Audrey Hepburn. Twiggy. Ali MacGraw. They are just a few of the fashion icons who have inspired us all across generations with their individual styles. Designers always have their own personal muses to whom they turn when they want to call up fashion classics that are still relevant today. Take a look at how these women put themselves together, and create your own unique fashion muse: you!
Fashion Icons for Every Decade
The ’50s
Audrey Hepburn. One of my personal favorites, her easy elegance will always be in style. She wasn’t a trend follower; she was a trendsetter. Her wardrobe was simple, yet chic — tailored suits, the perfect little black dress, sleek black trousers, crisp white shirts, classic turtlenecks, ballet flats and those signature oversized black sunglasses. Oh, and maybe a mink coat or two thrown over it all. It’s still a go-to list for all of us 60 years later. Other unforgettable looks from the ’50s include Marilyn Monroe’s sheer dress in “Some Like It Hot,” and anything worn by Elizabeth Taylor, who Katy Perry recently channeled for the September cover of Harper’s Bazaar.
The ’60s
It was a youthful decade, full of rockers and models who transitioned from the space age to the Age of Aquarius. The names of the players are still familiar today: London’s androgynous Twiggy; the East Prussian-born model Veruschka; sexy actresses Brigitte Bardot and Catherine Deneuve; Jane Birken, who inspired the famous Hermes handbag; and bohemian rockers such as Marianne Faithfull. Their free-spirited styles broke all the rules and started a fashion revolution that has once again influenced the zeitgeist of designers who embrace the eccentric.
The ’70s
This decade was a continuation of the rockin’ ’60s when disco and punk blended into the fashions of the day a la Debbie Harry, Jerry Hall and Bianca Jagger. Designers such as Yves Saint Laurent, Bill Blass and Halston took care of all the “beautiful people.” Calvin Klein and his jeans turned Brooke Shields into an advertising sensation. And then there were the more “buttoned down” years of the fashion icons such as Ali MacGraw and her “Love Story” wardrobe of cozy knits and preppy plaids.
The ’80s
Fast forward into the ’80s, when club fever was heating up the fashion scene, and Madonna was all the rage with her outrageous dance clothes that resembled lingerie more than anything else. Her lace corset tops, elbow gloves and tight skirts have once again showed up this fall. But on the flip side, there were designers who reacted with conservative styles. They dressed the likes of Princess Diana and other socialites who preferred a slightly more discreet approach to fashion. “The Preppy Handbook” debuted in 1980 and the culture clash was on — country club vs. nightclub.
The ’90s
As a new age of yuppies dawned with matching suits and bow-tied blouses with sneakers worn to work, there was another reactionary movement — this time on the part of fashion designers who (of course) wanted to rail against the “corporateness” of it all. Using waif-like models, these mavericks did their “grunge” thing, providing a startling contrast to runways filled with the sleek, minimal looks of Calvin Klein, Donna Karan, Helmut Lang and others.
The ’00s and today
The last two decades have been filled with a mix of all of the above. Trends come and go as fast as the seasons change. Style icons can go to the extremes like two of the season’s favorites: Michelle Obama, who has mastered the mix of high and low fashion, and Gwyneth Paltrow. Paltrow’s character Margot Tenenbaum exemplified a quirky fashion sense in “The Royal Tenenbaums” in 2001, and her look is already being revisited by designers today.
The good news is that fashion designers now focus less on the latest fads and more on giving savvy consumers, inundated with instant electronic buying power, more choices than ever. This fall, there is indeed something for everyone, whether you’re a fan of Audrey’s sleek chic, Madonna’s rock-star flash, Ali MacGraw’s preppy elegance or Margot’s geek chic. There may be a little bit of these icons in us all. But the style tip that really matters? Just be yourself. Create your own muse. After all, that’s the only fashion icon that really matters.
In the September issue of Vogue, Target pays homage to fashion history by re-imagining some of the most iconic images from the archives of Vogue, including this one featuring Veruschka.
To find out more about Sharon Mosley, and read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate Web page at www.creators.com.
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