The science of fashion with the help of some sweet footwear.

As my shoe blog seemed so popular I thought I would try again at a my views of fashion in my blog, especially as it a great distraction from reality for me. There is a circle of live to fashion which I would love to explore. Using several ranges of Kandee's from the last 12 months I will go on to explain.

At the moment we are suffering an 80's revival with all the neon colours and block colours, I remember that the 1st time round when I was young enough to get away with an canary yellow skirt and royal blue jumper. Granted now a days I have the common sense to keep my neon's to my shoes and bags.. These would add the flash of 80's retro to any audience without the danger of the wearer looking like a radiation exposed parrot.

That era of fashion was hardly based on the tactful and discreet use of colour, but instead the mass overdose of statement colours everywhere from socks to eyes. When I first heard the whispers of 80's revival a shiver went down my spine at the thought of blue eyeliner being mixed with peacock range of eye shadows. If you lived through this era or have seen any rerun think Whitney Houston's video for 2I want to dance with somebody" if you want to understand what I mean. It was just this explosion of bright  colour, done in such a way it could trigger a migraine from 100 yards. Like the greed of the 80's the design and style was an equal match, to translate it to a modern market is actually a hard thing to do as the copious amounts of money are no long around but the volume of colour is needed to keep life vibrant.

That is the major trick of fashion to reflect the social dynamic of the era and in some cases deflect it's affect on the masses. Personally I have a lot of sympathy to the 60's style of fashion. It was a mixture of influences that covered the real birth of pop music and the teenage rebellion, that then moved on to the romantic dreams of a youth wanting no more war and anger in the world.  Nearly every generation since the 60's has lived through a revival of it's fashion and style. Remember the mini skirt was invented in that era, as wear baby pinks and blues for lips and eyes respectively. Up till 3 years ago I had a vintage  60's dress that was my mothers and would regularly come out for evenings out as it seemed to never fall out of style. I all but wept when it finally gave up the ghost from over use. That said my natural taste in make up still pays homage to the panda eyes of the 60's ladies, and my choice of accessories still leans that way to baby pink handbags and pastel pumps. I am waiting for the next true revival of this sty;e of fashion as it is flattering to most ages providing the hemlines match your age.


The whole trick of fashion and it's natural life cycle to reinvent a style from a decade or two ago, is to twist the original and bring something new to the mix. Like the pumps above take a classic 60's colour and add studs to them, making them edgy and fresh. So that they can be worn with everything from basic jeans to a linen dress. As the summer / autumn ranges are coming to their natural end the new colours and styles are coming through. I am seeing a lot of strong winter colours of deep emerald greens as one theme mixed with the power statement red and golds. This is another way fashion is able to lift morale in a grey toned society. In the last 18 months there has been the return of a strong cobalt blue and now these two tones, strong colours to raise spirits and confidence. Colours are as strong a statement as the power dressing shoulder pads of the 80's, only a little easier to work and adapt depending on personal style and shape. So now we are gradually moving away from the neon tones into the bold winter colours, people on any age can adapt this into their wardrobe with out breaking the bank. A simple scarf or bag in a matching colour to the shoes can turn any black work outfit into a highly up to date outfit. Or a new pair of bold colour shoes to match that red or emerald dress hiding in your wardrobe from a few years back, will give it a new less of life.

 

Society has often claimed fashion can be wasteful, and if you buy a new wardrobe every season than yes I agree. But if you follow the science of fashion and have key pieces or rather "a capsule collection" then you can keep up to date by refreshing it with new shoes and bags. The best example is every woman has a LBD (little black dress) or two. In my case I have 4 differing in length for different occasions. So a current pair of black heels is a must. It will refresh all four dresses but I only have to pay for one item. Fashion revives itself in a relativity short space of time, if you bare that in mind you don't need to be wasteful with fashion, but you can still have fun and enjoy it, regardless of age.