Dress on pants: How to use layering
We talk about trends from the podium, which can be adapted for your wardrobe for the next six months. In this issue we understand where the fashion came from to wear a dress over trousers and even skirts, and why this technique is used in the latest collections of Céline, Stella McCartney, Chanel, THE ROW and many other brands.
How it all began
Dress for pants is not news at all. This technique is known from time immemorial and is primarily associated with Oriental and Asian fashion, where tunics have always worn bloomers. In European culture there was a version of the combination of trousers with a dress - in the Middle Ages, men wore a tunic over tights. Women in Europe began to use this technique much later, at the beginning of the 20th century, and, in fact, with an eye on Orientalism and at the suggestion of Paul Poiret. The next notable period was the 70s. On the wave of interest in Oriental costume and ethnic style, kaftans came into fashion: they were worn with trousers, usually flared. Who will say that pants with a dress - "anti-fashion" will be partly right. It was this combination that Marc Jacobs showed in 1992, marking the grunge as a trend in fashion. Jacobs put light floral dresses on models over plaid trousers. Critics called it vulgarity, but over time they got used to it, and reception became one of the key ones for the fashion of all the 90s.
How to wear a dress over pants now
This combination of things has returned to fashion thanks to a wave of retro and a course on eclecticism in the style of the 70s. However, minimalist designers represent it best: THE ROW, Ellery, Theory, and Rag & Bone. Most harmoniously, in their version, look dresses and trousers of the same color or in tone, as well as similar texture of fabric. Stella McCartney and Tibi combine light evening dresses with bell bottoms. Adam Lippes and EDUN girdle the dress, marking the waist. and Christoph Lemaire opens the show of his latest collection for Hermès with a dress with cuts on the sides, worn over the trousers. Half of Phoebe Faylo’s spring-summer collection at Céline incorporates this stylistic device. Especially successful is her version with a dress with cuts on the sides: through them are visible pants.
On the other hand, the trend also concerns the inexhaustible interest in the East. For example, in the spring-summer collection of THE ROW, images refer to Indian culture, but remain suitable for everyday life. Ports 1961 and Loewe combine cropped trousers with a transparent, almost Indian tunic.
Beware
The pictures on Style.com prove: the combination of trousers with a dress can be different. The simplest thing is to wear a shirt dress over the trousers, and to undo the bottom buttons on the dress. It looks like this or that. Another idea is to wear a dress in a linen style with thin straps over the trousers and add slippers to them. Beware better too cumbersome combinations and distortions. Make sure that the dress does not fit the pants too much and does not argue with them by color. Ideally, the dress should be free and have cuts on the sides.
Speaking of layering, one cannot but mention another trick - a dress or an elongated top, worn over the dress or skirt. Kenzo showed him most vividly in the spring-summer collection of 2015, and the most successful styling options can be found at Proenza Schouler and Stella McCartney.
