage sale last weekend for BDS$6.

Note: US$1 = BDS$2

To be honest, it didn't look very impressive when I first picked it up but I liked the colours and the print so I decided I would buy it anyway. However, it soon began to grow on me on the ride home and when I finally tried it on, it was instant love! The style is so cute and retro - it reminds me of those gorgeous dresses worn on Mad Men.

I could never wear these gloves and tights during the day in Barbados but I'm not going anywhere today and I love dressing up so I thought "why not?"

I also got this awesome white blazer from the same sale for BDS$8. Unfortunately, it's a little tight when I button it but I love it so I'll probably just wear it open.

I went to another sale the same day and got the two bags below. The first one is a black oversized clutch that I bought for BDS$5. It has a really beautiful relief design on the flap that isn't obvious unless you look at it closely.
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The other bag I got is this cool denim fringed Miss Sixty bag that also cost BDS$5. I've wanted a fringed purse for a long time but another reason why is love this one is because of the brilliant woven detail on the flap.

This last item is not a garage sale purchase but a bargain buy nonetheless. I ordered these amazing pewter caged heels from the Urban Original Ebay Store for US$10.49. I don't usually wear shoes this high so it's going to take some practice walking in them, especially because of the thin heel, but I think I'll get the hang of it eventually. I don't think this shoe style is still in stock but if you're interested in checking out more of their stuff, they also have a website you can visit.

The fringe has sprung up as a major trend for spring and summer and it's showing no signs of slowing down.

The decorative trim was seen a great deal in various S/S08 collections such as Gareth Pugh, Maurizio Pecararo, D&G and Zac Posen.

photos courtesy style.com

This is not a new style, however, as the fringe has been around for a very long time. It has been used during various eras and in many cultures to achieve different aesthetics on clothing .

I've observed that during two eras in particular, the 1920s and the 1970s when the fringe was popular, it seemed to be a symbol of independence. During the 20s, rebellious flappers often wore fringed dresses and in the 70s, the younger defiant generation also wore fringe trimmed clothing. Perhaps it was the loose movement of the fringe that was symbolic of freedom and breaking away from the norms of society.

Below are examples of the different ways the fringe was used. There was the military fringe, the Native American fringe, the flapper fringe, the 70s boho fringe, the Victorian fringe and the cowboy fringe.

photos courtesy www.flickr.com/photos/fcf_redcoat, native-american-market.com,
oodora.com, jamd.com, cwrl.utexas.edu, moonrakerqh.com

The fringe has also been seen on a number of stylish girls around the blogosphere recently.

A few include:

Jennine in her lovely DIY fringe tank (The Coveted), Susie Bubble in her funky fringed pink tights (Style Bubble), Rumi in her Western fringed jacket (Fashion Toast), Nonno in her black fringed ankle boots (Nonno's Chic Blog), Underthestares in her long fringed scarf (Underthestares' Chic Blog) and She's Dressing Up with her cute fringed purse (She's Dressing Up).