It happens every year—spring rolls around with a new set of fashion trends and choices to make. What’s a fashion-forward style hound to do? Always wear what feels right for you, but if you’re looking to make your way in the world of New York fashion agencies, you need to know some of the trends shaping fashion for spring 2015.
Check out these important top trends for ideas on your own wardrobe choices.
Trend 1: Floral Is Blooming
Spring flowers are nothing new, but each year, designers find ways to reinterpret floral that seem completely fresh and irresistibly happy. There are endless choices for adding floral to your wardrobe, from tiny bouquets on a modified miniskirt, to a whole field of flowers on a sweeping, floor-length boho dress.
If your floral look is a densely packed, multi-colored print, just be sure to choose tiny flowers. You’ll find plenty of big, bold florals, but notice they are in a single color spread across a contrasting solid background. Find florals on dresses, skirts, even cropped pants—but wear prints on pants with caution. If you are looking for a slimming fit, go with a solid pant and save the bold prints for a fun coordinating top.
Floral is so dominant that it’s crossing over for those confident guys who can pull it off. Most fellas should stick to one piece per outfit, layering a solid, dark jacket over a floral print shirt to minimize the chances of floral overkill. If you’re really skilled at mixing clashing prints, go for it, using a dominant color to link different pieces together.
Trend 2: Denim Forever
If you’re looking for an in with retail job recruiters, be sure you’re up on your denim know-how. Denim is a fundamental staple of fashion that gets reinterpreted each year. This season, denim goes a little uptown, adding more formal, structured looks, along with variations on boyfriend jeans. How about a matched, two-piece, dark denim suit with cropped pants and a boxy, shorty jacket? Denim is showing up in the high-end European lines with inventive looks like a fitted jacket flounced with a shearling edge.
Perhaps you favor dresses over separates? You’ll find denim in a glamorous lace-up dress from the likes of Gucci, or in a heavily-tailored shirtdress in luxurious quality denim. Check out the newest take on thinly belted shirtdresses with a longer hemline and thigh-high slits, whether in denim or softer silks and cottons.
If you want to look casually sexy, it’s hard to beat a pair of denim overalls covering a summery, off-the-shoulder, white peasant blouse.1 This spring is seeing a lot of long, unstructured trench coats. Why not opt for a tailored, beltless trench in dark denim?
Men’s denim takes some drastically new turns, with high-end designers showing highly tailored jackets and what might more accurately be called denim slacks than jeans. Never fear, guys can still choose from a range of fitted denim jeans in dark to light washes. Try pairing them for evening with—what else? A silk evening jacket.
Trend 3: Check Your Gingham
Here’s something really fresh for spring: gingham. The classic symbol of sweet, young, country girl is now applied to sexy or glamorous summer dresses and sophisticated suits. Look for gingham dresses in fit-and-flare shapes, or on a new silk wrap dress from the queen of that genre, Diane von Furstenberg. Staying closer to gingham’s traditional roots, you’ll find plenty of summer short shorts, and lots of bright, hopeful colors in all sizes of gingham check. Be ready to talk gingham with fashion industry recruiters and score a few extra points for current season knowledge.
Trend 4: One Shoulder Is Enough
Apparently, two shoulders are just too much for some. Here’s a refreshingly new look that hasn’t been back for a while. Baring one alluring shoulder works so well with the structured, asymmetrical lines in dresses and tops emerging from this year’s 70s influence. Find fun pieces to wear for an evening out, or to brunch at a breezy sidewalk café.
Trend 5: Military to the Max
Make a military move, with a khaki suede skirt. Like many of this season’s trends, the military styling crosses over into a materials trend toward sleek suede skirts of varied lengths. Some of this season’s military takes are veering into a safari twist, with wide shorts, safari hats, and long loose, beltless trench coats.2
Trend 6: Polo Shirts
Polo shirts? Really? Yes, but don’t feel obligated to go total preppy. Take a designer-y turn by pairing a neon orange one with layers of flowing organza in a color-matched floor-length skirt. Or, combine a crisp white polo, collar turned up, with your grungiest pair of ripped boyfriend jeans, and a chunky pair of platform sandals.
Trend 7: Kimonos Return
Wrap yourself in a soft, forgiving kimono style jacket with sash belt. Find this new look in long or short silhouettes, with belt left open, or tied to one side. Fabrics are generally silky, soft, and moveable, with colors ranging from black, white, and dark blue solids to a classic Japanese floral print of the “Oriental” era.
Trend 8: Colors
Color trends for spring of 2015 reflect an optimistic mood that spreads across men’s and women’s fashion equally. The influence of boho hippies is seen in flower child prints and some romantic, flowing lines. There are loads of 70s colors reflected in retro-inspired geometric looks, with deep earthy browns and warm orange, or bold animal prints. A soft, blue-gray is one of several dominant neutrals, always sophisticated and sleek.3
What could be more optimistic and forward-looking than yellow? Splashed across spring 2015 runways, it turned up in American and European collections, anchored in solid, navy, or bright blue backgrounds, flung across sheer maxi skirts, or covering a retro, two-piece bathing suit.
Yellow is one of those colors that scares the fashion faint of heart, and for good reason. If you think you can never wear yellow, but wish you had the option, try these tricks to add some mellow yellow:
- Yellow accessories, like a shiny purse that complements a toned-down oat-colored suit and keeps the yellow away from your face;
- On the same principle, choose a yellow skirt, paired with a white top;
- Consider different yellows in varied tones that are flattering next to your skin, like amber, marigold, saffron, or canary yellow.4
White is a no-brainer for spring and summer. Layer creams and whites with a mix of textures and styles, for light seasonal looks that are casual yet sophisticated. Geometric black and white prints are back, too, with a more upbeat alternative in bold blues and white.
Sources:
1. http://www.marieclaire.com/fashion/news/a13581/denim-styling-tricks/
3. http://www.pantone.com/pages/fcr/?season=fall&year=2015&pid=11
4. http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/2014/12/29/spring-2015-fashion-trends_n_6391904.html
