New life is in the air. Flowers are starting to pop up all around campus, baby animals are being born and bodies are beginning to litter the lawns around midday. Now that spring is upon us, it’s finally time to get crazy with daring cuts and diaphanous fabrics without the risk of freezing to death or having to wade through snow banks (although wading in spring mud can sometimes be a worse fate). But as fun as all the new stuff is, one of my favorite things about any new season is the chance to perfect and streamline the trends of the year before.
Though it may seem like I’m missing the point trend-wise (aren’t they, by definition, supposed to be fleeting?), I’ve noticed that certain looks that are new and cutting edge one year tend to become the next year’s basics. Last year, I spent my entire spring and summer in a fruitless search for the perfect pair of minimalist white sandals that seemed to exist only in the land of Prada. This spring, I’ve found at least four perfect pairs on one website alone.
Or better yet, take the example of the Bermuda short, and the various looks it spawned. Shorts had been in a kind of limbo since the disastrous advent of cargo pockets and the unfortunate popularization of Capri-pants (which then led to the resurrection of the gaucho—the list of atrocities goes on and on). Last spring, though, Bermuda shorts started showing up in stores and on people, and we happily entered a new golden age of the short. With the right pair, you could make your legs look longer without exposing an inch of butt cheek, wear shorts out to dinner and be comfortable in summer heat without looking like white trash.
They weren’t without their problems, however. Some were a little too tight just above the knee, severely limiting crucial movement, while some were just a smidge too long, making legs look short and stumpy. Luckily, designers have had a year to work out the kinks, and this season I expect to see perfectly tailored Bermuda shorts acting as steadfast wardrobe staples that gracefully complement whatever new trends are in store. So while it might be tempting to jump on the high-waisted shorts train now, why not wait until next year, when they’ll actually look good?
