Spring Cleaning: What to Keep, Toss, Buy

Fashion’s new frontier for inspiration has evolved from the quaint country of Little House On the Prairie to something more wild and tribal, like Out of Africa, as seen at Michael Kors and L.A.M.B.

TOSS: Your western-inspired duds. Leave your apron-like dresses, rustic, tiered skirts, and delicate paisley from two seasons ago in the dust.

BUY: Safari-chic pieces. Experiment with bolder animal prints, tribal patterns, and raffia-woven accessories.

Image: IMAXtree

Vince Camuto Safari Tribal Caftan, $99.

Michael Kors Animal-Print Silk-Twill Dress, $250.

The spikey knuckle-dusters, bullet-casing cuffs, and daggers hanging from your ears are looking less bad-ass lately, and more like you’ve just raided your local Hot Topic.

TOSS: Any jewelry that resembles weaponry or would get you detained at an airport. 

BUY: A pair of oversize earrings. Whether you go glitzy (as shown here at Prada) or eclectic, they’re an investment guaranteed to catch your eye—not take one out.

Image: IMAXtree

Suzanna Dai Metropolis Drop Earrings, $200.

Erickson Beamon Safari Earrings, $355.

With mesh, possibilities are endless. It comes in football jersey-like fabric, laser-cut leather, and even crochet-like knitwear, making it one of the most versatile trends from the runway.

TOSS: Lace tops that make you look like a walking doily. 

BUY: A basic, open-weave sweater. Worn over a basic white blouse, it injects attitude into a conservative look, while a sheer-sleeved dress also works wonders as a sporty transitional piece when it’s too cold to go sans sleeves.

Image: IMAXtree

Hard Tail Power Mesh Top, $78.

Topshop Knitted Mesh Sleeve Dress, $92.

By now, we’ve been blinded by one too many glitter booties from past seasons to count, from Miu Miu’s to Snooki’s. So when the minimally futuristic creations at 3.1 Phillip Lim and Rodarte came down the runway, our hearts skipped a beat.

TOSS: Your shoes covered in the sparkly stuff (which can look too art-class crafty anyway).

BUY: Shoes in sleek metal shades. The sterling touches add glamour without too much glitz.

Image: IMAXtree

Marc Jacobs High-Heeled Sandals, $178.

Loeffler Randall Lotte Knot Clog, $235.

Last fall, cat-inspired fashion spread from Charlotte Olympia’s feline-faced pumps, to printed dresses at Victoria by Victoria Beckham, and of course the Chanel ads where Freja Erichsen dressed up as a cat, whiskers and all. The next creature that has designers' hearts aflutter? Birds, in slightly kooky, whimsical prints. 

TOSS: Cat-tastic sweaters. Nobody wants to be a crazy cat lady. 

BUY: Blouses and dresses featuring your new, feathered friends. Bird prints splashed across skirts and dresses at Carolina Herrera and Marc by Marc Jacobs, and fake models of them even perched on a few shoulders at Manish Arora.

Image: IMAXtree

Suno Birdlady Wrap Dress, $989.

Old Navy Bird-Print Charmeuse Blouse, $37.

The 70s have taken a back seat to make way for Jazz Age-style, as made popular by Downton Abbey, The Artist, and Baz Luhrmann's upcoming The Great Gatsby film. Designers interpreted the era through flapper-fringe dresses, feathered column gowns, and art-deco details.

TOSS: Groovier suede or leather fringe jackets, bags, and accessories. You could even stash these away for Fall, which has been showing more Southwestern-inspired clothes.

BUY: To get your fix of flapper style, start with a shimmering skirt that Daisy Buchanan would approve of.

Image: IMAXtree

Marc Jacobs Tiered Fringe Skirt, $1,800.

Milly Ostrich-Feather Silk-Twill Skirt, $385.