In 1965, Clarks, based in Street, England, introduced a suede moccasin boot that became known as the Wallabee. The shoe was so groovy that swinging Londoners made it a wardrobe staple, along with hip huggers, bell bottoms and pea coats.
The Wallabee has had plenty of revivals since then. The boot fit in well with 1970s Laurel Canyon-inspired head-to-toe denim looks. The shoe rose to prominence again during the Mod revival in the 1980s, when it was worn with turtlenecks and white jeans. In the 1990s, trendsetting New York hip-hop groups like Wu-Tang Clan and shoe-gazing British bands like the Verve (“Bitter Sweet Symphony”) sported Wallabees on album covers.
Now the comfy crepe-soled boots, now part of the Clarks Originals collection, are begging for a fresh perspective. During New York Fashion Week, Wallabees hit the runway in menswear designer Patrik Ervell's spring 2010 show -- and the boot looked just so right worn with khakis, denim jackets and white button-down shirts
But what will really boost Wallabees' resurgence as a wardrobe staple this time around are its accessible prices, $100 to $130, for both women’s and men’s styles, including a chunky-heeled gal's Wallabee.
Clarks, 2148 Glendale Galleria, Glendale. (818) 545-9524. 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday through Saturday. 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Sunday.
The recently wrapped New York Fashion week shows were so upbeat and optimistic, at one point I'd
joked that if we made it through the week without hearing Timbuk3's "Future's So Bright I Gotta Wear Shades," it would be nothing short of a miracle.
While I never did hear the song (I'm waiting for my Jesus on a tortilla moment), I did end up seeing a whole lot of accessorizing with sunglasses. One name that cropped up in the show notes with some regularity was Silver Lining Opticians, a shop in New York's SoHo neighborhood that has worked closely with the fashion community, accessorizing shows for the last few seasons.
For the Spring/Summer 2010 New York shows, Silver Lining co-owner Jordan Silver told me the shop provided old-school shades (it only deals in older, vintage brands and styles) for the Araks, Spurr, Rachel Antonoff, Antonio Azzuolo, Boy by Band of Outsiders and Shipley & Halmos shows, as well as the sunglass lenses for the Proenza Schouler show (the boys had their own frames), about 100 pair of vintage sunglasses in all.
The other name that caught my eye was a bit closer to home -- L.A. Eyeworks, which once again provided the distinctive ocular ornamentation for the Monarchy Collection show.
Will Spring/Summer 2010 be the season of the statement sunglasses? Maybe not. But it's clear that if a designer (and/or his or her show stylist) wanted to telegraph the unbridled optimism of the moment with a simple accessory, the eyes had it.
Photo (top): A model at the Band of Outsiders show wears vintage sunglasses from Silver Lining Opticians. Credit: Peter Stigter and Jonas Gustavsson / For The Times
Photo (bottom): A model at the Monarch Collection show in L.A. Eyeworks frames. Credit: Kristian Dowling / Getty Images for IMG
Do women really want Depression chic? Ralph Lauren thinks so.
His spring collection was inspired by "the resilient spirit of America," and "the character of the worker, the farmer, the cowboy, the pioneer woman of the prairies living authentically through challenging times," as stated in his show notes. "Hard times sharpen our capacity for idealism and our optimism that tomorrow will be a better day."
What Lauren knows about hard times probably amounts to seeing his net worth fall from $4.2 billion to $4.1 billion or something like that, and the authenticity of work wear -- jeans, overalls and prairie floral dresses -- must seem quaint to someone who doesn't have to wear it. The theme is a special kind of minefield because this recession has been about workers bailing out fat cats who made bad investing decisions. So it's not as if we all just have to buckle down and things will get better. There are plenty of people buckling down and still being fired.
That being said, remember Lauren's roots: His is the ultimate rags-to-riches story. And though he may rule over a fashion empire now, at heart he's still that insecure Bronx boy named Lifshitz who got his start hawking neckties.
New York's Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week officially wrapped Thursday night, and even though I've spent most of the time since wending my way back to Los Angeles, I couldn't enjoy the weekend without mentioning the closing show: Tommy Hilfiger, who sent a classy-looking collection down the runway in the Bryant Park
tents (and, it turned out, would also appear as one of the guest judges
on that evening's episode of "Project Runway").
According to the show notes -- which were provided on sturdy pieces of wood about the thickness of a place mat -- Hilfiger was "re-imagin[ing] the relaxed glamor of a Southern California boardwalk," right down to the wooden boards that formed the runway.
The clothes were so breezy and effortless -- especially the women's pieces; the strapless silk corset dresses flounced just so and the silk jersey gowns had an elegant drape to them -- that he needn't have bothered with the small birch forest of assorted wood accents. (The one upside was that the run-of-show provided a stable platform for my Flip video camera, and I was able to capture the collection from a pretty good vantage point.)
Like many of the collections last week, Hilfiger's drew inspiration from the oceans, such as navy double-breasted suit coats with gold buttons and blue-on-white nautical stripes of the sea-faring class, and a color palette that included a range of striking blues and the pale peach-and-pink hues one might see from the Santa Monica Pier as the sun dips into the Pacific.
The men's collection felt less elegant but was equally as visually striking; brightly colored pieces -- a cobalt blue jacket here, a tomato-red pair of trousers there -- were paired with more neutral khaki, perhaps trying to telegraph the idea of a "California casual" wardrobe.
The front row was packed with celebrities -- many of them no doubt had attended the opening shindig at the new Tommy Hilfiger flagship store on Fifth Avenue a few hours before the show. On my way out the door I saw Rosario Dawson and Russell Simmons, to name just two.
But the belle of the ball clearly was Girl Interrupted Taylor Swift, who earlier in the week had been a victim of Kanye West's VMA invective. She stood in the midst of a throng of shutterbugs -- professional and otherwise -- in a red Tommy Hilfiger dress.
"Is this your first show this week?" I asked.
"My first show ever!" she replied flashing a wide, genuine smile right before disappearing into the paparazzi knot.
And with that, the books closed on another season in the Bryant Park tents.
-- Adam Tschorn
Photos: Looks from Tommy Hilfiger's Spring/Summer 2010 runway collection, the closing show of Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week, on Sept. 17. Credit: Peter Stigter and Jonas Gustavsson for Los Angeles Times. Video below by Adam Tschorn / Los Angeles Times.
As if you needed any other excuse to watch "Project Runway," tonight's an opportunity to glimpse Times fashion critic Booth Moore when she introduces one of the challenges.
Since Booth is en route to London Fashion Week and can't share any thoughts on the episode until after it airs, we suggest you chime in with yours either here or in our Entertainment section's Show Tracker blog.
Speaking of your thoughts, don't forget that the finalists for this season showed their stuff at the runway shows last spring. Judging from the episodes so far, do you think you know who's in or out?
"Project Runway's" Michael Kors, Heidi Klum and Nina Garcia at the runway show for the as-yet-unnamed designers. Photo credit: Peter Stigter and Jonas Gustavsson
"Everything a girl needs." That's what I overheard a guest saying about the Tory Burch presentation, but it could just as well have described Phillip Lim's collection. Both designers are champions of the new bridge market that is a bright spot at retail, offering high style at not-so-high prices (mostly less than $1,000).
Burch, who is known for her 1970s WASP look, said her spring line was about "effortless dressing," and "Alexander Calder meets William Eggleston."
That translated into lots of versatile pieces for would-be socialites, including glove leather cargo pants; a tie-dye leather miniskirt; a navy striped knit blazer; a sand, sun-yellow and gold-hued loose knit sweater; beaded envelope clutches and natural suede, side-buckled moccasin booties.
You could almost hear the cash register going ka-ching as Phillip Lim's models walked down the runway. His show may not have been the week's most exciting, but it ticked off the trends all right, from the color red (a saucy lipstick-red mackintosh) to featherweight leather (a draped-front, caramel leather skirt), to feminine frills (on a natural-colored jacket with a ruffled body, cutaway back and ribbon closures) to the new pants ("guru" pants with a fold-over knit waist, worn with a double-breasted shirt jacket as a new kind of suit).
Lim’s takes on multimedia, collage dresses were nicely done, too, with sculptural accordion pleating, draped lace and sequin panels.
NEW YORK -- After staging presentations for the last few seasons, Michael Bastian staged a full-fledged runway show for Spring/Summer 2010. "We have so many clothes we decided we really wanted to show them all," he told me afterward.
That made the 53 men's looks that came down the catwalk a lot to process -- running the gamut from canvas surf shorts to shawl collar dinner jackets -- and a lot of the detail that makes Bastian's collections so enjoyable in danger of being lost in the shuffle (but I suppose that's what show notes and re-see appointments are all about).
This time out those details included accessories like brass railroad spike cuffs and Guadalupe medallion necklaces (both by Giles & Brother by Philip Crangi for Michael Bastian) and specially made Stubbs & Wootton slippers in camouflage, allover seagull embroidery and an Argentine sunburst embroidery, all three designs also appearing on clothing ion the collection.
From edgy to ethereal, these hair and makeup looks from New York’s Spring 2010 runways shows were some of the most inspiring or wearable.
Rodarte’s dark and webby dresses called for a hairstyle that was just as intricate. This may not be one to try at home, but the style was full of texture and looked almost sculpted.
Hair stylist Odile Gilbert created something daring enough to rival the Rodarte sister’s futuristic creations.
Michael Kors' show this morning brought many of spring's trends into focus--transparency, cutouts and a body-conscious silhouette. The collection was revealing, but not vulgar, sculptural but also feminine. It was the most commercial expression of the ripped and slashed, '80s-era, Japanese-influenced anti-fashion trend we've been seeing on the runways this week. And it was coming from Kors, the all-American sportswear designer.
The dress was the key piece--sheaths in crinkly silver lame, bleach splatter print Shantung and gray perforated flannel, all of which are seasonless enough to wear in February, when spring clothes start to arrive in stores. Smart.
Cage-like effects are moving from shoes to clothes for spring, and Kors' black stretch crepe dress with a black patent cage cutout at the waist was one of the sexiest things so far this season. A mint green stretch crepe shift was revealing in another way, with bands of clear plastic over the waist and legs.
For more everyday wear, Kors offered asymmetrically draped, crinkly taffeta skirts, and a black crepe suit with boxy cap sleeves. There were some interesting knits, too--cardigans with multiple sleeves, turtleneck pullovers with a single sleeve, and crew necks with ripped hems. It's about as subversive as we've ever seen Kors.
After so many thigh-high hems (Herve Leger) and peekaboo skin-baring cutouts (Max Azria), it was refreshing to see a trio of grown-up spring collections in the middle of New York Fashion Week, from designers who had real women, not just 100-pound, 22-year-old starlets, in mind.
Statement jewelry isn't going away anytime soon judging from the Vera Wang and Badgley Mischka collections. At Badgley Mischka, necklaces and bracelets with chunky starfish, shells and pearls were the counterpoint to timeless summer wear.
The designers covered all the bases, from daytime to evening, with a coral colored cotton tweed kimono jacket, worn over cuffed white shorts; the perfect pair of black Shantung, wide-leg, paperbag waist trousers with a crisp white shirt tucked in; a white matte jersey short-sleeve dress with coral beaded keyhole cutouts; and a white silk Shantung ball skirt fluttering with all-over clover-shaped cutouts, topped with an elegant black silk Shantung blazer.
