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To say that fashion cycles are as unpredictable as Russian roulette would be justifiable in the modern world. Tips in magazines are a one-way traffic; desi tailors, while pro’s in eastern wear, have a little more difficulty when it comes to western wear. Hence a little less conversation and a lot more frustration is always the outcome of a trend-related discussion, and in the end you set the article that gave you false hope of glamour on fire and walk away.
Luckily in today’s world, the availability of high-end tailors with affordable prices and the fast growing concept of fusion are making trends more approachable. The fads themselves have stretched from casual-chic to the corporate-suave end of the spectrum and pretty much everything goes, as long as you know how to carry it and not look like a badly assembled Dadaistic mosaic.
With the advent of 70s redux, tailored jackets are making a comeback this fall. From flattering your collar bone to accentuating your curves, tailored jackets can transform one from a pedestrian, straight-out-of-bed mess to a cool, young professional.
British elegance and hedonistic class consciousness, which Jane Austen mocked profusely in her literary catharsis, first gave way to tailored suiting. The snooty lot in London, in their effort to not get fused in the ordinary misalliance, introduced fashion statements like exaggerated headgears and customised clothing to flaunt their felicity. Such was the impact of class theories back then, that people even today associate tailored suits and coats with class and poise.
The concept of merging tailored styles with fashionable casual clothing came out in a sartorial wave back in the twentieth century resulting in a burst of fashion concoction and avant-garde style statements.
Cuts
Softer fabrics and more feminine details such as daintier thread lines and rounder cuts are used to take the boyish effect away from tailored suits. You would be surprised to know the dominance something as trivial as shoulder pads have on giving your jacket a statement and chronological reference. Heavy, puffed up shoulders take you to the era of the ever-so-scandalous yet, very glamorous “Bold And The Beautiful”. Hint: Girls with wide shoulders should trash the shoulder pads and go for something less symmetrical. Girls with slender shoulders can experiment with shoulder pads and super puffed up sleeves to denote a more powerful bone structure.
Colour
Women these days always have the leverage to funk it up a little and get jackets stitched in fluorescent colours such as bottle green and fuchsia, as well as orange or maroon. But remember black is the god of the colour wheel so make sure you get a sleek,black one for those horrid days when nothing seems to match just right.
Styles
Boyfriend Blazers, as the term suggests loosely, are slightly feminine modification of the typical men’s tailored coats. Boyfriend Blazers are supposed to give the wearer a sort of mixed gender look (which from the times of Hindu deity Krishna is considered an allusion to physical beauty). These jackets are often paired with Oxford shoes or loafers to create a semi-boyish look, which lets you experience fashion of the other gender without looking like a He-man.
Military Jackets are a woman’s answer for all those times we sighed at a man in a uniform. Reminiscent of the World War era, military coats are usually waist hugging jackets with a high collar and golden buttons in pair of two across or in front of it. These jackets are ideal for accentuating curves and usually make the wearer appear taller because of their body clenching cuts and linear designs.
Bolero Jackets are mini coats that do not go lower than your rib cage. Usually worn over casual t-shirts to give them a more formal look, boleros have been popular in Pakistan for quite some time. These jackets are stitched more or less the same way as a coat and even look like one — except for their length of course.
Published in The Express Tribune, September 27th, 2011.
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