Posted by Bethan Holt, Junior Fashion Editor at Large
They were made from scratchy nylon. I wore them with an embellished lilac top and sparkly hair clips from Claire's accessories. I felt good. I was 11 years old and they were skrousers, or whatever you call a skirt/ trouser hybrid. Mine came from New Look and were properly attached together so there was no making them just separate pieces. I felt awesome at the time, but soon afterwards consigned my skrousers to the "Regrettable/ Embarrassing" category in my own personal fashion history.
And yet, a glance at Dries Van Noten AW13 gives a newly glamourous slant to the item I thought would never see the fashion light of day again. Dries' jacquards, drop waists and feathers are worlds away from my young self's cheapo skirt over trousers styling but the idea is, in many ways, the same. A skirt is girlish while trousers, especially in an evening context, are cool and a bit unexpected. When the two combine, they form a silhouette which makes you not sure what to think. I think we like that, being a bit undecided. Dries's skrousers are very chic and lady like, as were the option shown by Alexander Wang as part of his debut Balenciaga collection. Then, thinking back to London, Marques' Alemeida did little pelmet denim skirts over super baggy frayed jeans. And there you have it, three's a trend. I know that other designers have done this too by now ( ACNE, Clements Ribeiro) but these three feel like the strongest anchors for the look. Whether we'll be brave enough to actually wear them again is another matter entirely. One thing's for sure, I'm still glad I haven't kept my old New Look jobbies but I would be more than happy to roadtest the Dries Van Noten version...
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| Dries Van Noten AW13 |
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| Marques'Almeida AW13 |
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| Balenciaga AW13 |
