Monday, November 10, 2008

BIG IS BEAUTIFUL


Balloon skirts that circle back to a gathered hemline, blouses with puffy leg-of-mutton sleeves, and draping bolero jackets with three-quarter-length sleeves cut and sewn with copious frills are among the items now in favor as big-looking clothes take the spotlight. The 2006 fall and winter fashion collections signaled that slender and feminine were out and "neo volume style" was in. Marc Jacobs of Louis Vuitton, for example, unveiled a dress with a large pocket at the waist, much like a kangaroo pouch, and a rounded silhouette coat. And ChloƩ, a popular brand whose handbags are in very high demand, came out with a cocoon silhouette coat and short bolero jacket with numerous folds and three-quarter-length sleeves.

The Volume Look Revisited

The "volume" look made its debut in the 1960s and made a major comeback in the 1980s, when fan-shaped mini skirts and other shapely items were unveiled by Yves Saint Laurent, Christian Lacroix, and other foreign designers. In Japan, balloon skirts, blouses with puffy sleeves, and other oversized clothing caught on in the latter half of the 1980s after young Olive magazine readers began wearing them and the "cute and coquettish" look took hold.

Balloon skirts are in vogue. (Laisse Passe Co., Ltd.)
Today, two more decades down the line, volume fashion is again back in vogue, while the preference dating back to the 1990s for casual and compact styles, with excess kept to a minimum, seems to have passed its peak.

This time, however, variety is the name of the game, with voluminous tops often being mixed with leaner bottoms and vice versa, rather than full head-to-toe volume. By wearing a balloon skirt with a high-necked collar knit or short jacket, or a puffy sleeved blouse or cocoon silhouette top with skinny jeans, leggings, or other tight-fitting pants, a clean, sharp look is achieved