Oasis of femininity and retro-chic
Feature
Summer 2006 sees a gorgeous collection by high street store Oasis, inspired by Mademoiselles, Stage Beauties, Baby Dolls and Roller Girls.
The New Vintage range injects signature style into a treasure trove of vintage pieces and updates them with a modern twist. This season's overriding mood of femininity fuses film glamour with retro chic to produce an exquisite capsule collection steeped in heritage.
If you only buy one item this season, make it a dress. The catwalks were full of them, and Oasis is stocking them in every known style to suit any palette. From tailored to tea dress, tulip to tulle, the store has got it covered.
The Mademoiselle range epitomises the demure but alluring mode that permeated the catwalk this season. Think the elegance of Roman Holiday meets the sexiness of La Dolce Vita and forget overt sexy dressing: keep it under wraps to hit the right note. Highlights include the strapless tulip dress in black taffeta decorated with a huge bow, or the soft as silk empire line dress with delicate lace trim. For a daytime take on this look, wear the little broidery dress with a shrunken soft jacket or team a sexy pencil skirt with a tiny matelot stripe sweater.
Toile is used for an edgy avante garde take on this look, using the skill of draping and fabric manipulation and teaming it with hard-edge denim in shades of sand, bone and milk. Crinkle or vegetable dyed cottons, raw silks, linen and blended knits combine to create a relaxed layered silhouette.
The Stage Beauty range pays homage to modern day fashion icons such as Gwen Stefani and Vivienne Westwood, taking direction from the French court of Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette. Baroque comes through with gorgeous brocades and raw ruffles that are reworked and applied to denim and jersey pieces. Traditional French furnishing jacquards are used on raw seamed shrunken jackets and waist clinching corsets.
Pretty and preppy, Roller Girl is the high street store's take on the 80s look. Its too-cool-for-school styling features, graffiti graphics, batwings and urban staples such as sweats, combats and tiny weeny shorts are perfect for that tanned Miami super-vixen.
The Botanical range draws upon nature and the environment with a delicate story inspired by the English country garden. All-over blooms and retro sprigs are mixed with ferns and romantic wallpaper florals. Embroideries have a delicate hand sketched effect inspired by garden life, while birds, bugs and butterflies are hidden between flowers, adding a quirky femininity.
Kimono clothing gives city dressing an oriental vibe, taking traditional Japanese styles and reworking them in more structured fabrics such as denim and linen. Clean oversized ceramic florals provide a play on volume and sit against long skinny shorts in crisp clean cottons.
Belts stay on the waist and are wispish or wide in an array of fabrics from polka to patent. Bags are big and slouchy, worn across the body or chic, structured and ladylike. Footwear is stacked and peep-toe. Top it all off with the Oasis limited range of handmade sunglasses and you're ready to go.
Picture caption: If you only buy one item this season, make it a dress. Oasis is stocking them in every known style to suit any palette.
MyVillage 19th June
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