Trends in general stem from bygone eras, hence why we now have trends devoted purely to decades alone. '50s swing dresses and cigarette trousers, '60s colour popping and mini dresses, '70s sequins and flares, '80s shoulder pads, '90s grunge and noughties — well, you see here we encounter a slight problem. We are currently living in a postmodern age that is founded on the concept that we can no longer "make new" but must simply "make do". I do agree with this statement to an extent but I do feel in terms of fashion and textiles that whilst we do manipulate bygone eras we do so in a modern or postmodern way that makes it once again unique in its own right. Let’s use Chanel as an example. The fashion house has been using tweed since 1909 — during the reign of King Edward that established the Edwardian period, which in fashion's perspective is known as the introduction of tweed into the closets of the British upper class and thus establishing the trend "English Heritage". Chanel was developing her own ideas on the fabric and thus decided a chic suit jacket would be a staple piece in her future collections. The fashion house has continued to use the fabric ever since and under the capable reigns of Karl Lagerfeld the tweed jacket has been developed and become accustomed to its timeline. Take Poppy Delevigne's tweed jacket and hot pant combo at last year’s Chanel showing — the look was a million miles away from the original 1909 jackets; it was modern and very now, yet still kept that Chanel elegance and beauty.
What I am getting at here is making past trends current and now yet still keeping the essence of where the trend originated from. This week’s Fashionista has gone all Sherlock Holmes on us and sported a tweed swing jacket. The look is kept modern with her choice of brogues and skinny jeans yet that vintage essence is kept firmly alive on the top half with an air of '40s accessorising and makeup trends put into the mix. If we analyse the look carefully we will find that although the brogues may update the look they are still a vintage item in themselves as they originated not from modern hipsters but from men’s suit shoes in the '30s and '40s, yet by mixing so many different decades of trends and look’s the outfit is modernised in its own right —perhaps this is what the noughties Fashionistas will be known for.
To mix different eras is not all that difficult this season as so many staple pieces stem from so many different decades. Take the tweed jacket, one can go for a classic Edwardian style such as this little number or update your tweed by going for a longer '20s style from Topshop or a Chanel-inspired dainty piece again from Topshop. Pair your tweed with boyish items such as brogues from Urban Outfitters or go for some '70s trends and piece your jacket with high-wasted flares and a silk shirt or go all '60s with a mohair cap sleeve tee and a short as you like colour pop mini.
This season don’t simply stick with one trend or era mix it up and make our stylish ancestors proud.