Cruise into the next millennium with bright, breezy resortwear

Fashion trends come and go, but the interesting ones hold on for at least a season or two. This upcoming resort season is no exception. The trends that emerged this fall for women — embellished fabrics, glamorous evening wear, ethnic-inspired patterns and prints in mix and match pieces, feminine touches and silhouettes, easy, comfortable, modern fabrics, etc. — still are holding on strong through the resort and holiday seasons.

While in Colorado the tern “resort” usually conjures up images of Aspen or Vail, this clothing movement is geared toward another affluent lifestyle — one where the well-to-do and fashionable head for the warmer climes associated with cruises and island getaways. Thus, the clothing for this season has an extremely summery feel to it.

The neo-Bohemian aesthetic that reigned for fall has found a natural home in resort. Where else but in the Caymans, or on a millennial cruise, perhaps, could a woman feel comfortable enough, and let’s face it– warm enough– to go strutting around in an Indian-print, beaded sarong and tube top, with bejeweled high-heel thongs gracing her brightly pedicured feet? Capri pants, in a dizzying array of colors, look smashing in Capri. And tropical floral patterns make a girl feel right at home strolling through the gardens of any tropical paradise.

Barbara Wilson from Christina’s Lingerie in Boulder adds that they offer “great bathing suits and easy, packable festive dresses,” along with Raffia hats from Helen Kaminski and sarongs for their resort-shopping customer. Though, she notes, wild prints are wasted here, they all go for black. Daphne Herrick of Weekends in Boulder says bright, floral-printed dresses, sarongs and bathing suits are what her customer will be cruising into the new millennium in.

As with clothing, accessories also are still holding on to that nouveau-riche hippie look we’ve been seeing so much of. In keeping with a tropical theme, designers have had a heyday with embellished straw hats and bags, along with tons and tons of bead and bangle jewelry of all kinds, for the upcoming millennium/resort season.

As usual, men tend to keep it a bit simpler, and this year is no exception. A lot of the looks that men saw throughout this past spring and summer have resurfaced for this cruise-going set, like tropical wool, silk blends and easy microfiber pieces.

Local men’s clothier Robert Schmidt of Boulder notes that he sees mostly fun, novelty-print shirts, silk/wool blend sweaters, mid-weight, natural fabrics and lighter colors popping up for resort. He also adds that, as with women’s fashion as of late, men’s dressing is experiencing a renewed interest in elegance and glamour.

Schmidt says “This year we are seeing more formal clothing due to the millennium,” adding that people are “buying cruisewear items in conjunction with Y2K buying. This is a trend that retailers and designers like to see,” as Schmidt voices, “There has been a move back to formalwear and to a generally dressier look in general, and I hope it continues.”

Throughout 1999, fashion has seen an awakening out of the minimalist days of the early ’90s, which has appeared in brighter, more vibrant colors, more interesting fabrics and textures, and a greater attention to detail with embellishments. In women’s clothing we see this through beadwork, ethnic influences and animal prints. In men’s, however, where things are a bit more tame, this new look has shown up in fun, bright, loud, textured, exotic, or multi-dimensional prints, paired with tasteful solid separates.

“Guys are wearing more and more prints, and that’s a trend that continues throughout the year, especially in resort,” Schmidt notes. As with women, it seems all the more fitting for a gentleman to sport a look with such exciting aesthetics on a tropical millennium getaway.

As the looks from this past fall season blow through resort into spring, we see fashion finding itself in more interesting corners. New fabrics and colors marrying traditional ideas and touches are taking fashion to new levels. It seems that with the onset of the dawning era, designers are combing old and new ways of looking at art, society, imagination and reality to come up with exciting and versatile options for personal style and expression.

This resort season is just the beginning, and what a beautiful and interesting beginning it is.

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