Tuesday, April 01, 2008

Humpty Dumpty has his Moment.




NOTE: It's April the first which means a few things. We're almost a quarter of the way through the year. Finally it's truly spring here in the Northern Hemisphere. It also means that the debut issue of Prim Magazine was let out of the bag today. So in honour, I've pieced together the scraps that ended up on the cutting room floor!

The trouser hierarchy is ever changing with skinnies, bootcut, tailored and numerous other cuts all nudging each other away from 1st Place. But it looks like again Humpty Dumpty shall for once have his moment in the form of androgynous trousers. This time proudly placed at the top, without that great fall..

When I started to notice super skinny jeans popping up in magazine editorials a few years back, moulded like vacuum packaging to the legs of prancing models I had a light bulb moment and decided this was a perfect shape for me.

Now, I’m not one to brag, but my trouser CV reads rather well. There were my Pocahontas leggings aged 6, then a flare stage aged 10 when I seemed to indulge in a solo competition with myself, always on the lookout for a pair of trousers covering more surface space squared than a Tokyo apartment.
After that I moved into inevitable boot cut territory which is why to me, as a 13 year old, the skinny jean held new prospects, perched at the top of the trouser hierarchy, oozing rock star connotations and giving me the urge to channel David Bowie in his post-Glam phase.


Four years down the line, what was a solid relationship is one that is now showing the kind of cracks that no polyseal can possibly cover, and I feel restricted and bored. I understand all too well the kinds of sacrifices Rod Stewart must make.


Cue a new fit to add to the resume; the polar opposite of skinnies. They’re sadly somewhat unnameable; a hybrid of styles; but Bryan Boy has given them the perfect guise; “Humpty Dumpty Pants”. They’re grown up yet borrowed from the boys, with a frumpy element that never looked so sexy. Humpty Dumpty’s are high-waisted, ankle skimming, vaguely baggy arsed at the top and slim at the bottom. A recipe for disaster according to the “fashion rules” but bizarrely appealing and they give the freedom those skinnies never cared much for. Oh, and they look killer with slick, glossy accessories for a power look, an update of 80s flavour.
Especially when the bottoms are turned up, they get on like a house on fire with your favourite ankle boots and look bloody marvellous with a clean white shirt tucked in.

Last season’s designs at Yves Saint Laurent induced me to let out more than a squeal of excitement. The whole collection was full of tailored trousers, perfectly crafted to give women some freedom and cut with an injected edge of androgyny. The same shape has come back out to play for Winter with variations across the board from Louis Vuitton to Nina Ricci and Preen, and thank God. Let the evolution of the trouser continue.

29 comments:

WendyB said...

Cute!

Cicely said...

You look so cool! how do you do this?! i tried rolling some skinny jeans up but the baggy style looks damn good.

Unknown said...

thanks so much for the comment!
umm im going to brighton, nottingham, liverpool, southport, and london....

i lovee your blog :)

Kat said...

Oh look at you!:-) You really do work those trousers wonderfully. i love the retro feel in the second oufit and the laid back chicness of the first. I loved that ysl collection too.

You must have been one fashionable 13 year old in your skinny jeans, puts me at that age to shame! lol

Lana said...

Nice outfits and the humpty dumpty looks good on you, but will look horrifed on me!

EvaAmarri said...

Hey great blog. would u like to link?

Anonymous said...

haha! love the post, the rod stewert line was priceless :)

those are unique and you look fab in them!

Annabel said...

oh i love em both!

maverickandlove said...

you deifnitly make those "Humpty Dumpty’s " work, but you have to be careful cuz the butt might look really weird. i love your shoes and pink blazer!

Anonymous said...

love love love 'em up there like that. hooray for humpty.

Rebecca, A Clothes Horse said...

You do rock those jeans.

Romany said...

I love your pink blazer in the 2nd pic! It's seriously hot.
I'm afraid I'm a sucker for trends, and usually won't go for jeans that aren't everywhere (isn't that terrible? But I can't help it) - the only exception is flares because they're extremely flattering to my body shape...As a curvy girl, I guess I've got to be more careful than others... :(
Romany
xx

María said...

What a gorgeous face you have! And you pull off those pants.

Anonymous said...

Yes for Humpty Dumpty! Both in the sense of the pants and the fat egg guy....

lee jones said...

LOVE THE MOM JEANS!
yesssss , i'm not the only one.

Héloïse J. said...

wow! so british style!! i luv the outfit in the second pic. it 's really COOL :)

Michelle said...

Oh my! You look fantastic, the boy cut fit of the jeans teams with the ankle boots is simply perfect. And is that a cropped pink blazer? I heart..

Ella Gregory said...

I love the flower in the water bottle
I do that with starbucks cups!
I love the light wash with the pink jacket, it looks really fresh!

Mari-Liis said...

I like them, but I'm sure my bf wouldn't find this style very sexy. :P

Unknown said...

oh oh, i'm inspired! i remember nylon had a feature on jeans like these, 'cept they were tainted by the kennedy and they called them 'carrot tops'- humpty dumpty sounds so much better!

It is really sexy though isn't it? Kinda 90s-come-wasson-y. i like...i like a lot!

Anonymous said...

i love it. you look LOVELY with the jeans and pink jacket. LOVELY!

SICK. said...

so cute !
you look amazing.


x.
jessica

sunni said...

one trend that i am 10cm too short and 100% not leggy enough for :(

though maybe if i lose some weight and pair them with major heels it could work...hm..

you look fabulous though.

AlicePleasance said...

You look nice, but they're not for me. I'm still into skinnies, they look definitely better on me (and I feel a lot better too!)

Bojana said...

Damnit girl, you're smokin hot! You could easily pass up for Irina Lazareanu's younger sis ; you have exactly the same killer bone structure.

Which, in words of normal, not fashion focused people would mean : you're prettyyyyy

Sam said...

i LOVE your blog.
saw your column in prim!
very cute outfit!!

kirsty lee said...

they look amazing. i'm wondering if i'm ready to step away from the skinny jeans... haven't quite managed it yet.

love the second pic especially.

kirsty lee said...

they look amazing. i'm wondering if i'm ready to step away from the skinny jeans... haven't quite managed it yet.

love the second pic especially.

Disneyrollergirl.net said...

I must say I'm loving your stencilling!