FASHION : It’s ‘Girlie Wear’ With a Twist
As girls, many of us played grown-up in our party clothes, adding Mother’s more glamorous articles and exotic attic finds. The resulting mishmash of style resembled a Hollywood bag lady.
That lady has returned, with an eyebrow ring no less, in the unlikely arena of active wear.
“Girlie wear” lines had store buyers here last weekend in a tizzy at the Action Sports Trade Show and the competing 432F Show--the quintessential trade conventions for street, surf and skate apparel.
Part Riot Grrrl, part Audrey Hepburn, the trend brings back everything we thought wildly fabulous in girlhood--boas, shiny fabrics, even pinup centerfolds and sex kittens.
Just a few seasons ago a handful of lines dedicated to young, nightclubbing women struggled to get noticed at these biannual shows. Their numbers have multiplied and, in recognition of a customer who has tired of donning her boyfriend’s oversized skate and hip-hop gear, a growing number of men’s streetwear companies have added junior divisions.
“It’s like what happened with guy’s streetwear a few years ago, when overnight everyone and their younger brother was starting their own line,” says Peter Kaveh of Label Whore, which introduced a junior streetwear line two years ago.
“A lot of (owners) of guy’s lines never breathed a word about doing a girl’s line. But now they’ll probably cash in for a few seasons with the basic stuff and give it up when styles get more complex.”
Label Whore’s best-selling “Sugar Puss” T-shirt is among the tamer (and printable) declarations on pastel-colored, shrunken Ts. The idea is to juxtapose vulgar phrases with sweet-looking apparel. “Girls are going for stuff that is a little obnoxious, stuff that women once found sensitive,” Kaveh says.
Rhinestone cat-collar chokers, cheerleader skirts, furry cat-ear headbands, stuffed animal stoles, Peter Pan-collared mini-dresses, ostrich plumage trims and high-heeled Mary Janes constitute the Lolita-in-glam-drag image coming soon to your local alternative-clothing boutique.
The company names tell it all: Playmate, Mantrap, Living Doll, Venus in Furs and Throb.
It’s enough to send Gloria Steinem into a tailspin.
But not every new girlie-wear designer is offering in-your-face fashion. Other approaches displayed at the trade show included ultra-feminine skirt and jacket dressing (gloves and hat optional). The twist is in fabrics, such as patent and flat vinyl, satin, synthetic furs and polyester.
Influences seem to run the gamut from “Star Trek” to James Bond girls to Holly Golightly (gone punk, of course).
An Atlanta-based company called Relish mixes tweed with vinyl in tailored jackets, minis, corsets and hot pants. Relish designer Liz Berry sees a new confidence among young women: “They’re increasingly wearing what they want--and what they want is sexy, funky. Vinyl is very sexy, but it’s toned down and made wearable in yellow or another bright.”
Atlanta designer Karen Kaid personifies this new image with her facial piercings, blond Marilyn do and punkish, yet ladylike attire. Her debut label, Hooch, includes pastel smocks and skirts in polar fleece. Detailed with a delicate chain and padlock at the waist, they’re dubbed “chastity pieces.”
“These clothes shouldn’t be taken as offensive,” says Kaid about the trend, “but worn with a sense of humor. Face it--fashion shouldn’t be taken seriously.”
