hi-low...hell no?

I'm not totally opposed to trends- I just hate it when the shapes or fabrics are taken to an extreme, obviously marked out for ridicule a couple of months down the road.  Hi-low hems suddenly appeared everywhere last fall.  I don't even recall any foreshadowing in the designer collections- they were just suddenly... there.  And no sooner had they appeared,  I started hearing people bemoaning this 'tired' trend! Oh well, I had fond memories of a few gently curved hems from the early 2000s so I didn't mind so much.

This time, the trend didn't fade, and instead went the way of Rococo excess, leading to this summer's bizarre mullet hems of maxi length (diaphanous) dresses that hike up to scandalously mini lengths in the front.  Weird.  I like my excess from time to time but this is just off.

Urban Outfitters 'what the?' skirt

Ah, let's try and forget about that image now, shall we?

Anthropologie Bubbled Bands shirtdress

I had my eye on this dress in my fall wishlist- pea green may not be for everyone but... And so of course when I had an opportunity to pick it up on sale I leaped.  Except then it went WAY on sale (yay to generous price adjustments), and I was left with a bill for taxes and duties higher than I'd paid for the dress.  Ouch. While I still appreciated the colour and design, that pesky raised hem in the front was not flattering, seemingly tailored exactly to show off the worst part of of one's (my) knees and thighs, while the light cotton didn't hang well.  Since returning the dress would have meant losing my investment in shipping and taxes, I resolved to make it work.  Enter layering with a slip. Hey presto! Much better...

In passing, this beautifully cut 100% silk slip reminds me of what Urban Outfitters once was, before they decided to compete sartorially with the lowest that Forever 21 can offer (without adjusting their prices either). Or maybe youth-oriented fashion just got really icky. Granted, I did get the slip for $10, like most of my Urban Outfitters purchases... You just won't see me marching off with one of their bizarre maxi-minis anytime soon!  At any price...or wait...didn't they just announce the biggest sale ever?!!