By BRIANA ARRINGTON

bca008@latech.edu

 

So, some people were born with an absolute absence of rhythm. Luckily, there are no smooth moves required to dress like you possess the sensuality of a salsa dancer, balance of a ballerina, footwork of a flapper or the folk flow from ancient Africa and Asia.

Since the turn of the millennium, fashion has been spinning out trends inspired by popular dance apparel of different cultures and eras.

“I have definitely noticed more clothes being influenced by dance, especially in the last couple of years,” Caroline Risinger, senior sales retailer at All That Jazz, a local clothing boutique, said.

According to a fashion analyst at http://www.Metrofashion.com, the dance fever caught in spring of 2001. The Latin look was hot, most likely accredited to the rise of Latin celebrities such as Penelope Cruz, Jennifer Lopez and Giselle.

Designer Christian Lacroix presented salsa dresses in silk and satin and jewelry derived from Mediterranean customs.

Other designers with dance themes followed at the show. Latin designer Oscar De La Renta presented a series of taffeta pouf cha-cha sets.

By the summer of 2003, another Latin designer, John Galliano, brought the flare of flamenco dance to the Christian Dior Couture Show in Paris. The models swung around the catwalk in skirts with electric blues, yellows, greens and pinks in layers of ruffles.

In an article on http://www.vogue.com, Galliano claimed that his clothes did the dancing on their own.

“They dance around the body,” he said.

By 2005, designers had delved deeper into ethnic dance with the introduction of the “bohemian look,” dance apparel resembling traditional costumes worn by African and Asian folk performers. The trend concentrates on earth tones with soft loose-fitting linens lined with embroidery and sequins.

“The bohemian look has been very popular this year,” Jill McMahon, a senior fashion merchandising major, said.

McMahon, who has been in retail for four years at the local boutique The Fashion, said jewelry was the newest bohemian-born trend.

“By the end of the summer, chunky bracelets and long beaded necklaces were everywhere,” McMahon said.

While flowing fashion may not be so fun by the end of fall, Katherine Davis, a sales retailer at All that Jazz, said garments infused from jazz and ballet may help to warm the winter. Inside All That Jazz are leg warmers, textured tights, jazzy sequined waist-belts and fish-net stockings for cabaret.

“There are several accessories and clothes that are something you would have bought at Dance Warehouse last year for tap class,” Davis, a senior merchandising and consumer studies major, said.

Davis said ballet has brought all the rage to shrugs, which are half-shirts that tie or button at high-waist and plazo pants, which are baggy enough for you to move freely.

But for unconfined flopping about, the flapper is back in full swing.

Clothes meant to create more boyish figures for feisty females of the 1920s are here like Elvis’ hippy movements never happened.

Briley Brasher, daughter of Kim Brasher, owner of Briley and Co. boutique, showed a purple dress.

“We just got this dress in, it looks just like something a flapper would wear,” Brasher, a junior merchandising and consumer studies major, said.

The dress, lined with flaps from top to bottom and all the way around, would be perfect for big plans to dance to big bands.

But what about fashion for the fellas? The hip-hop dance movement has been stepping up to meet the fashion criteria for men and has such a great persuasion that it has now formed an entire culture.

Jeremy Stevenson, a senior education major, believes that MTV has influenced men’s fashion.

“MTV is now dominantly run by the hip-hop movement, and if it’s in a hip-hop song, it sells,” Stevenson said. “Take gold jewelry for instance. Hip-hop almost wiped out gold’s popularity with the bling bling of diamonds and platinum.”

Stevenson also said that even what is considered preppy today has been influenced by hip-hop.

According to recent news, even the NBA has recently enacted a dress code for its players which forbids them from wearing hip-hop apparel during public appearances or interviews. Baggier pants, untucked shirts and platinum watches have become standard in dress apparel for men.

Hip-hop artists have now begun to take their influence on fashion to an entirely different level.

Within the last five years, many hip-hop artists have started their own clothing lines and have done exceptionally well in the fashion market.

Jay-Z, with Rocawear, and P. Diddy, with his clothing line Sean-Jean, have both been successful.

Although women’s fashion has many popular elements of dance incorporated in the trends today, it has also been motivated by the hip-hop culture.

Hip-hop artist Nelly has been concentrating solely on women’s fashion with his brand of women’s jeans, Applebottom.

“Even though I think hip-hop can be seen more in men’s fashion, women have followed the fad, too,” Stevenson said.

But with all the “dancing around” done between school, jobs and endless errands, forget finding time to learn the jitterbug, much less the cha-cha or ballet. 

The silver lining lies in the sequins.

If you happen to stumble over two left feet, don’t feel out of the groove. Button a shrug and enjoy the breeze under a blowing bohemian skirt.