Turn up the Volume!

Big was always beautiful and it only got bigger and better this summer! Raf Simons for Jil Sander’s Spring 2011 RTW collection showcased this couture meets pret recipe, setting off the tone for maximalist and voluminous silhouettes. Quite the contrary to his minimal signature style, he paves the way for all things big and beautiful this year.

Jil Sanders Spring 2011 RTW; photo: style.com

Billowy pants @ Jil Sander Spring 2011 RTW; photo: style.com

Jil Sander Spring 2011 RTW; photo: style.com

The hemlines lengthened to make way for billowy midis and floor length dresses. Bigger silhouettes for tops, trousers and oversized jackets are spotted on the runway. Phillip Lim and Sarah Burton for Alexander Mcqueen further exhibited their voluminous creations on the fall runway.

3.1 Phillip Lim Fall 2011 RTW; photo: style.com

Off the runway, this look could be a little tricky to follow for certain body types. The billowy dresses and skirts generally are ideal for tall and lean body types. The same holds true for carrying off the high waisted wide legged trousers. However pear shaped body types could go in for the voluminous full skirts, which would cover up the lower body perfectly, bringing back the ladylike 50s look, teamed with a classic blouse.

Midi at Balenciaga Fall 2011 RTW; photo: style.com

Max Azria Spring 2011 RTW; photo: style.com

Max Azria Fall RTW 2011; photo: style.com

The most important thing to remember while styling this look is to not mix two voluminous pieces together, unless you’re trying to look like a balloon. Wear tapered pants or a pencil skirt if the blouse has exaggerated sleeves or shoulders. Similarly, wear a simple form fitted top with a pair of billowy pants or skirt. And if you are putting on a nice voluminous dress for evening, keep the bag and the shoes minimal.

Geek Chic makes a Comeback!

The Geek chic look gets quirkier and edgier this season but stays firmly on top of the charts.  This rebellious, preppy-cool look has defined global runways this year, turning that class nerd look into something truly fashionable.

Geek Chic Essentials:

Hop into the nerd herd with this uber cool fashion statement:

Statement tees are an absolute must have, to pull of this look. There are a lot of options with funny quotes and messages to choose from. Wear it with skinny jeans or a pair of high waist pants. You can even team it up with a basic mid length skirt, which will add the geek touch to the ensemble.

Kim Kardashian sporting a statement tee

Team a loose, collared front buttoned top with a short high waist skirt. You can also experiment with prints, but use it only for one piece of clothing at a time, either top or bottom.

Moschino Fall 2011 RTW; photo: style.com

Steven Alan Fall 2011 RTW; photo: style.com

Relaxed, loose fitting cropped tops worn with a waistcoat or a short jacket adds that preppy quotient to the attire. These waistcoats could be in sheer and lace to soften the look.

River Island

River Island

Steven Alan Fall 2011 RTW; photo: style.com

The best bet for geek chic footwear is a pair of brogues, worn with pants as well as skirts,.However, for a more sophisticated nerdy look for evening, you can throw in a pair of high- heeled pumps as well as boots.

Brogues seen at Dsquared Spring 2011 RTW; photo: style.com

Anne Hathway in her geek specs

And this look cannot be complete without the quintessential thick rimmed glasses. So pick your favorite pair and stick to minimal make up and hair and you are good to go!

Nerdy was never this cool before!

Trend: Ruffles

Ruffles and frills are reminiscent of old world charm and that feminine, romantic era.  Cut to 2011, and this trend has taken over almost all forms of clothing from dresses to skirts, tops and rompers. Moreover, this fresh, flirty look is ideal for some summer fun.

FY brings you 5 of these looks, to ruffle some feathers!

Casual Boho look

A cute ruffle ra ra skirt with a basic tee and flip flops is the perfect casual daywear for summer. A printed sheer ruffle top worn with shorts also makes for a fresh, young look. Short dresses and rompers with both horizontal and vertical ruffles on top are perfect for summer evening wear.

Forever 21 ra ra skirt

Pepa Loves short ruffled dress

Pepa Loves Romper

Primark ruffle top dress

Anna Sui Spring RTW 2011; photo: style.com

Ruffles at work

You can also go in for this look for work wear. Wear a nice ruffled top with subtle vertical ruffles on the side and pair it with a pair of high waist trousers. If your ruffles are bigger on the top then go in for a pair of wide legged high waist trousers to even the silhouette out. A pussybow ruffled top also looks great with a pencil skirt. However for the more formal look, only stick to ruffles for the top and not the bottom as it may be OTT for work.

Badgley Mishcka Spring RTW 2011; photo: style.com

MaxMara Studio

Formal Evening Wear

Printed dresses, both long and short, with ruffles are very feminine and a good pick this season for evening wear. There are a lot of options available from one shouldered cross ruffle to ruffled V necks to long, flowy ra ra dresses.

Blugirl printed ruffled dress

Valentino Soring RTW 2011; photo: style.com

Badgley Mischka Spring RTW 2011; photo: style.com

Asos ruffle dress

Beach

Ruffles were also seen in swimwear this season. There are various ruffled swimwear options to choose from which spell retro chic.

Forever 21 ruffled swimwear

Micheal Kors one piece ruffle swimsuit

Street

A basic top with side vertical or bottom horizontal ruffles worn with a pair of skinny jeans is perfect for the street ruffled look. Subtle ruffles were also seen in jackets and they look great worn with a pair of denims or shorts.

All Saints Ruffle Top

Ruffle Jacket at Anna Sui Spring RTW 2011; photo: style.com

Anna Sui Spring RTW 2011; photo: style.com

Chloe

Less is More!

The 90’s saw minimalism dominate the decade in a big way, what with the three big American designers Calvin Klein, Ralph Lauren and Donna Karan fueling the trend.

Despite the 80’s garish fashion hangover in the early 90’s,  minimalism introduced sober and neutral color palettes and emphasis on basic colors like black, white, grey, ivory and beige. Clean cut silhouettes brought casual elegance and understated style in vogue.

Quite contrary to the previous glamorous decades of excess, where power dressing was pretty much the order of the day, the 90’s saw a radical change and brought street influences to the runway.

The start of the noughties saw fashion emerging more colorful and maximalist, however the turn of events towards the end of that decade which was marked by the economic meltdown soon saw the fashion world looking up to designers like Nicolas Ghesquiere for Balenciaga, and moderation and minimalism became the key looks soon after.

Stella McCartney Spring RTW 2011; photo: style.com

This trend continues to be big in 2011, and simple minimalistic pieces are here to stay. We saw clean lines in different silhouettes in white which remained the summer favorite for the year, designers also played around with more vibrant colors for fall winter, while keeping the cut and structure minimal.

Narciso Rodriguez Spring RTW 2011; photo: style.com

Jil Sander Spring RTW 2011; photo: style.com

Massimo Dutti

Zara

We also witnessed the minimal trend in Kate Middleton’s elegant wedding gown, as the world watched her take her wedding vows with Prince William. Seen below is her second wedding dress which spells understated chic, the one she wore to the reception, also designed by Sarah Burton.

Kate Middleton's second wedding dress by Sara Burton for Alexander Mcqueen

The shirtwaist dress, which was introduced by Halston in the 70s, who set the stage for the minimalistic trend way back, is big this season. This dress is perfect for summer and can be worn both in the day and evening, paired with the right accessories. The other short versions of the shirt dress are also very popular this summer.

Halston 70's Shirtwaist dress

Shirt dress at Ralph Lauren Spring RTW 2011; photo: style.com

High waist trousers in subtle tones of camel and ivory, worn with clean cut monotone tops reflects this look perfectly.

High waist trousers at Chloe; photo: style.com

Jason Wu Spring RTW 2011; photo: style.com

You have a plethora of choices with accessories when it comes to modern minimal clothing, since the colors are neutral and cuts simple, you can choose to dress up or down accordingly. However since the trend is minimal, don’t overdo it with the accessories even while dressing up. You can jazz up your look by wearing one statement accessory piece and keep the rest minimal, like a short one shouldered neutral hued form fitting dress, paired with metallic stiletos.

Calvin Klein Spring RTW 2011; photo: style.com

Max Mara Spring RTW 2011; photo: style.com

Minimal pieces also are a good investment as you can always keep these basics in the wardrobe and keep styling them up with the latest accessory trends or other pieces of clothing in the coming seasons. So ladies, it’s time to get back to the basics!

Art of Draping

India has never been a stranger to the art of draping, the Sari being one of our oldest traditional costumes. It is still worn by the majority of the women in the country everyday and favored by fashionistas for making a style statement. Taking off from the sari, the flow and grace of the drape is contemporized and improvised to turn into one of the hottest trends this season.

FY takes you through the journey of the drape from its history to the present day version of the draped dress.

Draping was not only prevalent in India, but also in ancient Greece and Rome, where clothing was not cut and stitched, but draped around the body. They were pinned up or tucked together in various forms known as the toga, himation, stola and palla.

The two designers from the twentieth century who introduced these ancient styles of draping to the world were Madeleine Vionnet and Madame Alix Gres in the 1920s.

A classic Madeleine Vionnet drape dress

Madeleine Vionnet, along with Paul Poiret and Mariano Fortuny, was the first to ditch the corset and make free flowing comfortable evening gowns for women. Vionnet was the first to make beautiful draped bias cut gowns. Her other innovations were the cowl collar, sometimes known as “the Vionnet drip”, and her exploration of the scarf, draped around the neck or hips or knotted at the waist.

A classic Madame Alix Gres drape dress

Madame Alix Gres, a contemporary of Vionnet, also a great lover of sculpting, directly worked with draping materials on mannequins and then giving them a form by light stitching. Her dresses gained commercial success in the 30s, when she also took inspiration from the sari and later on revived the draped dresses in the 70s.

Draped dresses were later on experimented with, by several designers like YSL and Halston in the 60s and 70s. The following decades saw several other versions.

Halston Heritage Asymmetric Drape dress, photo: vogue.in

Topshop short drape dress; photo: topshop.com

This Grecian goddess draping trend came back on the fashion scenario in a big way in 2009, soon making a way into pret with short draped dresses becoming very popular for evening wear.

Topshop Grecian dress, photo: topshop.com

Badgley Mischka draped swimwear

Draping is still as big right now and is seen not only in dresses but also in jumpsuits, swimwear and several other variations. One shoulder draped long dresses belted up at the waist are ideal for summer evening wear. The short draped dresses are perfect to hit the club in, and skirts, jumpsuits and rompers that are draped make for perfect casual day wear.

Draped Jumpsuit at Marchesa Spring RTW 2011; photo: style.com

Nicole Miller strapless drape dress; photo: neimanmarcus.com

The pleats or the layers that form due to draping can hide several unflattering areas and accentuate ones best features. Take your pick accordingly.

Crossover Bollywood Drape Dress; Concept: Anamika Chhawal for Crossover Bollywood, Model: Nathassha Sikka

You can accessorize the draped dress with skyscraper heels to complete the glamorous Grecian goddess look. This trend is here to stay this season and a nice draped dress is a must have.