Posted on 08/08/2009 5:28:43 PM PDT by bruinbirdman
This autumn, cardigans are going to be big, short and cute or long and elegant
Though I dare say Michelle Obama would prefer to be remembered for more than plumping up the sales of J. Crew’s knitwear, it is for her services to the cardigan that she will long be talked about on planet fashion. What she’s done is to show us how to wear it with panache. She’s made it look fresh, modern and perfectly capable of holding its own in the highest of places. So it was that when the distinguished but stately designer Oscar de la Renta told Women’s Wear Daily that “You don’t go to Buckingham Palace in a sweater,” it was he who seemed foolish, not the fresh and breezy Michelle O.
As Amy Fine Collins, chief style correspondent for Vanity Fair, puts it, “It’s clever not to wear the jacket all the time, which can look stiff and proper. The cardigan covers up in the same way, but it’s soft and versatile.”
The fragrant Martha Stewart was just as enthusiastic: “If our First Lady wears J. Crew to greet the Queen of England, no reason I can’t wear J. Crew to a business dinner. The great thing about this is it’s so freeing.”
How you wear a cardigan matters. While the young royals, for instance, or funky models (Agyness Deyn) and the music set (Lily Allen), use the cardigan to dress an outfit down, flinging a cardie over a prom or ball dress as if to say, “I’m not really all dressed up,” the 30-plus woman uses it precisely to dress an outfit up.
(Excerpt) Read more at women.timesonline.co.uk ...
The result is that, this autumn, cardigans are going to be big. They’re already in the shops, some short and cute (great with dresses) or long and elegant (especially good with pencil skirts), belted with some eel-thin leather. Some are gossamer-fine (Roland Mouret’s done some good ones) so that you can do as Prada does and layer them up, making for a flexible look that goes from day to night, from hot to cold.
To freshen up the effect, wear a long one belted over a shorter fine one (Splendid at Fenwick has some that are ineffably fine), which in turn is worn over a T-shirt. They come with bows and embellishments, with lots of bright colour and plenty of trompe l’oeil. But whether you turn to Marni or Prada, Gap (above left), Johnny Boden or Zara, you’ll have Michelle Obama to thank for the fact that these days you can wear your cardie anywhere. Yes, even to take tea with the Queen.
What’s with the ‘baby bump’ M’chelle? ;)
Wow before this I had never heard of wearing a sweater in the fall. Thanks Mrs. Obama for bringing something new to the lives of women every where!
This winter, we'll all be experiencing Carter-Again as we're asked to put on a sweater...
Perhaps one that looks like it fits over the gut would be in order. Wow, a sweater for fall. Whirlwind of information!
UH! What a Hoe! (I’d spell it a different way, but I’d probably get banned.)
Too much high living. That $100 a pound beef and NY city martinis have to land somewhere!
yitbos
1)Find a cardigan that matches nothing you are wearing.
2)Make sure that it is at least two sizes too small
3)Add a studded World of Wrestling Championship belt and wear it right under your bosom. (If you can't find a WoW belt, a Championship Bull-riding belt will do).
And there you have the Mobama Cardigan. Tres chic!
Memo to Michelle...
1. Hire a good dressmaker/tailor who can fit patterns to your body.
2. Get your colors done.
3. Stop wearing clothes that look like they shrunk in the dryer.
4. Stop wearing cheap-looking, yet expensive, off-the-rack clothes by “young designers.”
5. Ditch the wide boob belts, especially those tacky clear plastic ones, and that one that looks like Pancho Villa’s ammo supply.
Those Brits have got to be kidding!
Since Michelle is so trendy and sophisticated, why does she dress like a clown>
Does anyone else remember Fatstuff, from the Smilin' Jackcartoons?
If thats Panache, I are the Pope.
Well said!
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