It’s no secret that designers are inspired by certain eras and moments when a style or look truly mirrored the mood of the times.
For example, the rise of the mini-skirt in the 60s was a direct reaction to the buttoned up 50s, and was favored by London teens ready to rebel. A hippie bohemian spirit rose out of a need for freedom and a penchant to be anti-establishment, and women went braless, with long unkempt hair and flowing dresses with an ethnic vibe. It wasn’t a boho aesthetic; it was a representation of who they were, a rejection of Dior’s New Look that suddenly seemed restrained and restrictive.
Like the new Hard Rock theme park that blasts Nirvana and Zeppelin on roller coasters and at concession stands, fashion inspired by certain decades sometimes elicits a similar vibe: Disneyfied Hippie or Punk with a Trust Fund.
It feels more like dress-up than personal style.
But there is something to be said for dressing according to how you feel. Ashley Simpson has shed her hipster persona in favor of Earth Mother dresses, which seems perfectly in line with what a newly married woman with a baby on the way should portray.
Rhianna left her hip-hop groupie style behind with her flowing locks, in favor of an edgy haircut paired with leather and leggings in a pallette of mostly black which reflects her new place in the hierarchy of the music business.
We may not be living through a revolution with the dresses to match society’s mood, but sometimes fashion and personal style is more about how we feel when we wake up in the morning than anything else.
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Header, button and cover photo courtesy of Mariah Kordzadze: trixypixie.deviantart.com/art/Magical-Night-93124014
Other photos courtesy of the Fashion Spot forums.
