Long and short of the way we wore

The Age

Wednesday December 30, 2009

Rachelle Unreich.

Noughties' fashion started with label lust and ended with ripped T-shirts and jeans, writes Rachelle Unreich. AND you thought the '80s were embarrassing, sartorially speaking. Sequins? Shoulder pads? Actually, they all inched their way back into the noughties. If the '80s was the decade that style forgot, the noughties has been marked by a more permanent state of forgetfulness. Actual shoes? Those were often replaced with plastic Crocs or furry Ugg boots. Fabric to cover one's stomach? That was forgotten, too, as jean waistlines dipped so low they might as well have been denim socks.The noughties began with people having too much money �� witness the five (and sometimes six)-figure Hermes "it" handbags with years-long waiting lists attached �� and ended with recession-struck shoppers having too little.Fashion followed suit. At the start of the decade, logo lust defined everything, with even teenagers clamouring to look like their Chanel-clad mothers, instead of rebelling against them. But at the end of the decade, ripped T-shirts and jeans and utilitarian, pared-down styles frequent the catwalks.There was no cohesive look, but instead a series of must-have items. "It" bags �� which took off after the Fendi baguette arrived in the late '90s �� claimed centre stage and by 2003, Louis Vuitton joined forces with cult artist Takashi Murakami to create a handbag that would be imitated around the globe.Sometimes, it was important to wear designer labels but have it look otherwise: witness the rise in popularity of distressed designer T-shirts, new but made to look old. Similarly, you can still shed more than $2000 for a pair of Dolce & Gabbana distressed jeans, although "traumatised" might be a more apt description. The jeans look as if they've lost a fight with a washing machine with more fraying and holes than there is denim.Designer jeans were de rigueur this decade, with brands such as Seven For All Mankind and J. Brand costing several hundred dollars. Jean waists went as low as possible before they could fall off, and exposing midriff �� not to mention too much rear view �� was the norm. Britney Spears' jeans got so low all you could do was pray she'd had a recent bikini wax. Boyfriend jeans �� rolled up, oversized �� made a brief appearance, but the skinny jean �� poured on from the ankle up �� looks as if it's here to stay. Embellishments on denim are common, but please, God, spare us more "jeggings", that horrible hybrid of jeans and leggings.If there were poster girls for fashion, they were seldom models or cultural icons. Celebrities wore fashion, made fashion trends and sometimes fashion itself, with Gwen Stefani and Jennifer Lopez touting their own labels and hiring stylists to keep them looking fashion-forward.Uber-stylist Rachel Zoe took Nicole Richie from Paris Hilton's chest-exposing sidekick to sultry sophisticate, ensuring her brand of maxi-dresses and Jackie O sunglasses were copied to the hilt. Many celebrities, such as Richie and Sienna Miller, also wore the Boho style: bohemian, flowing fabrics in vivid prints or earthy tones, combined with dangly jewellery and a distinctively '70s air. Floaty frocks skimmed the floor and embroidered tunics ruled. The trend even spawned its own bag, the slouchy, over-the-shoulder "hobo" handbag.The female image through fashion was schizophrenic at best, veering wildly from the sexy-girl-next door (think Scarlett Johansson in somethingGrecian) to cartoonishly pornographic (mini-skirts that were more mini, less skirt, modelled by the likes of Paris Hilton) and eventually to the cartoonish (Lady Gaga making Cher look conservative).Mainly, women dressed with confidence: Jennifer Lopez wore an eye-catching slit-to-there dress to the Grammys in 2000, and the smock dress at the beginning of the decade eventually morphed into the "body con" ( body conscious) dress by the end, which often emulated women being poured into sausage casing. Recently, there's been a backlash: a mannish, street-smart style for women that The New York Times calls "damsel in distress".Some recycled looks fared no better this era than in the past. Think of shoulder pads, which lacked the power-dressing philosophy of boardroom women in the '80s, and high-waisted pants. Grunge resurfaced in shapeless tees, trucker caps and cargo pants, looking all the worse when combined with heels. Since so much of the decade was about recycled looks, evening wear was heavily influenced by vintage, and some of the most memorable Oscar dresses were seen-befores.Even chains such as Sportsgirl offered a unique, vintage look, its "Finders Keepers" range, selling one-off garments for which the streets of Paris had been scoured. Jumpsuits were fashionable on the runway, but they �� and their offspring, the playsuit and romper �� did no woman any favours.Shoes were memorably tragic this decade. Did anyone look good in the ankle-skimming shoe-boot? Ditto the gladiator sandal, which looked even worse when it climbed to knee length. And aesthetes of the world could have done without plastic Crocs, which matched the Ugg boot in comfort and sheer ugliness. Heels rose to new heights, with women thinking nothing of donning 10 or 12-centimetre heels.There's no doubt the internet changed fashion in the past 10 years, making hard-to-get looks more accessible.But fashion was also critiqued more than ever. Sites such as the Sartorialist (thesartorialist.blogspot.com) searched high and low for the best-dressed person on the street, proving that true style isn't about labels, but about confidence and the ability to create one's own signature style. Go Fug Yourself (gofugyourself.celebuzz.com) poked fun at celebrities and their worst looks, reminding regular folk how easy it is to get it wrong. Then again, civilians also put up fashion how-tos on YouTube, empowering women with the belief they could also, easily, get it right.If the noughties will be remembered for anything, fashion-wise, let it be for online shopping and styling, and not the velour tracksuits.Celebritiesthrough thenoughties� Jennifer Lopez�fs Grammys dress.In 2000, celebrities hadn�ft starteddressing like conservativemothers-of-the-bride.� Bjork�fs Swan dress (below).When singer Bjork wore her infamousswan dress to the 2001Oscars, she ensured that even ifher music was ever forgotten, herpaparazzi photo of the night wouldnever be.� Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen�fsdouble take: messy-haired,kaftan-donning, trend-embracingtwins: at least they developed asignature style.� Dita Von Teese�fs va-va-voomvibe (she�fs a burlesque dancer)and style to match (busty dresses,pale skin, red lips), capturedmen�fs imaginations.� Brangelina gets boring. Rememberwhen Angelina was a single,gothed-out, tattoo-wearing,bisexual actress? As mother-ofumpteen,devoted wife, and charityworker, her look now matchesher do-good attitude. Commendable,but yawn-worthy.� Gossip Girl as the new Sex andthe City. Like its predecessor, youcan appreciate GG for the wardrobealone: from Blair�fs ubiquitousheadband to Serena�fs thighrevealingwardrobes.� First ladies of dressing: there�fsAmerican first lady MichelleObama, wearing strong colours(red is a favourite) and beautifultailoring, while France�fs equivalent,Carla Bruni, is a put-togetherhead-turner.� The women of Mad Men. Suspenderbelts. Pointy bras. Twinsets.The late �f50s were never soappealing.� Lady Gaga. The red latex outfitthat she wore for meeting theQueen was actually one of hermore demure outfits.

© 2009 The Age

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