Combine unusual fabrics and sometimes jarring prints with relatively simple

Tag : Fabric

There are plenty of occasions when men provide tantalizing fashionfodder. For instance, it was no coincidence that Barack Obama chosethe Chicago-based Hart Schaffner Marx to create the custom suit hewore to accept the Democratic nomination for president. The companyis one of the few boardroom-quality suitmakers that can still touttheir products as made in America. A political point was being madewith that suit, which also featured traditional pleated trousersinstead of the more youthful and fashionable flat-front ones.
Montana Gov. Brian Schweitzer delivered his speech at theDemocratic National Convention wearing a bolo tie. No man goes onnational television dressed like he just scraped a cow pie off hisboots unless he's intent on underscoring his cattle country bonafides.
We focus on the women, however, because their clothes are soobviously interesting and because the fashion business isessentially a woman's world. If designers are to gain anyadvantage, most likely they will have a woman to thank. The menalways play second fiddle.
It is not sexist to have noticed that Sen. Hillary Clintondelivered her convention speech dressed in head-to-toe mango. Onlyan obstinately unaware person would have ignored this question:Senator, why are you dressed like a tropical fruit? One assumes itwas to ensure an eye-catching photo for the history books and tounderscore her "sisterhood of the traveling pantsuits"legacy.
The ensembles of the potential first ladies matter most of allbecause the position remains so stubbornly retro and so purelysymbolic. It is a troublesome combination of hostess, nationalMadonna and champion of some wholly uncontroversial cause. (We hadtrouble dealing with a first lady who was a lawyer. Will we ever beable to stomach one, as in France, who is a pop singer?) The firstlady serves as a reflection of her husband's administration and ofwomanhood, and one suspects that when there is a first gentleman,he will bear the burden of epitomizing an ideal of manhood and willbe forced to wrestle with accusations that he is too much of ametrosexual, a dandy, a he-man or a wimp. Almost certainly, we willobsess about his ties.
When Cindy McCain made her first appearance at the RepublicanNational Convention, she was wearing a buttercup-yellow shirt dresswith a flipped-up collar by Seventh Avenue designer Oscar de laRenta. As is the current fashion, the dress looked as though thedesigner had found some inspiration in the early 1960s world of"Mad Men." It was feminine, reserved and lovely. Ballparkprice for a de la Renta dress: $3,000.
De la Renta, who has been in business for more than 30 years, hasbecome the unofficial couturier to first ladies, having designedinaugural gowns for both Hillary Clinton and Laura Bush. When eachfirst settled into the East Wing, both Clinton and Bush were loyalto their local designers. But eventually, they made the smartdecision to turn to the expertise and experience of de la Renta.He's an extraordinary designer who knows how to make a woman -- nomatter her age -- look, quite simply, pretty. Not a lot ofdesigners seem terribly interested in doing that.
Who can blame McCain for playing it safe? With Laura Bush standingalongside her on the convention stage wearing a cream-colored,embroidered de la Renta suit, it was a snapshot of fashioncontinuity. And an illustration of Washington's fashion rut. Ifthere was any hint of a message in McCain's choice, it was thesuggestion that she would carry on the Laura Bush tradition ofreassuring, fully vetted style.
If fashion is politics -- and these days, what isn't? -- McCain hasendorsed the status quo.
Yet with such a strong generation of new designers swaggering forthin New York over the coming week, it's disheartening to see such alack of imagination. Why not embrace some of the industry's freshernames such as Peter Som or Derek Lam? Even Michael Kors and CalvinKlein designer Francisco Costa, who aren't exactly new on thescene, have yet to get much East Wing attention. De la Renta may berare in his abilities, but he is not alone.
When Michelle Obama made her convention speech, she wore aturquoise sheath by Pinto with a wide V-neckline. More than thesilhouette of the dress, it was her decision to stick with herhometown dressmaker that was notable, and so far Pinto has servedher well. For most of her time onstage, Obama was standing behind alectern. Mostly, what one saw was the dress's neckline and it wasboth striking and flattering.
When her husband officially accepted the nomination, she embracedhim onstage wearing a raspberry, lavender and black print silkdress by American designer Thakoon Panichgul, who has been inbusiness only since 2004. The dress, with its slim bodice andA-line skirt, came from his 2009 resort collection. The designer isknown for his sporty sensibility and his ability to combine unusualfabrics and sometimes jarring prints with relatively simple shapes.Ballpark price for one of his dresses: $1,500.
With a fashion risk, though, comes the possibility of failure. Andthe Thakoon dress -- as the label is formally called -- was tooinformal and failed to reflect the significance of the occasion.And with that fabric belt hanging down the back, it resembled achild's special-occasion frock rather than something suitable for asophisticated 44-year-old. The flats reinforced the tea-partyaesthetic.
Still, Obama has shown her willingness to embrace a new generationof designers, as well as industry veterans such as Isabel Toledo , who are not nestled in fashion's mainstream. She may offer them achance to elbow their way into the national spotlight. And as theyput their wares on the catwalk in the coming week, one hopes thatsome of them follow de la Renta's example and step up to thedeceptively straightforward challenge of making a woman simply lookpretty.