Sunday, July 6, 2008

Bold Shoulder

The decorative focus rests squarely on our shoulders, darlings, and not in the manner of the deplorable 80s pouf, either! Whether garishly overdone or delightfully playful, bold shoulders took center stage on the runways, and they’ve made their way into the shops as well!
Though exaggerated to a virtually unwearable extent, the angular sculptural forms protruding from this Konstantina Mittas dress are noteworthy because they encapsulate fashion's current superhero obsession. Photo at top right via Vogue Australia. Go to www.vogue.com/au.
The inverted triangle shape created by the Mittas shoulder is echoed in this subtly striped Amaya Arzuaga minidress; photo via Spanish Vogue, at http://www.vogue.es/.
Bottega Veneta interprets the bold-shouldered blazer in a decidedly modern way, keeping the bodice fitted and the collar wide. It is pure genius that the additional volume is created not by garish padding (a la "Working Girl"), but by the delicate and purposeful placement of an extra fold of fabric, creating a clean line where there might otherwise have been an awkward shoulder seam! Photo courtesy nymag.com.
At Kenzo, where wearable plants sprouted from the runway for Fall 2008, the model is nearly swallowed whole by an oversize tulip-shaped confection. The linear shoulder stands in playful contrast to the billowing hem of the minidress.
At Chanel Couture, a magenta dress gets an exaggerated hourglass shape by the use of twisted mounds of fabric at the shoulders. CC loves this one!
Christian Dior Couture takes the oversize shoulder asymmetrical, with a frothy leopard-print creation tightly cinched at the waist.
Black lace gets a poufy black satin shoulder cap at Christian Lacroix Couture.
Most shocking and fanciful of the lot, the left shoulder at Anne Valerie Hash Couture is adorned by a space-age egg with a sculptural cutout revealing a shiny gold lining. CC wonders how this pod is attached and whether it will be sold in the boutiques...
It takes a true fashionista to sport one of the above designs.
But runway does translate to real way, as with Paul and Joe's short sleeve baby blue double breasted jacket, a more approachable take on the outsize shoulder.

CC adores this purple Fendi structured sleeve dress, at Neiman Marcus.
And we might actually wear this Marc Jacobs pale yellow colorblock dress; photo via elle.com.
Alexander McQueen offers several pared-down versions of the runway trend. Top, wing embroidered dress;
Bottom, enhanced shoulder belted dress. Both at Net-a-Porter.com.
Another gorgeous possibility? This stone-hued RM by Roland Mouret Moon dress. Loving!!! Also at net-a-porter.

Can you shoulder the trend? [How] would you do it?

Fashion credits: Runway photos in this post courtesy style.com, except where noted.

36 comments:

Kira Aderne said...

the shoulders really are in evidence :)

a kiss!

Anonymous said...

Amazing blog!
Oh, you really haven't heard of Cory Kennedy? She's been working a lot with Nylon mag.

penelope said...

i could neeeevvvverrrr pull this off. but id like to!

alex said...

i don't like very exaggerated shoulders, but i have a dress similar to Roland Mouret grey one and i love it.

karen said...

hello, lovely blog you got here! love the bold shoulders, you forgot martin margiela, one of my favorites.. xoxo

Unknown said...

Grrat blog.
This trend is not for me.

Aline said...

amazing photos! god choose, girl!!

Siljesfashion said...

Roland Mourets design are so gorgeous!

Sharon S said...

I'm with you today-the fendi dress is gorgeous and I also love the
2nd mcQueen dress too!

Elizabeth said...

This is an interesting trend/phenomenon I hadn't noticed until you pointed it out.

Syed said...

Wow, those actually look beautiful, I never I would ever think that about large shoulder pieces!

Miss White said...

The Fendi is my favourite, I think actually looks quite wearable too!

Jadore-Fashion said...

love the pale yellow dress--could wear it-- and the belted black dress, for some reason reminds me of Jackie O. Thanks, i have added you
xoxo

Anonymous said...

Christian Dior has scored doing leopard print..i'm a humongous fan of overexaggeration..whether its clothes. or words (MEGA AMAZING). :)

Seeker said...

Despite I still feel the 80's I like the structured shoulders, when not exaggerated.
You picked some pieces that I really was able to wear.

xoxo

♥ Marta ♥ said...

Love a strong shoulder, it gives so much drama to an outfit :)

Sophista-Funk said...

It seems like both really structured shoulders or shoulder cutouts are in. I think I prefer the structured shoulder. This is great!
-j

Jen (MahaloFashion) said...

I never liked the 80s shoulder look or shoulder pads I thought they made my body look huge and disproportionate because i'm short but i'm sure a taller person could pull this look off. I have to say the ones at Anne Valerie Hash are quite unique.

Alex said...

I'm not digging the oversized sholder look. I think that not to many woman can pull it off, but if you can, more power to ya!
Your blog is so informational!

jimena said...

de más está decir que los que no son muy exagerados , los ausaría!!!!!
me encantó esta onda futurista!

Jessica said...

great post ! i love it even though i couldn't pull it off and would never wear it. Looks great on the runaway ahah
Wanna trade links ?

Steph said...

i absolutely adore the kenzo dress. it's just makes me feel all floral and happy inside, hahas.

G & W said...

not going to lie, really happy the bold shoulders are coming back into fashion. and i love the space shuttle creativeness!

Wendy said...

Bold shoulders seem extremely hard to pull off. But I've wanted to give it a go ever since Balenciaga.

Vanessa said...

Hello!!!

Note que pasaste por mi blog, asi que entré al tuyo y descubro muchas cosas interesantes, en estas vacaciones leere mucho tus posts!!!

Una pregunta, sos de NEW YORK???....

Mi inglés es muy básico, pero estoy aprendiendo, pero veo que vos sabes español no?

BESOS!!!!

Espero tu respuesta!!!

www.simplementevanessa.blogspot.com

Lil Midget said...

Wow! I remember wearing dresses with shoulder pads. Never liked them..Made me look like an American football player :P They do make a woman look more powerful tho!

Anonymous said...

i admire the big shoulders... but, could never pull it off. it was nice to see a summary of it though. =)

and yellow nails? i've been looking for a nice yellow polish for awhile! =)

Guirec Munier said...

U r a fashion addict ! If u want, I invite u to come to see some of the most beautiful heels, dresses and bags of the Paris fashion week !

See u !

Alice said...

Thank you for your kind words:)

Your blog is realy great!

Alice:)

Hummingbird said...

first time to your blog, i love the pérez vilaró house and i miss punta del este very much! thanks for the pic cc! xx!

Ella Gregory said...

I love the McQueen dress and the stunning blue in the first design! They are my favourites, hands down!

Mariel said...

I haven't ever really been a fan of the exaggerated shoulders, but I really like some of the looks you posted here.

Jamie said...

Thanks for the comment on my blog - love yours! It's really fun!

Mary-Laure said...

They look great but at the same time I wouldn't wear them; they're not flattering for everyone.

mysterious style said...

hello!!!
thanx your for your lovely com!!!
i looooooooooove what y see here!!
i'll save you a link to my blog :)
kisses see you soon

Always In Style said...

Hold up a sec...is that black dress with the "feathery" looking cape thing a Mouret? Man, I needs a raise 'cause I gotta get me one of those.

Fierce!