FashionEtc.com May 9th, 2024

If I was a good enough writer I would be interviewing a dress for this blog. The dress that was born in New York and sold around the world. The dress that arrived on the scene in the early '70s and is still found in the chicest settings today.

This dress has fans even younger now than it did in the first decade of its existence. And it is about as sexy a dress as a rational woman would wear, yet it shows little skin.

It’s great for most body shapes; it has been copied and copied and copied. It has become, to use one of the most overused and often incorrectly used words in the English language, truly iconic. There may well be no equal to the durability of this dress in the annals of fashion.

You have by now, I am sure, figured out it is the wrap dress by Diane von Furstenberg. Diane herself is as remarkable as her signature dress.

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Michelle Obama sure caused a big stir in fashion circles last month when she wore a gown by British label Alexander McQueen to a White House State Dinner for the Chinese president.

The American fashion industry was quick to criticize Mrs. Obama's choice, and American women apparently agree.

FashionEtc and Pulse Opinion Research surveyed 1,000 women across the country and found that 43 percent thought the first lady should only wear American designers' clothing to official state functions, 31 percent thought it was OK to wear foreign styles, and 26 percent were not sure.

Half of those surveyed making over $75,000 annually thought she should wear American, while 28 percent didn’t care.

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Would a synthetic by any other name smell as cheap? Why Ultrasuede, imitation leather, and Lycra are getting a name reboot from retailers.

Are retailers trying to pull the wool over our eyes or just the polyester over our heads? We've noticed a worrying trend of certain synthetic, much-maligned fabrics being rebilled with more appealing names.

Par exemple: Forever 21 doesn't sell cheap rayon (a semisynthetic) or polyester garments, it sells überchic knit and woven garments that are—wait a minute!—made of rayon, polyester, or some sort of man-made blend.

This is just like the time we found out Bruce Willis's real name is Walter.

And while American Apparel is the Mecca for gold and silver lamé leggings and swimsuits, just try to find the word "lamé" in its product names. Instead you'll find a Shiny Suspender Swimsuit and a Shiny Too-Short Tube Dress—two titles in which even "lamé" wouldn't be the most cringe-worthy word in the bunch. Thank goodness for the fine print on the label—and the telltale glare threatening to blind us.

While we can't really fault stores and designers for wanting to make lackluster or imitation fabrics sound more glamorous, are shoppers really taking the bait?

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There are people who can pull off hats or headscarves and look fabulous. Me, I feel like I have a lump on my head.

So when I was asked to try the fresh-off-the-runway trend of wearing a headscarf, I was not that excited. In fact, I think my silent response was, ‘Oh god, no!’

I can’t lie and say I haven’t felt a sense of failure at being one of the few fashion people in the world who can't always pull off one of the staples of necessary headgear.

I love hats and scarves on other people but kind of hate them on myself. Plus, I don't always travel well out of my comfort zone when it comes to accessories (I know, unusual for a fashion addict, but I'm over 30 and set in my ways).

I used to experiment much more in high school and college, trying out a rainbow of Manic Panic hair dye that tormented my mom, vintage dresses and jackets “deconstructed” by me, and the usual fun faux pas that comes easily when you’re fashion-fearless.

But that’s not me now. These days I prefer a blazer, cute shoes, and an LBD. Done. Accessories don’t usually play a part.

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