THE FASH PACK

Double heeled platforms, harem pants, snoods, high-waisted everything, exaggerated shoulders, jump/play suits, over-the-knee boots, sequins and cinched waists, amongst other things, are currently the fashion industry and style-savvy fashionistas' 'flavours of the month'. These trends have slowly and steadily inundated the catwalks before filtering down to the high street over the last few seasons. Shoppers have flocked in droves to empty the rails and get their manicured mitts on these 'hot new trends'. This all sounds fine and good. However, it does beg the question of whether our generation has its own look and if so, what trends would sum up our 'look'? In previous decades, the trends of the era were more often than not reflective of the happenings and changes in society at that point in time and as such, the fashions of the particular decade could be seen to play an important role.

The big question is, are our generation simply copying old trends from different eras, or do we actually have our own identity?

The early 1900s saw a restricted take on fashion which consisted of floor-sweeping skirts, corseted waists, shirtwaist blouses and high-bone collars, to name but a few. This all changed by the 1920s in which, the 'Jazz Age' was born and prohibition saw women's wardrobes take a more daring turn. In came knee length skirts, drop-waist dresses and women smoking in public in a bid to break free from the shackles of the rigid society.Then came the 1930s and 40s, and as the country recovered from the Great Depression and the subsequent Second World War, women were forced to enter the world of work and chose to do so in business-like attire, which focused on heavily on shoulder pads and pencil skirts for daywear and cocktails dresses for evening wear (a trend still very much alive in our generation's bulging wardrobes of today). The 1950s saw the birth of another fashion era. Think Marilyn Monroe and the styling in the film 'Pleasantville' and you've pretty much summed up the look. The style of dress somewhat reflected a society in which wholesome family values were lived by but of course where you have good girls you'll always have rebellious girls too and these girls dressed in pedal pushers, blouses and leather jackets a la Sandy in 'Grease' (at the end of the movie). Merely 10 years later, however, 'Flower Power' was all the rage and served to symbolise a more laid-back approach to life, and in came A-line shift dresses and blouses in vibrant hues or floral prints and hawaian motifs which became the standard uniform. Bejewelled collars and cuffs, hotpants, mini skirts also in bold colours were recurring themes from this era in spite of society maintaining 'multiple protests with their counter-culture'.

Then came the 70s and oh how we love the styles from this 'Saturday Night Fever' inspired era and the wide-leg trousers (aka bell bottoms), maxi dresses and t-shirts in statement colours that came with it some of which came all the way back from the 1920s and 30s. By the 1980s however, things had changed again and three main looks dominated this decade- shoulder-padded suits, stonewash denim, snoods, shell suits and other exercise related eye-catching clothing fashioned out of lycra and/or spandex. Once again however, although most people signify shoulder pads with the 80s, looking back, it would seem the 40s generation beat them to it as wide, pointy and hollowed variations were first on offer then. Casting our minds to ten years ago, it's fair to say this was the first decade in which, there wasn't a definite or clear trend or look. Though bootleg trousers and stretch leggings soon replaced the tailored look and leather mini skirts, leather jackets, low rise jeans and tube tops made up the bulk of most 20-something year old's wardrobes and that Calvin Klein ad campaign starring a 'heroine chic' looking Kate Moss, made jeans the most coveted item of the decade. Despite being known as the 'punk rock' era the leather jackets and stonewash jeans were reminiscent of those first seen in the 1950s on both men and women alike.

The noughties has pretty much seen all the trends touched on in the above paragraphs, come and go. That being said, despite our generation's tendency to borrow styles from previous decades, the way in which we have revamped, updated and luxed-up these looks is what counts. Although it's hard to point to a particular look that is unique to our generation, we will probably be remembered as the most fashion forward era. We've appreciated shoes, handbags and jewellery as works of art in themselves, made skinny jeans and ballet pumps accessible to all, gone a long way in bridging the gap between the fashions available to the masses.

All we can say for sure is that regardless of the generation, be it ours or previous ones, it's clear that the golden rule still hasn't wained; styles change but style doesn't!