FASHION 101: SUMMER 2012 FASHION TRENDS and Q&A

" FASHION 101: SUMMER 2012 FASHION TRENDS and Q&A"

"By Zoe"

Hi, everyone! This month I had a little trouble thinking up a theme for the article, so let me first thank Lily and Nescio, Nyki, deerman, and kharn for their questions! There was a bit of overlap there – most agreed that they wanted to know about hot summer trends. So let’s start there.

Bright colors are still a big trend like they were in spring, but pastels aren’t so much. Pastels are very much a springtime color since they call to mind all the new blooms, but by summer you want to go bold and happy with your color and pattern choices.

Something new I noticed is the emergence of tie-dyed shorts:

H&M is one of the retailers selling items like this, and I really like them because they specialize in really affordable clothing. These shorts are made of denim, but because they’re shorts and not full length jeans you shouldn’t have any problem getting them on. I’d pair these with a simple solid colored tank top (you could go with purple, turquoise, white, pink, black, or dark blue) or with another new trend, the sheer blouse. Oh, and since deerman wanted to know – yes, you can wear high heels with shorts, but don’t choose super fancy heels because they won’t match. Go with a wedge sandal or espadrille (in case you don’t know, an espadrille is a shoe with a sole made of rope), like these:

Here’s an example of a sheer blouse:

Because it’s sheer you will definitely need to wear something underneath it, whether it’s a bra like in this photo or a tank top. Choosing a matching color for underneath creates a more streamlined and elegant look, but you can also put a contrasting color underneath (like black) to make it a little more sexy. Sheer blouses don’t have to be long sleeve either – look for short sleeve or sleeveless options too, like this:

The long sleeve blouse has the added benefit of looking like a vintage piece of clothing, which is also coming back into fashion this summer, while the sleeveless one has a more modern look to it.

Another new look is the high-low skirt, which simply means the front hemline is shorter than the back hemline.

As you can see in this picture, these skirts can be paired with sandals, heels, or boots equally well. It’s a versatile piece of clothing than can be dressed up or down and because it’s a skirt it will be very easy to put on us dolls. :-)

As for accessories, the trend this summer is BIG and BOLD. Big collar necklaces, big and brightly colored shoes, big handbags, big sunglasses…it’s all the rage.

These shoes are by Dolce & Gabbana, and are my personal favorites, but they have a whole line of similarly patterned shoes to choose from. Of course since D&G is a famous designer, their prices are quite a bit higher than unknown brands so you may want to check out stores like DSW or Zappos.com for cheaper knockoff versions.

Keep in mind that if you choose to wear big accessories, make sure to tone down your outfit! For instance, if you wear one of those big collar necklaces, make sure your top is a solid color. Don’t wear a patterned top because it will look too busy and hurt your eyes to look at. Let the necklace be the focal point of the outfit. The same rule applies to the shoes, because they are so intricate. I’d pair these with a turquoise high-low skirt and a yellow sleeveless top, with some gold bangle bracelets.

So there you have it – hot trends for summer. In my next article I’ll talk about swimwear and give you gals some good pointers about the different styles out there as well as looking at hot colors and designs.

--Zoë