Volume Fashion Trend, Summer 2008
From Smock Dresses and Fluid Pants to Full Skirts and Billowy Shirts
Full, flowing and feminine is the way to do skirts this season. Bouncy dirndl skirts teamed with billowing tops, wide belts and cropped jackets. Enter the volume trend.
The initial runway look of voluminous skirts, dresses and tops took a while to become popular in the commercial stores. Since 2007, however, high-street fashionistas have pumped up the volume by voting with their feet and buying into the trend, meaning that fashion for 2008 is still in “full flow.”
Pump Up the Volume
Part of the initial fashion dilemma was how to perfect the look. Volumnous skirts, smock dresses and baggy or ruffly shirts can swamp a tiny frame or make a fuller figure look even larger. However, with some clever style know-how and great fashion accessories, the volume look can really work. It’s a question of teaming it with outfits that complement rather than swamp your figure, which means that tops need to be fitted and waists need to be cinched. You will then no longer be in danger of taking off like a hot air balloon.
Volume in Skirts
Flouncy skirts are proving fun and feminine, a lively look for spring and summer. Florals abound in day time skirts and for evening, metallics have the edge.
Big and bouncy, swish and swingy, it’s time to feel free again. Forget clingy, constricting pencil skirts and go for full and flowing. Hemlines don’t matter as there are thigh-high, knee-high and longer versions, with many designers setting the trend, including Donna Karan and Carolina Herrera.
Pretty and practical volumnous skirts give you a carefree edge. Accentuate your waist with a wide belt; add a fitted top or a shirt gathered in at the waist. Think Anne Hathaway in The Devil Wears Prada and you’re already halfway there!
If you prefer less swish and more rustle, then this season’s ruffles will provide all the volume you need.
Volume in Dresses and Tops
Voluminous figure-friendly smock dresses and tops have proved a big winner over the last year, not least because they cover a multitude of sins. For maximum effect, smocks should be worked with chunky platforms or wedges to balance them out, and higher heels lengthen the silhouette. Again, cinch in the waist for a sleeker effect, especially if you are curvy. Otherwise, especially if you are short or big-busted, your trendy smock can appear more like a maternity dress. A smock which finishes a few inches above the knee is the most modern and flattering. When the temperatures are cooler wear them with opaque tights or leggings.
Maxi dresses have been with us for several seasons and will continue to see us through autumn and winter. Although there are many closer cuts, fuller skirt styles have won over for day-wear like the color-block, tiered Lindsey Lohan style or Boho. Minimize volume with a waistcoat or cropped jacket if you are short.
Evening wear includes draped dresses such as goddess gowns, and lots of ruffles and large bows are a key feature. Much of the detailing on dresses and blouses is concentrated at the neckline and around the shoulders. Watch out for the new kid on the block, the kimono look, with its emphasis on full, flowing oriental-style sleeves. Billowy white blouses, such as a peasant style, look great with a full skirt if cinched in at the waist with a wide belt.
Volume in Pants
Fluid pants and wide-legged jeans have already proved a winner, providing a welcome respite from the leg-constricting skinny jean. Elegant flowing trouser suits provide volume 1950s style, and slouchy pants are comfortable whilst still looking chic. Billowy cocktail shorts are also right on trend as in Carolina Herrera's spring and summer runway collection.
Wear It Well
Whilst volume works well on a slender, boyish frame, women of all body shapes shouldn’t be nervous about experimenting with the trend. Most often is it how the look is put together that counts. You need to think carefully about your whole ensemble from the basics to the accessories. No matter what shape you are, if volume is worn confidently and cleverly there is always a way to make it work.
