The 1970s and early 2000s were dark times in Australia, not only were there Liberal governments in power, but flared jeans were perceived to be fashionable. Now in 2014 and with Tony Abbott in The Lodge the denim devils have returned. Personally, I never understood the allure of a pair of washed out denim too long for one’s body and flaring at the bottom like a lampshade you would find in the back of an old antique store. Yet, people on mass seemed to think it was a good idea to wear them. Now ten years since their last renewed awakening, flared jeans are appearing in the closets of men and women in metropolitan cities all around Australia.
Earlier this week I was on a Melbourne tram earlier when I spotted a man wearing flared jeans. Not only was he making a poor choice in choosing to wear flares, he had matched them with an ill fitting suit jacket and neck of beads. I attributed his fashion choice to the fact we were on the notorious number 19 tram that travels right through Brunswick in the inner suburbs of Melbourne. But later that same day I saw a women wearing flared jeans whilst serving me coffee at a local cafe. I was amazed and alarmed by the reawakening of this fashion disaster that even fashion gurus like Kate Moss and Rachel Zoe seem to have fallen under the spell of, however something needs to be done.
Just like most trends that keep re-appearing despite the belief they were dead and buried, such as denim cut off shorts, boob tubes, pant chains and choker necklaces, flares make us question the motives of major fashion designers. With trends rolling off the runway year after year, why is it now that this trend returns?
As much as I wish it was my earlier suggestion that flares roll around just as liberal Prime Ministers do, I feel it has more to do with the changing nature of the fashion world. With the need to have sub-fashion seasons to meet consumer demand there is a push to recycle former fashion trends. With so many changing seasons the shift backwards is therefore seen as forward thinking by designers. Having more than four fashion seasons each year allows for inflated consumerism, with constant new trends and garments, brands can continue to drive demand and in turn increase profits. This nasty little corporate trick is the key factor in trend-recycling that causes the art of fashion to be called into question. It is not only bad for those that create fashion that is unique but it is also a burden on our purse strings.
I can only hope we’ll reach another sub-season soon and we can return to the safety of boot cut, straight cut and skinny leg jeans.
The only people who can get away with wearing flared jeans are Shakira, Cher and ABBA. Cher can make me “believe” that they look good on her and Shakira has the excuse of needing something to compliment her out of this world dance moves. ABBAs flares are timeless; however, I highly doubt you will see the awesome foursome wearing their signature style whilst buying milk at the grocery store. Other stars will try and fail in flares but only this unique bunch of artists can hold their heads high wearing them.
I guess the rule here is, unless you are a platinum selling dance/pop singer don’t risk the shame of walking down the street in flares.
Lucifer called and he is happy to take his flares back.
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