I never went through the stage of thinking wearing skulls and crossbones were nice. There’s something too obvious and gimmicky about it that really puts me off. Those Alexander McQueen a-like scarves that every store copied and everyone was wearing (with the frayed denim mini, distressed ‘rock chick’ vest and cowboy boots – seriously, it was like walking into fashion clone land last summer!) – nope, was not into them at all….
But Hiromichi Nakano‘s A/W07-8 collection put the pretty in skulls as a motif. Not that this is something new since the spring summer collection of Undercover also subtly worked skulls into satin YSL-esque pieces (alas too YSL derivative for me) but in any case, I think Hiromichi works the balance between pretty and gimicky better. I can’t seem to find full length pics of the collection online but I have uploaded the ones I took onto Flickr. From a distance, the skulls and skeletons aren’t really apparent and the girly feminine shapes sort of throw you off but here they are up close.
It’s a personal thing but I do think you run the risk of looking like you’re sending out the message ‘Hey, look here, I’m so edgy, me with my skulls!’ and dare I say a little too ‘obvious teenage rebellion’. However, I’ll definitely reconsider with Hiromuchi’s cuter, playful take on this fashion pet peeve of mine.
Sooooo bored of skulls. I never got the whole McQueen scarf thing either and was even less impressed with Thomas Wylde’s stupidly expensive version.
I love skulls, myself (I knit my friend a skull-and-crossbones baby hat for her firstborn) but they have been overdone lately. Those crocheted lace skulls are adorable, however.
PS – The H&M in Toronto had a cute skirt back around Christmastime – short, with a fluff of crinoline beneath it, but if you looked closely there was a subtle skull motif in the satin brocade. That was nice, I thought.
The print on the first dress looks exactly like the print in the Thomas Wylde’s collection!
Ah yes…so it does! How very odd – perhaps the fabric is not patented by Thomas Wylde?
Skulls leave me cold. They are cold. Like icicles without the redeeming sparkle. I’m not at all squeamish about skulls nor death, and can appreciate their intrinsic beauty – human beauty. But in a time where there a countless needless deaths around the world day in day out, I don’t really understand see why you’d want to wear this emblem so nonchalantly. Hmmm, that sounds serious doesn’t it!!! I’m not grave about this – but it’s hard to express – do you get what I’m trying to say?