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Wednesday, May 23, 2012

FASHION

Trendlet Alert: Circle Skirts

In recent seasons, fashion designers have delightfully embraced minimalism—an unfussy aesthetic emerged just in time for people to begin looking ahead to life post recession. But there are also those who know that sometimes in order to move forward, it’s necessary to take a few steps back—all the way to the 1950's to mine the decade’s classic circle skirts.

When Christian Dior presented his infamous shapely New Look in 1947—a tailored jacket and A–line skirt meant to evoke the voluptuous curves of a flower—it freed women from the austere post-war way of dressing and quickly became the prevailing trend of the next ten years. But unlike that momentous shift in silhouette, today’s circle skirts sit alongside and even mingle with their sparer counterparts. At the recent haute couture shows in Paris, a number of editors wore strict shifts of the Celine variety, but there were also those style swans who chose the sensual slope of a long A-line. These retro-loving tastemakers are accomplishing more than just an aesthetic statement: “A nipped waist and full skirt is a balance of volume,” says Retna Wooller, an Amsterdam-based seasoned fashion journalist. "It draws attention to the waist and it hides the hip and thigh area that women detest so much about themselves."

Marc Jacobs: New York Fashion Week Autumn Winter 2010 (Photo by Karl Prouse/Catwalking/Getty Images); Prada Fall-Winter 2010-2011 (Photo credit should read CHRISTOPHE SIMON/AFP/Getty Images)

On the runways for the autumn / winter collections, designers couldn’t get enough of the circle skirt. Alexis Mabille opened his show with a dramatic black lace option proving that you don’t need a loud dress to make a glamorous statement. At the fall ready to wear shows, Marc Jacobs at Louis Vuitton paraded vampy models whose full skirts and cinched waists brought attention to their busts, while at his own eponymous collection Jacobs showed a more relaxed look by paring the skirts with oversize jackets and tops. Prada offered a variety of styles seen in the printed silk, chunky knits and PVC numbers; Limi Feu’s were romantic and gothic; Dries Van Noten’s take was erudite with a tailored single breasted jacket, and Salvatore Ferragamo had a hint of the 1980s, pairing circle skirts with slouchy suede boots.

Dries Van Noten: Paris Fashion Week Autumn Winter 2010 (Photo by Chris Moore/Catwalking/Getty Images)

Come fall, whether you want to cover up or just look subtly sexy, here are a variety of options from eBay.

 

 

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