NEW YORK STORIES PART II
If someone asks you to conjure up an image of spring and summer fashion, chances are you don’t see a pair of trousers and a blouse buttoned up to your neck. So why is it that many New York designers loaded up very tailored pieces with the prints you’d expect to see on amorphous caftans and sundresses? I’d guess this mystery is at least partially explained by looking at when these collections begin to ship to retailers – February.
In much of northern hemisphere February is just about the bleakest, most miserable month of the year. When we’re all anxious for higher temperatures and the more colorful landscapes of spring, transitional pieces like button-up shirts and blazers will offer a welcome helping of warm-weather optimism without the frostbite. Sure, we’ll have to store the skirts and shorts until the sun comes out but it will be easy to combine tops and trousers with warmer layers.
Ultimately, however, designers are redefining what the seasons mean to fashion because it’s good business – they know how difficult it is to sell full-blown summer to winter customers that perhaps don’t own vacation property in the Mediterranean. As long as delivery dates are so out of sync with the outside temperature, our idea of spring and summer dressing may continue to alter over the next few years.
Images via Style.com, Illustration by Michelle Ricks
