Flapper Dress Fashion for 2008
Return of the Flapper Dress Heads the Fringe-Fashion Revival
A perfect canvas for embellishments and metallics the vintage flapper dress is taking over from the modern mini and baby-doll smocks of last season.
Nothing suits the feminine mood better this season than the return of the fun and flirty flapper dress. These dresses are part of the fun and flirty fringe-fashion trend hitting the shops in 2008, with dresses, skirts, shoes and purses.
The flapper revival is set to be in full force in 2008 – with sequins, beading, and fringing, complemented by this year’s trend in flapper-style headbands and turbans. Current influences include Great Gatsby dresses and Katie Holmes and Victoria Beckham-style short bobs.
Although its re-emergence in 2007 was initially slow, runways for Spring/Summer 2008 have been pushing the flapper ever since Kate Moss was seen at last year’s Glastonbury festival, setting 1920 and '30s trends. Forever fashion-forward, Moss gave her seal of approval to a wave of vintage revival, now sweeping over the UK and beyond.
Vintage revival is featured heavily in the UK's "Kate Moss for Top Shop", with the brand also currently available at New York chain store Barney’s. The fashion chain is now planning to launch three stores in the New York later this year, according to Daily Mail’s “Topshop stores to Open in New York – following Kate Moss success,” of 14 May 2007.
The Versatile Flapper Dress
From today's wide choice of dress styles the flapper dress is one of the most flirty, fun and feminine. These loose fitting, simply yet sexy dresses are kind to both slender and curvy figures. They can flatter any age group, due to the variety of shapes and cuts. Versatile for day or night, the flapper can be '20s sporty or sophisticated.
This season’s spin is that a drop waist in no longer a requirement. Instead ruffles and fringes are the order of the day. According to “1920’s Fashion Flapper Returns” on fashionising.com, “The current take is less about a head-to-toe look and more about mixing it up - teaming a delicately beaded piece with this season's cropped leather jacket or patent accessories will give the flapper trend its modern edge.”
Women appreciate the return to flapper fashion’s simple elegance. As one reader, Chanelle, puts it, in response to Fashionising's article “Time to get rid of the awful complicated patterns and prints and back to simple sexy dresses.”
Kate Moss’s Swarovski Crystal Dress
Perhaps the most famous flapper dress last season was the Swarovski Flapper dress with over 60,000 Swarovski crystal beads, worn on 18th October 2007 by Kate Moss at the Fashion Rocks venue for the Prince’s Trust.
This silver grey and antique green dress took over 200 hours to hand-embroider and was auctioned off afterwards to raise money for the Prince’s Trust. Worth $40,000 the dress, created by Kate Moss and Top Shop, finally raised £5,100 (approximately $10,250) on Ebay.
How to Wear a Flapper Dress
Flapper dresses are straight and loose. Usually knee-length, the arms are bare and this season can be drop-waisted or simply straight. More intricate ones involve creating fluid lines with beading and fringing, although this season the style also has a more basic level with use of simple prints and pleats.
Cover flabby arms with a '20s style short-bolero or capelet. Wear dresses with high-heeled shoes, ballet flats or chunky T-bar pumps. Short bobs, turbans and flapper headbands are very much in vogue, creating a very 1920s feel.
