The Full Skirted Dress is Fierce for Spring
Remember the big wide skirts of the dresses from the fifties? We are going to see these full skirted dresses yet again.
One of the classiest of these retro dresses is by designer Jason Wu. He is selling a strapless prom style dress with a lipstick pink bodice and skirt that is striated with white. The effect is very Italian and very elegant. This type of look is quite pricey. A retro vintage look like this from Jason Wu runs at about two thousand dollars per dress at Saks Fifth Avenue in New York.
Liz Clairborne has made a very elegant prom style dress in acid lime green. It has an elastic waist and a burgeoning skirt that hits mid- calf. It costs about two hundred dollars and is definitely a dress that will have you stand out in a crowd. The color is very reminiscent of the late eighties when neon was in but the cut of the dress is very classically fifties.
The hip as heck designer Betsey Johnson has also gotten into the act with a bright blue dress inspired by the fifties. It has eyelet insets in the hem and along the top of an elaborate bodice which is also punctuated by a brilliant bow. It comes to just above the knee and probably looks best on the younger generation. In stores and on Betsy Johnson’s website this dress is selling for about four hundred dollars.
Louis Vuitton takes a more deconstructed approach to the whole prom dress look by taking a fifties bodice and then cutting the dress into strips. Instead of the usual solid colored satin gloves he pairs it with see through purple gloves made out of elegant chiffon.
Super Designer Christian Lacroix also gets into the act with a steel grey design with beautiful al fresco type lace imprinting. The bodice is fifties style and strapless and the skirt is very full but without the crinoline below. This type of dress will typically run you a couple of grand at a famous designer house like Christian Lacroix. Yet another kookier version of one of these dresses by Lacroix looks practically like a parachute with a bodice but one that has been scrawled over with colourful street tags and huge floral motifs. The design is so “out there” it is simply not for everyone.
Fendi takes a more elegant take by making a dress that is cut low to the belly with bell angel wing sleeves and a skirt that reaches mid calf. If you can imagine a dress that is a cross between an angel gown and a prom dress then you get the idea of what the elegant designer Fendi has been up to lately.