A Shift in Season

As hemlines continue to rise, the shift dress is finding it’s home as a wardrobe staple, replacing skinny jeans as our favourite garment. First revisited on the runway six months ago the sixties trend looks set to run and run, especially with the impending release of Factory Girl, the film about Edie Sedgewick that’s set to make Sienna Miller an even bigger star than she already is. Burberry’s sexy Spring/Summer 07 campaign by Mario Testino took inspiration from the 1960′s photography of Cecil Beaton, and saw Kate Moss leading the troupe of beautiful people dressed in cream and silver trapeze-shaped coats with oversize buttons.

Almost every major designer has interpreted the sixties shift in their own way, incorporating the rest of the season’s trends into the season’s new silhouette. Chloe and Dior use simple cream as a contrast to rich embellishment, whilst at Alberta Ferretti shifts of shimmery silver fabrics and pewter sequins continue our love affair with all things metallic. Chanel goes sixties-futuristic in typically subtle style trimming a simple striped dress with a clean band of white at the neck and cuffs.

The high street has been quick to respond to movements on the catwalk with the likes of Zara, Topshop, Warehouse and H&M all interpreting the look in their own fabulous ways. Look out for the pretty smock shapes at Miss Selfridge, and fluoro-brights and Pucci-style prints at Dorothy Perkins, but if you really want to bring the look bang up-to-date look for fresh hues of ultramarine and balance out the short loose shape with the now ubiquitous wedge (if we’re going to expose so much leg they’d better look as long and lean as possible), and of course no sixties chick is without her black eyeliner and lashings of mascara for that perfect twiggy look.