Clothes for hoes

"What goes around comes around" is a phrase that gets its fair share of use in the cycle of the fashion industry. Nothing ever really goes out of fashion completely- it just disappears for awhile, only to reemerge in some new way which isn't always new, but just different in the context of ten or twenty years later. It's makes me smile though every time I hear my mom say "I had a [insert article of clothing here] JUST like that when I was your age" (as she mutters how she shouldn't have gotten rid of everything all those years ago, as it would have saved me some moolah today). 90s' Versace is a point of reference for many designers these days, most recently covering the mood boards for Louise Goldin's Spring '10 collection. I recently came across the very ad that probably was pinned to Goldin's wall during her design process, starring the one and only Claudia Schiffer next to some other hotties clad in metallic minis.



I was on APC's site and low and behold, they have a gold mini skirt for spring, presenting it in a decidedly less come hither fashion than it was 32 seasons earlier for the house of Versace. Something about the way they dressed it down with a cotton tee and sneakers suddenly makes me consider owning such a gaudy thing.



This whole 90s slutty mini conversation reminded me of an editorial from Russh (issue #20) I had saved for inspiration cleverly titled "Drive Me Wild". This is pretty damn close to the vibe all the cool kids were going for around the height of X-girl's hold on downtown, except you'd have to swap out the heels for vans. What really blew my mind though was the use of rubber in a way that did not involve the words fetish or bondage and in fact looks pretty tame the way it's styled here with ringer tees and tube socks.







The candy-colored custom pieces were acquired from Reactor Rubberwear, Australia's largest and oldest manufacturer of rubber/latex clothing and fetish "accessories." I will leave the latter category to the pros, but I have zero dirty thoughts about this awesome rubber teddy bear, and in fact he'd look rad sitting on a shelf in our apartment next to some bamboo plants.



Then there's Topshop Unique's offbeat surfer-themes spring collection that layered distressed denim over rubber shorts, bras and skirts.



The styling in the show kinda threw me off (ew the hair!), but seeing this and the Russh editorial, I think that rubber has some real potential to go beyond its duties as a baby blocker and bondage wardrobe staple....or I'm just totally crazy and brainwashed by convincing editorials.


Rubber bandeau top by Unique