As temperatures start to warm up it’s time to turn up the heat in your closet in order to bring it up-to-date with the latest looks. Some of the key fashion trends this season are tribal, jumpsuits, block colors and asymmetric dresses.
No ground breaking themes perhaps but there is a new take on both styling and fabrics. High street stores are now awash slouchy jumpsuits in soft silky fabrics, blindingly bold color-blocks, textured asymmetric dresses and ethic influences from Africa and India which favor zebra stripes, tribal-like warrior belts, safari suits in soft silks and plenty of intricate wooden beading and appliqué that take the place of jewelry.
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Tribal Trend
This season’s tribal trend is kept new with modern silhouettes and a pleathora of zebra stripes, leopard spots, snakeskin and other Afrian influences like summer safari pieces in earthy tones. Monochromes feature heavily in this summer’s tribal look, from soft graphic prints to bold zebra stripes.
When it comes to shoes, must-have gladiator sandals of the season feature animal prints in suede and leather (zebra stripes, snakeskin) and wide belts and accessories take on a strong warrior look with large studs and buckles.
To update your tribal look from pieces in your existing wardrobe don’t be afraid to mix graphic prints by layering. Team an outfit with open shoes such as gladiator s to make the look more modern.
Jumpsuit Trend
The soft jumpsuit is a trademark trend for 2021, not least for its versatility and wearability. Jumpsuits combine all the ease of a dress with the comfort of wearing pants.
The utility styles of the ‘70s and‘80s have made way for the silky, soft, drapey fabrics of this season, far more feminine and flattering that their counterparts (especially in dark colors). Up-to-the-minute styling incorporates, according to Marie Claire, “interesting necklines and some bareness at the top” which give the illusion of length. The soft slouchy (and often unbelted) look which communicates a retro-luxe-attitude includes styles that embrace this season’s passion for harem pants, or sleek tailored versions modeled on tuxedo dressing with cummerbund-like sashes and double-breasted tops, a look favored by style-maven Kate Moss.
Color-blocking Trend
Bold single block colors are a key look this season but two-tone color-blocking (wearing 2 or more colors, often in the same complementary color family) will set you apart as being even more fashion-forward. You’ll find dresses, skirts and tops in wear-them-if-you-dare bold color combinations such as orange and fuschia pink and royal blue and purple. Go one step further for a show-stopping look by deliberately contrasting colors like designer Marc Jacobs’ fiery orange and regal purple or Sinha-Stanic’s lime green and fuschia pink or three-tone color-block such as Josh Goot’s green orange and candy pink.
Asymmetric Necklines
No matter what your age, show off your shoulders this spring and summer with the latest looks in asymmetric necklines.From loose billowy styles favored by 20-somethings, body-conscious cuts in softly draped fabrics for those in their 30s and 40s or stronger, more tailored silhouettes favored by those maturing in years.
Flounced shoulders that rise like a ruff, space-age cut-outs and modern toga-style mini dresses are just some of the runway looks which are oh-so-this season. Find them in feminine silky fabrics in soft nude neutrals or bold brights of tangerine, fuschia pink and buttercup yellow. Keep your dress short if there is a lot of detail on the top. Add a brooch on the shoulder for more detailing.
These four trends are easy to embrace. If watching your budget a one-shouldered dress, a jumpsuit, a tribal print (it can also be on belts, footwear and bags) and some pieces in strong bold colors, are all you need to look fashion forward this spring.
One-Piece Swimsuits for Summer
This year, the one-piece is back in vogue in a big way. The emphasis is one cuts with sex appeal, whether it is the figure bearing low plunges or the more demure and elegant Grecian swimsuits and ‘50s retro styles, today’s swimwear designers producing heart-stopping swimsuits which offer both coverage and sex appeal.
Says Australian swimwear manufacturer, Seafolly, “One pieces have made a resurgence on the fashion front in the last couple of years as they emphasize the silhouette and add an air of elegance to swimwear.”
This is good news for the more generously proportioned 30 to 50-somethings who want to look fashionable as well as comfortable on the beach. Whilst one-piece swimsuits are certainly more modest than a bikini, that doesn’t mean that they have to be boring. This year the trend is for feminine and elegant cuts with a touch of sex appeal.
Grecian-style Swimsuits
In keeping with the goddess gowns, toga dresses and gladiators, it is no surprise than the Greco-Roman look has infiltrated the swimwear market.
This year’s one shoulder and asymmetrical styles can work for you or against you. One-shouldered suits may have the effect of accentuating the bust whilst vertical asymmetric lines can minimize it, along with reducing a large tummy.
On the subject of going Greek, Figleaves.com has a sexy but sophisticated low-plunge Going Greek swimsuit in black, white or red, by La Blanca, but this elegant swimsuit is selling out fast.
Retro 40s and 50s-Style Swimwear
Think Audrey – and Katherine – Hepburn, or Marilyn Monroe. Retro femme-fatale swimsuits are making a big comeback. Offering more coverage, due to their low-leg cuts and old-school full-style briefs, this cut is ideal for anyone who wants to look chic and stylish without showing off too much flesh. The paneling detail on many of the ‘50s-styles are ideal for pear-shaped women as they have a slimming effect.
Embellished Swimsuits
This season’s trend of “embellishments” which proliferate dresses, shoes and handbags are carried through into swimwear. Any detail on the bustline will draw attention away from a bottom half and visa-versa. Featured in Elle magazine, Moschino has a beautiful rhinestone detail swimsuit in off-white and an Anna Sui Nail-Head Knit Swimsuit, with a deep low plunge is a real show-stopper. If money is no object then an almost too good-for-the-beach Swarovski crystal trim halter-neck from Dsquared2 offers plenty of bling!
Cut-Out Swimsuits or Monokinis
Whether you consider a monokini as a one-piece or a new breed on its own, these cut-out swimsuits are hitting it big in stores this year. Morphed from a standard swimsuit and a bikini, these swimsuits are hot, hot, hot. If you want to appear fashion-forward but still follow the classics then go for a stylish monochrome cut-out like Badgley Mischka’s halter cut-out swimsuit, or a very affordable and elegant jewel trim Baby Phat cut-out by Kimora Lee Simmons.
