When you hear the word “lace,” what instantly pops into your head? For me, I think of doilies. You know, those papers fancy people put under their teacups, but are kind of obsolete because their function is basically nothing? Some people probably think of weddings, or dainty pillows, or maybe lingerie. Prepare your mind to get blown—all that is about to change.
If you’ve been keeping tabs on the runways, you may have noticed that over the past year, lace has been poking its head out and has finally reached the spotlight. All of a sudden BAM! People started taking notice of it. I think it really started to be realized during last spring’s shows. Look at the spring collections from Christopher Kane and Alberta Ferretti. They’re basically shouting “HEY GUYS, LOOK AT ME, I’M COVERED IN DELICATELY CROCHETED FABRIC! CHECK ME OUT!”
I may have erred. I’m pretty sure something can only make a comeback if it had gone away (cue Justin Timberlake’s “Sexyback”). The thing is, I don’t remember lace ever not being awesome. It’s one of those timeless things that is so versatile that the possibilities and uses for it are endless. According to omiru.com, it was a trend even in spring of 2009. We’re moving into spring of 2012, and it’s still there. Maybe this is one to watch, guys. If you clicked on the links from above (or if you just know what was in the shows), you’d know that Christopher Kane made neon lace jackets and skirts and Alberta Ferretti made crocheted tops and trimmed her skirts with the fabric. Last spring, Kate Middleton got married in a Sarah Burton wedding gown with lace sleeves. Urban Outfitters sold a ridiculous amount of lacy products over the past year (I would know, I kind of stalk their website all the time. No big deal.) that I was coveting. Valentino did lace gowns for Pre-Fall 2011, for goodness sake! I can’t think of anything more intense than that. Unless you tie-dyed it. Now that is a good way to spend your Friday night, everyone. I digress. Back to the topic at hand: more lace! We can’t forget lingerie, right? That just screams lacety-lace-lace if I ever heard it (saw it?). We can’t get all of our information from the runways though—the people are the ones who wear the clothes. That’s why I used Christoper Kane (street style photos for the win!) and The Cherry Blossom Girl’s lace Louboutins as examples of the women of the world takin’ lace to the streets.
Lace is widely known as a classy, dainty, pretty fabric. This year, though, she’s going through her rebellious phase. Lace can be an alternative to a sheer fabric, which is undeniably an easy way to crank up the sex appeal in any outfit. Instead of being straight up see-through, lace can be used strategically to cover up some parts and reveal others for that I’m-a-hot-chick-whatchu-want sort of vibe. But don’t worry—if your face just fell because you thought lace could be cute too, it can. Especially if it’s in a pale color (pastels or white). There are so many possibilities, I am highly overwhelmed.
Then, there’s also laces, as in shoe laces, but those are a whole ’nother story.
All photos courtesy of style.com, harpersbazaar.com and thecherryblossomgirl.com
