Lessons from the Golden Globes 2009

Since last Fall, every magazine out there has been screaming SHEER, HOT PINK, PATTERN, AQUA for  Spring 2009…and guess what showed up at the Golden Globes 2009 last night?  Beige, beige, white, black, beige, beige, red, beige.  The bad economy seems to have influenced what celebs feel as “appropriate” gown choice.   The only bright pink dress I saw last night was on Cameron Diaz.  And, her 4 inch untouched roots brought the happy colored dress into the sad category.  But, maybe her roots were actually the accessory that she wanted when wearing hot pink amongst a sea of drab?  Something to ponder.

Compare these dresses to the dresses we discussed for the 2008 Emmy’s just 4 months ago.  Click here.

Style.com had a piece last October regarding recessionary spending in the fashion world.  Basically, the article points out that fashion designers are partly fortune tellers as they must predict what women will be wearing 6 months in advance of that actual fashion season.  With bad economic news bubbling up, designers debuted a wide range of elements during the Spring 2009 runway shows. Click here.

I do believe that the more subdued, yet still stylish, clothes will be the ones that sell best this season. That possibly leaves a bunch of colors left on the shelf.  The colors that do sell will be the ones that are a bit softer.  Imagine a bright color: now add a drop of gray. The color left is the color that will sell.  Perhaps I’m wrong, but that is what is being hinted from the Golden Globes and the pre-fall runway shows going on right now.  Hot pink may still be hot, but that hot pink that is just one step down will be the pink to wear.

Here is a simple time line of what occurred between the debut of the Spring 2009 runway shows and today:

September 2008
Spring 2009 fashion shows hit the runways.  Color still reigns.  Prints are back, bigger and better.  Metallics are still very much embraced.  Sheer is in, ruffles remain, and belts from your high waist to your lower hips are everywhere.  Neutrals definitely make their appearance.  The statement shoe rules.  Exotic leathers have everyone drooling.

In Late September
The economy went on a fast slide from bad to horrible.  Hope still loomed that a post election economic bump was bound to occur.  This optimistic haze lifted and the population began to realize that there would be no post-election happy bump on Wall Street.   Reports then surfaced that the US may spend up to 8 trillion of printed money by the time this “bailout” is complete. A man named Bernie Maddoff scammed  his clients out of 50 billion dollars.  Then, a war broke out between Israel and Gaza.  OK- who wants to throw on your hot pink and bright yellow flower dress now?  Does black or beige sound better?  I thought so, too.

So, this will be an interesting fashion season.  Watch for what is preached for us to wear and what the American public actually chooses to wear.  It’s a nail biter.

-Liza

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