Monday, April 5, 2010

A Comeback Worth Noting...


When you're on a road trip, you see tons of rest stops along the way. So many in fact that you pass up some of the ones with Coffee Shops and Burger Kings, because you know in a a few miles or so you're going to come across one with the same places in them. Well the fashion world works the same way sometimes. Styles come and go but if there's anything I've notices it's that a certain trend can probably be traced back two or three times over within the past 50 years. A great example of this is the wayfarer. In my opinion, the hottest sunglass style around today is the wayfarer, and you can't go anywhere without seeing tons of different styles, colors, and shapes of wayfarers. Wayfarer sunglasses are a perfect example of a trend reincarnated. In '05 if you saw someone wearing them you'd probably be thinking, "Where did this person come from 1983?" Well the wayfarer has had an up and down road but they were redesigned in the early 2000's and lately you probably have trouble walking outside on a sunny day and not seeing a pair.

Well something I've noticed in the J.Crews and Gaps of the world is a comeback that went away in the 90's and came back in the 2000's (No, I'm not talking about Michael Jordan). The Denim look is on it's way back into your favorite stores in many ways. The most popular that I've seen, and surprisingly liked, is the denim, and chambray collard shirt. I don't know where it came from, but it's like the late Billy Mays somehow made it into Gap's design studio and started whispering in people's ears. Now usually I would say unless your Billy, or Paul Mitchell posing for a GQ ad with a rattlesnake around your neck, a denim looking dress shirt is a no-go. But Gap has brought it back in a way that actually seems acceptable. I will say this though. There are some denim makings that I won't ever condone. Here's a few do's and don'ts when it comes to embracing the comeback of Denim.

Do:
  1. Find a shirt that isn't too heavy, or one that isn't actually denim but has a soft denim look to it, like this chambray one from J.Crew. Chambray is a different material, but to the non-textile savvy eye it looks very denim-ish
  2. Be innovative! Jeans are the only way to rock it. Keep an eye out for different items like chambray ties, or pocket squares.
Don't:
  1. Over-do it. Although there are some people that can somehow pull it off, none of them are college students. Don't tuck a denim shirt into jeans. I'm not really big on tucking anything into jeans, but some people make it work.
  2. Buy a jean jacket. I've read around that jean jackets are making a comeback, but don't count on that lasting. There are exceptions to this don't and it comes in the form of celebrities. They can do whatever they want even if they look stupid. So just because Kanye has a jean jacket on doesn't mean you can pull it off.
(Wayfarer photo credit: http://www.ray-ban.com/usa/products/rb4105/710) (Denim shirt photo credit: http://www.gap.com/browse/product.do?cid=52771&vid=1&pid=719567)


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