For fall, several European and American fashion designers gave us bright and lively colours. But black is classic and was one of their most popular looks with their autumn winter collections.

We can thank Coco Chanel for her original little black dress which gave us a silhouette that became a fashion icon without necessarily focusing on the neckline or short hems.

Mystery and seduction

Fashion designers know that a black dress with sheer fabrics can play on our imagination and create that aura of mystery and seduction. 

The return of all black fashion look was highlighted at the Metropolitan Museum of Art Met Gala, where Kim Kardashian wore a Balenciaga all-black skin-tight suit covering her from head to toe. Only her ponytail was exposed by her opaque head covering followed by trains of black fabric behind her.

The monotony of black can enhance your body by unbuttoning your jacket, cardigan or vest without a top to capture attention.

Related Story: Luxury fall coats are long, elegant and cozy

Luxury fashion vibe

Adding a touch of lingerie offers a vibrant texture to your look that can peak out from under necklines with an all black lace bustier and Persian stocking that perfectly cover your legs. 

For a luxury fashion vibe, consider enhancing your outfit with bright colour shoes, metallic accessories or maxi jewels.

All black fashions for fall are back. Imagine New York style.

Home page photo | Colour of Turkey Unspash

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The history of style’s oldest myth

Back in the early 20^thCentury, American society dressed according to an unwritten code. When venturing outside the home, people were properly attired. Women of all ages wore mid-calf length skirts and shirts with high necklines while men donned dark suits with white shirts, ties and hats. Civilized people did not walk around in t-shirts or ripped jeans in public.

Not only did social mores dictate what was considered acceptable dress. They also determined what each social class ought to wear. What you wore told people who you were on the social hierarchy: rich, middle class or working poor. 

No whites after Labour Day

History tells us that ‘no whites after Labour Day’ had more to do with wearing white before the first Monday in September than not wearing it afterwards and that class and status factored heavily into the rule.

Having a summer wardrobe of white dresses or dinner jackets was more than a way to keep cool. It signaled one’s social standing. During the early years of the 20th century, New York, along with several other northeastern cities in the US, were heavily polluted due to surrounding industries. 

During the summer months, the moneyed class fled the heat by vacationing in the Hamptons, enjoying the clean beaches and cool ocean breezes while the masses toiled away in the smoky, dirty cities. Wearing white at the seaside was a way to distance oneself from the dreary, gritty urban life of those less fortunate. 

Old money vs. nouveau riche

While the above history is accepted by many fashion historians, others believe that the rule regarding whites after Labour Day originated with the growth of the middle class in the 1950’s. According to this theory, it was driven by the establishment of old money families who wished to keep the nouveau riche out of their exclusive social circles. 

Those not properly attired in white at summer parties would be embarrassed and publicly ridiculed. The message here was that if you did not know the implicit fashion rules, you did not belong and were not welcome.

Interestingly, these types of style guidelines were promoted to middle-class America by women’s magazines such as Vogue and Time Life. According to these trusted publications, white was to be worn only between Memorial Day and Labour Day, no exceptions.

Be part of the moneyed class

Of course, this rule did not always apply to luxury fashion designers such as CoCo Chanel who wore white yearlong during the 1920’s. Mavericks like Chanel made their names by breaking the rules, including ‘no whites after Labour Day’, and it is to these style icons that we owe today’s more laissez faire interpretation of fashion’s oldest traditions.

Today, fashion continues to evolve and very few rules remain. A well-executed all-white look can be a stylish statement in fall and winter so don’t pack away your white trousers or sheaths just yet. White conveys confidence, class and above all, even after all these years, a certain above-it-all aloofness that might just make people think you’re part of the moneyed class.

Photo: Kuna Photography

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After a hiatus from the runway, the mini skirt made a strong showing for spring/summer 2019. Prada offered ultra-short tennis skirts paired with oversized cardigans. Versace presented preppy inspired skirts with knitwear and smart blazers and Burberry gave us colourful thigh-skimming cow prints.

The return of the mini skirt trend to the catwalks of London and Milan comes at a time when the iconic item is being recognized more broadly for its influence on style and culture. A V&A exhibition, which opened last month in London, celebrates the life and work of Welsh designer Mary Quant who popularized colourful tights, tailored trousers and, of course, the mini skirt.

Mary Quant challenged convention by inspiring women to rebel against the traditional dress worn by their mothers and grandmothers. She ignited a global fashion trend that stretched from America to Asia and beyond. The V&A exhibition, which spans her career, begins with a scene of post-war London which saw the opening of Quant’s experimental shop Bazaar in 1955. Situated on Chelsea’s King’s Road, it was here that she began her career as a fashion designer.

In 1966, Quant began working with fabrics to create 10-inch pleated mini skirts. Worn with flat Mary Janes, zip-up knee-high boots and bright coloured tights, this scandalous short skirt was named after her favourite car, the Mini Cooper. 

Beginning in the 1950s, skirt lengths had gradually become shorter but Quant’s mini skirts sparked outrage from such illustrious figures as Winston Churchill. Coco Chanel described the mini skirt as “just awful”.

In contrast to the disgust felt my many, Quant described the mini skirt as liberating. “The short skirt,” she said in a recent interview with the BBC,  “was so you could move, run and dance.” It was dance that gave Quant the inspiration for the mini skirt, which she followed with designs for hot pants, slip dress and PVC raincoats.

All London teenagers in the late 60’s wore mini skirts along with bright colour tights. Those who didn’t just looked out of place. The trend then began to capture the imagination of young people around the world. I can still remember the day my father took me with him to the bank as a young lad and seeing every woman inside wearing a mini skirt.

Mary Quant’s success with the mini skirt overturned the dominance of luxury couture from Paris. She dressed liberated women and made designer fashion affordable for the working class while transforming the fashion landscape with youthful, revolutionary clothes, inspired by London’s creative scene. It could be said that Quant made making street style the global influence it is today.

Along with The Beatles and the Apollo moon landing, the mini skirt trend represents a keystone cultural moment of the last century. It’s popularity may wax and wane. Hemlines may rise and fell. But, while it may go in and out of fashion, the mini skirt is without a doubt an icon of the 60’s that stills endures today.

Mary Quant Exhibition at the V&A London until February 16, 2020.

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