FASHION BY THE RULES....THE BOW

FASHION BY THE RULES
THE BOW

It is a strange thing, when you think about it, that one of the first things we learn to manually is to tie a bow!!!!!! This little rite of passage from infant to toddler stays with us all of our lives and has been integrated into the history of fashion starting in the 15TH century and even earlier.

I refer to, of course, the more decorative side of this manual labor………………..the bow has been glorified from apparel to all classifications of accessories. Once upon a time the bow had a prissy connotation but has morphed from that to fashion classic……………to an almost a staple element of the French couture as well as ready to wear.

During my varied career in Fashion, I have always, at some point, fallen back on the idea of the bow as a basis for inspiration when buying or selling or merchandising. The bow is a constant for women of all ages and varied ideas of what makes it fashionable. I think that somewhere in the psychology of fashion, the bow remains something that so many women can relate to on some level as well as being a symbol of feminity

Whether it is Dior or Valentino, Lacroix or Rose Bertin (Marie Antoinette’s dressmaker), there remains the enduring use of THE BOW!!! From pussycat bows to utilitarian bows, from handbags to shoes to dresses there are bows everywhere you look and so I took the liberty of finding that timeless element as it is used in the 21st Century of fashion as we know it.

Many thanks to White House, Betsy Johnson, Chloe, Marc Jacobs, Valentino, Dior, Prabal Gurung, Lacroix, Moschino, Viktor&Rolf, Alexis Mabille, Ralph Lauren, Endless.com., Chanel and Netaporter.com., and Shopstyle.com.