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Spring/Summer ’14 Fashion Week Recap

This article is written by a student writer from the Her Campus at CMU chapter.

From September 5 through 12, Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week took over New York City.  Editors, buyers, and celebrities packed the front rows of all the shows.  This year, Vogue editor-in-chief, Anna Wintour, known for being feared by designers, was even caught smiling at little Harper Beckham at her mom Victoria’s show.  What is shown on the runways during fashion week can make or break any designer. For those of you who don’t already know, the spring/summer shows take place in September, and the fall/winter shows take place in February.  This past week, the spring styles were shown, and what better way to break the end-of-summer blues than looking at next spring’s trends? 

Here are the top five looks to remember for spring:

1.  Crop Tops

These ab-bearing styles are back for another season.  Rag&Bone, Jill Stuart, BCBG Max Azria, and Peter Som all featured some variation on the look in their collections.  While this trend may invoke nightmares from the 80’s for some, it’s actually super-chic.  Even for those of us with less-than-six-pack abs, the style looks great with high-waisted bottoms, while showing slightly less skin.

2. Pointy Toe Flats

In addition to being super-comfy, the comfy-but-stylish shoe trend works all year long.  Pointy-toed flats can be worn to class, work, parties, and everywhere in between.  They go with jeans, dresses, and basically every piece of clothing you own.  Basically, they’re your best friends.  Even CMU students have time to put on cute shoes, so no excuses and (yay!) no heels necessary.

3. Socks with Sandals

Okay, this one is just plain weird, and I am NOT condoning the CMU students who wear the Birkenstocks with socks already anyway.  This is definitely a quirky spring runway trend worth mentioning, but it definitely shouldn’t be leaving the runway anytime soon.  For some reason, a lot of the designers at fashion week decided this faux pas was suddenly high fashion, but it’s definitely still just as ugly as it always has been.

4. Silks

That’s right.  Looking like you’re in your pajamas (fancy ones) is totally in style on the runway right now.  They’ve been the “next big thing” ever since Marc Jacobs rocked them in the Fall/Winter 2013 show.  Take note that I said “on the runway”, not “in actual real life”.  I personally haven’t seen a ton of real people rocking this trend.  The trend is definitely hard to pull off, but silk can be worn in a lot of other ways that don’t look like the traditional button-up pajama top.  Try a cute dress with a jacket to try the look without overdoing it.  Also, this is not an excuse to wear your pajamas to class.

5. 90’s Style

The 90’s are back in a big way, which is great news for those of us who loved the menswear-oversized look and the decade in general.  Let the nostalgia begin.  Logos, bib tanks (Think: Spice Girls), and oversized vests, along with center-parted hair were all major trends this past week.  The oversize vest (kind of like a moto jacket without sleeves) is definitely a great trendy piece to invest in because it’s following a trend without being too crazy. 

Photo Sources:
http://nypost.com/2013/09/06/peter-soms-crop-tops-stick-around/

http://www.luckymag.com/style/2013/09/pointy-toe-flats_slideshow_item7_8

http://www.luckymag.com/style/2013/09/nyfw-spring-2014-trends_slideshow_Hippie-Sandals-With-Socks_19

http://style.mtv.com/2013/03/07/paris-fashion-week-runway-photos/

http://www.refinery29.com/fashion-week-trends#slide-7

http://www.refinery29.com/fashion-week-trends#slide-8

http://www.eonline.com/news/458876/everything-that-made-anna-wintour-smile-at-new-york-fashion-week

I am a junior Materials Science and Engineering mjaor at Carnegie Mellon University, and I am also minoring in Professional Writing and Business. I am a member of Kappa Kappa Gamma.  I love TV and trying out new beauty products.  I follow E! on Twitter so that I can stay up-to-date on celebrity news.  I'm royal-obsessed, and I love Kate Middleton's style.  I'm kind of a Sephora addict, and I could easily spend hours there.  I also spend way too much time on Pinterest.  Finally, I love hockey and all Pittsburgh sports. 
Laura Stiles is a Creative Writing, Professional Writing double major at Carnegie Mellon University who will be graduating in May 2014. In addition to being Co-Editor-in-Chief of the Carnegie Mellon chapter of HerCampus.com, she is Co-Prose Editor of The Oakland Review, Carnegie Mellon’s literary-arts journal, a manuscript reader for Carnegie Mellon University Press, and has copy-edited for Carnegie Mellon’s newspaper, The Tartan. She was also Communications and Arts Management Intern at The Hillman Center for Performing Arts in summer 2012, and is ecstatic to be studying abroad in Sheffield, England in spring 2013. In her free time, she enjoys singing along to music on long car rides, spontaneously kicking off her shoes to explore lakes and creeks, and curling up with a soft blanket and a captivating book. She was also recently pleasantly surprised to discover that she has a taste for sushi.