Fashion Forward 2009: Get Ready to Look Great and Feel Great

You probably don’t remember who said it, but whoever said that fashion comes full circle every 30 years or so was not too far off. Last season on the runway was reminiscent of the 1970s in both flowing fabric and easy style. We saw much more of the long skirt and much less of the micro mini. Materials like silk and chiffon, which tend to flow and gather, were popular for Spring 2008, and still have some staying power in 2009. However, fabrics like cotton and denim which tend to hold shape and lend themselves to casual styles are making a comeback this year.

If you got rid of a lot of your cotton and denim last season, not to worry; materials such as these remain inexpensive as always to replace! Some things from last season are still popular and can be recycled for this season. Accessories like metallic bags and clutches, as well as sequins and other ‘bling’ items are still quite popular and can still be worn with confidence. Left over from last season and still cute as ever are headbands.

Get rid of that pencil skirt from last season, though!Pairing a sheer shirt over a camisole with denim jeans is still a great casual look that you can pull off yet again, and “dressy sneakers” are another left over hit from 2008 that you can manage to make stretch into this season. It’s always a plus when style and comfort can be combined. Still popular for the young trendsetter are low cut, patterned sneakers with ties that sport the best of brand names. Brown was the new black a couple years back, and while brown has some staying power, metallic silvers and golds are sticking around from the 2008 season as well as muted grays. New this year is bold nautical type colors such as cobalt blues, yellows, and Kelly greens. Shoes are always on the forefront of the fashion questions people ask. Animal prints, which were in vogue last year for clothing, are all the rage for shoes in 2009. The pointy-toe pumps which came back last season are now popular in all styles of shoes and boots. Late 2009 promises to provide lots of classic leather looks as far as boots are concerned and the bigger, chunkier heels we saw last year are being exchanged for sleek, classier looks in leather.Of course, if we are going to talk shoes we must talk shades. Still popular are the Jackie-O style round and dark sunglasses that cover most of your face. Celebrities, of course, brought this trend to the forefront of fashion and it does not look like it is going anywhere anytime soon. Also popular are bright primary colors which, surprisingly, are available even in the larger round and square shapes and not just in sporty styles this year.Designer denim continues to be the hottest thing around. We all know that True Religion, Citizens of Humanity, Buffalo, Seven for all Mankind and Lucky have become standard, almost run-of-the mill designer jeans. Even though they range in cost from $125.00 to $300.00 a pair, they are still the ‘norm’. As for jean style and cut, the zipper-ankle and straight-leg varieties that were popular last year are tossed aside for boyfriend jeans and more casual, comfortable cuts. Expect to see them everywhere this season. For those of you that love the model-skinny jeans, never fear. They are still hot this season, even in the dark wash that was brought back before 2009.For the last few years, track suits have been popular for everyone from the average teen to the top supermodel to the homemaker shopping at the mall. Juicy Couture is likely still the most popular suit, but this look has expanded in popularity from Juicy to more reasonably priced retailers like Express, to top-of-the line designers like Cynthia Rowley. This season, the look extends to men as well. While warm-ups were always popular for men going to the gym, 2009 shows tracksuits worn by men in a casual yet designer fashion similar to the way women wear them. Gucci is a top designer dressing men in tracksuits this season.This season proves to be an interesting one for fashion trends and styles. Comfort and style mix nicely, so look forward to looking great and feeling great. Nothing too over-the-top this season to offend, but an eclectic mix of old and new that should satisfy pretty much anyone paying attention and keeping track of the current trends. So, get ready to shop and enjoy some of the comfortable and cool styles 2009 will be all about.