Tuesday, January 22, 2013

I'm so over the one-shoulder

I didn't say it, but a leader in Charlotte's fashion industry, whom I'll call Madame Fabulous, put into words what I had been thinking for a long time. Madame Fabulous was picking out a dress to wear to an event where she was being honored. She narrowed her choices down to two cocktail dresses with completely different silhouettes at the neckline. One was the ubiquitous one-shoulder, the other was a scoop neck with short sleeves. She chose the latter - and looked modern. "When I looked at them side by side, I realized I'm so over the one-shoulder," Madame Fabulous said.

It was Michelle Obama who brought the one-shoulder look into vogue with the white Jason Wu dress she wore to the 2009 Inaugural ball. Then, it looked fresh and new. The dress was a sensation, and for a while it  looked so right. But about a year ago I went into one-shoulder fatigue. I cover so many events and I was sick of seeing it on every other person at a party. By yesterday, I was hoping that our First Lady would wear a new type of neckline. I was actually sending her a psychic message begging her to"move forward" with a new look.

Her Jason Wu Part Deux red gown with what fashion experts have described as a halter top neckline was perfect. In an online poll I saw today, most Americans seem to agree. The red gown is being voted as the favorite of her two inaugural gowns. They are both gorgeous - if she had worn the red in 2009, the white would probably be the favorite this year. What can I say except that fashion is fickle and so are Americans.

The one-shoulder is a classic look that will never go out of style, but hopefully dress designers and stores will realize for now to give it a rest. Viva la halter top - at least for the next year or two.

Follow Olivia on Twitter @oliviafortson

0 comments: