Dressed for excess part deux

A lot of fashion magazines say that if you have one highly detailed piece in your outfit, everything else should be more muted and minimalist to offset the extravagance of the detailed piece.

On the other hand some designers - including geniuses such as Karl Lagerfeld and Roberto Cavalli - say: The more, the merrier. That's why when you see their designs, it's so rich in details that it's almost bordering on excessive. 

Now, excessive details aren't reserved for the runway or special events. Everyday wear can still be rich in details and not look like a costume.

One such outfit is this shirt and skirt combo from Ate Lissa's closet. Both top and bottom have rich details: prints, ruffles, lace and texture. But the key to making it work for everyday is by keeping the colors muted. And in this case, it's a play of gray and black.

The top is from the old Freeway x Valera collaboration. It's a sublimation tee that has a print of beadwork from a Valera gown. This alone is an uber chic piece.

The bottom is a black lace skirt with ruffles along the hem and in the mid part of the skirt. The silhouette is full, which works with the snug fit of the shirt. This makes the two pieces complementary, despite their highly detailed nature.

This is one of those cases when excess equals success.

Dressed for excess part un

With less than a month before the Versace for H&M collection drops, their look book has been floating all over cyberspace. I've seen some of the pieces, and they're very Versace. And I'm talking about the "Gianni Versace era" when excess was the order of the day.

When I say excess, I do mean EXCESS! For example, their men's collection isn't for the faint of fashion heart. It'll take a lot of guts and a pinch of panache to go out wearing something like this:


Gianni Versace was known for loud prints. He was the one who brought us the medusa head, the Florida-esque palm trees and sunsets, and the baroque style motifs.And with this collection, it feels like these loud prints are amplified by a 100,000 watt speaker!

I mean, you already have a loud print to begin with. If that isn't enough, you have to cover it all up with clear sequins.


Then, they've got some print-on-print action going on. But this isn't the subtle, same family type of print pairing that Etro does. We're talking about a clash of prints that's designed to shock the eye.


Overall, I think this collection is a good foil to last year's detailed minimalism from Lanvin. They're very brave pieces that require a lot of panache to carry.

But brave or loud as it seems, it still is Versace. And I think that's enough to get people rushing to the stores and buy an excessive amount of these pieces.