Farewell Dorothy: why gingham’s fashion-forward reboot is the look to embrace for the new season
Words Joy Montgomery
If there’s one trend that has monopolised this season it’s gingham. An inexpensive fabric, it is traditionally synonymous with domestic items, such as tablecloths and curtains. Not very chic. During WW2, however, with the help of costume designer Adrien Greenberg, the fabric made its way into the wardrobes of countless silver screen stars. One of these was Judy Garland, whose iconic Dorothy dress made fashion history in the 1939 film The Wizard of Oz.
Fortunately, for 2017 the 1950s housewife-come-dishcloth look is well and truly extinct. Instead, designers harnessed gingham’s simplicity to create a variety of fashion-forward looks. House of Holland used the fabric to bolster its signature maximalist style. Purple, red and yellow were layered and knotted with a leather belt. Meanwhile, Prada delivered a perfect fusion of contemporary bombers with ’40s wrap skirts and belted blazers.
Gingham isn’t a hard trend to incorporate into your wardrobe. You can include a hint with a classic checked shirt, tucked into high waisted mom jeans. A pair of gingham shoes will also tick the box this spring, particularly when worn with cropped flares. Ruffled midi skirts in the fabric are also big news this season – perfect with a white tee and statement red shoes. We also can’t not mention Sandy Liang – our new designer crush who delivered dreamy shirts and dresses in blues and black this season.
On the high street prices we can’t get enough of H&M’s light blue ruffle sleeve top – best roughed-up with a pair of vinyl trousers. Topshop’s embellished boots are also seriously lust-worthy, and an easy way to add visual interest to a simple weekend ensemble.
