Spring Fashion and
Summer Fashion Trends
2009

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The biggest trend this fashion season, reflecting the current economy, is investment dressing. Look for purchases that will...

• Last for many years -- look for good quality and no extreme design elements that will date the item quickly

• Work for more than one season -- trans-seasonal fabrics and items that will work in layered outfits

• Work with more than 1 item in your current wardrobe

To determine whether an item will be a wise buy think "cost per wear". How many times do you think you'll wear the item? Take the purchase price and divide it by the potential number of times you'll wear it over its life. This is the item's cost per wear. Then decide if this is a good item to buy.

Spring and Summer Fashion 2009 Main Style Elements

Dresses and pants (with tops too, of course!) are the main clothing items.

Dresses

Dresses are still a major trend this spring and summer. There are day dresses and evening dresses. You'll find dresses suitable for casual, business and formal occasions. Key style trends include sporty or floaty and feminine.

The main lengths are knee length and above or ankle length and longer.

Personally I love dresses and with so many styles to choose from it should be easy to pick one or more to suit your body shape. 

Just remember to pay careful attention to where the design elements fall on your body. Make sure that a band of color, a pattern, seam or other design feature is not highlighting a part of your body that you'd rather not bring attention to. 

And try and create an hourglass shape or, if your horizontal body shape is rectangle, create a slightly inverted triangle look by emphasizing your bust or shoulders.

Pants, Trousers and Shorts

The main styles for pants are...

• Straight legs, especially narrow, straight legs. Although more skimming than spray-on. This style suits the majority of body shapes. Simply pick a width that suits your shape best

• Pleated at the waist with tapered legs. The extreme version of this is the harem-style pant. Lengths are either full length or cropped. Those with a triangle body should avoid this style. 

• All-in-one jump suits. This style does not suit many of us. It's best on young and slim, balanced body, horizontal and rectangle body shapes
  

Shorts are precisely that -- short! And also pleated at the waist. Great if you're young with nicely toned, slim legs. Not so good for the rest of us. Luckily there are still knee length and just above the knee bermuda and jamaica styles available.

The usual warmer month trend of wearing white or light bottoms is also back. Often this means the top is darker than the bottom. Avoid this look if you have short legs, or want to look slimmer or taller. White and light colors draw attention to the areas they cover, add perceived weight and make you appear shorter. So, this look is best on tall, slim people.

Spring and Summer Fashion 2009 Main Style Themes

The wide variety of style themes catered for means that whatever your personality you'll be able to find clothes to suit. Below are some of the main themes and some of the elements that characterize and create the look...

• The natural bohemian/hippy/ethnic look -- created with peasant-inspired prints and styles in tops and dresses

• Feminine -- a romantic look created with filmy, floaty fabrics and floral prints. This look can also be created with neckline and above the waist ruffles and skirts and dresses with fabric in horizontal layers

• Safari and African tribal -- created with khaki neutrals, tunic tops, bright splashes of color, wood beading on clothes and in jewellery, animal and block prints, safari suit-style pockets. This look is great for sport or natural types, especially those with autumn coloring. Quirky looks and prints will also work for springs

• Minimalist -- created with monochrome colored outfits and block colors in classic clothing styles and good fabrics. The look is classical, elegant, feminine and understated

• Sporty -- created with easy to wear styles in stretch fabrics, cotton tanks, zip-up stretch tops, draw-string waists

• Futuristic -- shiny, man-made fabrics, shoulder pads creating pointy shoulders, architectural details

• Nautical -- the usual summer fashion theme of red, white and blue colors, horizontal stripes, brass buttons

Spring and Summer Fashion 2009 Main Fabric Trends

Fabrics

The Wardrobe Magic ebook by Diana Pemberton-Sikes brings together all the elements of how to dress well.
See my review here.

Spring and summer fabric trends include...

• Shiny fabrics such as satin or satin finished silk and synthetics with a shine or sheen.  This can be good if your color season is Winter (Cool and Clear) or Spring (Warm and Clear).  However, take care what you cover with shiny fabric -- shine adds apparent weight.

• Sheer, transparent fabrics made for layering

• Softly draping fabrics such as parachute-style silk

Fabric Prints

Types of prints include...

• Tartan checks are still around

• Nature-inspired prints -- including abstract leaves, florals and paisley swirls

• Animal-inspired prints such as leopard and zebra

• Horizontal stripes -- if the stripes are fine they create a slimming, vertical design influence rather than a a broadening effect.  Beware the block print trend of wide horizontal stripes of solid color if you want to look slimmer and taller as these prints will make you look wide and therefore heavier and shorter!

Fabric Color Trends

Key colors this spring and summer fashion season include...

• The spring color season's palette of warm, clear (rather than muted) colors.  Look for citrus oranges, yellows and lime greens.  This is great if your color season is spring (also called Warm and Clear) and some shades will work for Warm Autumns (Warm and Muted). 

• Clear pinks, hues ranging from light to bright

• Clear, medium blues

• Light neutrals including stone, off-white, light pink, light apricot.  Take care, when wearing neutrals, that you create enough contrast within your outfit otherwise you will look washed out rather than sophisticated!

Have A Current Fashion Trend You'd Like to Share?

If you've noticed a trend that I haven't mentioned feel free to share it here.

Or, if you'd like to talk about a current fashion that you love or hate (regardless of whether it's mentioned on this page already) this is the place to do it.

Tell us what it is about the item or outfit that you love or hate. For example...

• Do you love the way it flatters your body shape?


• Do you hate the way it looks on you, but love it when you see someone else wear the style?