Tuesday, October 12, 2010

On Leggings and Backpacks

          Spotting two well-dressed sisters on an extremely lazy afternoon at Greenbelt 5 tells you there is hope for fashion to exist in Manila apart from the city’s typical Friday night-Saturday night party scene.
          Here, we see Steph wearing a black boyfriend blazer paired with a printed white shirt and beige and black ribbed leggings. She wears peep-toe lace-up ankle boots and a Louis Vuitton Neverfull GM bag. To complete her look, she chooses a silver elephant pendant necklace.
          Leggings are still very much at their peak. This fashion item became popular in the 80s and made its fashion comeback in 2008. Since then, it’s popularity remains strong. From very basic colors to outrageous prints and styles, leggings continue to pop up in popular retail stores, as well as in small boutiques and online shops.
          Leggings have developed their own set of followers. There are those who believe that plain-colored leggings are “a must” in their wardrobes because of comfort and wearability. They usually pair them with a simple T-shirt, flats or heels and they’re good to go. However, the fashionista will opt to go for the trendier and crazier kind of leggings. From animal prints to liquid leggings and the new coined term ‘jeggings’ or jeans + leggings, this fashion piece will surely go a long way. Given this, price range for this item varies largely. It can go from thousands of pesos to a couple hundred bucks depending on style, quality, or sometimes, it just depends on the brand.
          The trickle up theory of fashion leadership applies to the leggings. During the 80s, it was said that the obsession with aerobics-themed wear became popular. Because of this, dance movies such as Flashdance and famous artists like Madonna influenced the rising popularity of the leggings.
          In addition to that, if we take a look at history, leggings have been used way before Madonna did. Before, they were more known as the hose and the tights and they usually cover even the feet. They were mostly worn by men during the early and late middle ages and were often worn as inner wear together with knee-breeches and even skirts! (They must be the original ancestors of the metro man!)
        
Anyway, we have here a little bit of extra for everyone! Here are a couple of tips on how else leggings can we worn:
--> For a more casual look, leggings can be paired with an oversized button down polo top with rolled-up sleeves. Wear them with a great pair of flats or wedges. Oh and don’t forget to accessorize with bangles and layers of necklaces with varying lengths!
--> For a night out, go for leggings with wild prints and styles. Wear them with a loose-fitting top that reveals a little bit of skin and a waist belt to accentuate the curves. To complete the look, go for high-heeled lace-up boots and a couple of bangles and rings!

 Go and bring out your favorite pair of leggings! :)

http://fashion.about.com/cs/teentrends/a/sportychic.htm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leggings
Survey of Historic Costume by Keith Eubank and Phyllis G. Tortora


          Meet mr. skaterboy, Joshua Bondoc, style-spotted at Greenbelt strutting across the walkway wearing his casual cool get-up. At first glance, you'll know that he's not all for following current trends. Clearly, his statement is his own style. Here we see Joshua wearing the classic white polo top and clean-cut pants look but spunked up with a chunky pair of Vans sneakers with bright red laces. And as if red wasn't enough of an accent, he adds up another attention-grabbing piece-- a vibrant green Volcom backpack.
          Backpacks as we know it, is a utilitarian piece. It is a cloth sack designed to carry heavy loads as its straps go over the shoulders. In earlier times, backpacks were used to carry the equipment of hunters (or used for other similar purpose). But, fashion has it's way of revamping things up, and come the late 90's, sporting and outdoor brand's such as Jansport and Volcom began to release fashionably hip versions of this used-to-be "hunter's bag" that increased it's popularity among the youth. It came in all sorts of tones and shades in neutrals and brights. In the year 2000, the trend trickled up further in the fashion industry ladder as it was adapted by even more signature brands. These were developed and enhanced which caused all the hype for backpacks (peak). Some were designed to be water-proof or extra-durable, but still, more were created just to be a "trendy cool" item until it saturated the whole bag scene that brought it to it's stage of decline. Today, such bags have been quite a tiresome item for the trend followers, but still, for some it continues to be both functional and hip-- Joshua seems to agree.
         It the trend cycle, yes, it may be on it's way down. But, more that all those playful prints and patterns is it's purpose to function as a carry-all bag. So, why not use them right? Other ways to use such bags is to use it as accent when wearing a more neutrally-toned casual wardrobe, or when sporting a hip-hop inspired look. Backpacks remain as functional pieces and may be used when traveling, on the beach, for sports, work or school.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Backpack

-Nicole Aquino & Danika Navarro

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