Is uptight the new sexy?

| Posted Feb 26th 2008 3:01PM by Kristen Seymour
Filed under: Style icons, Style in the media, Designers, Dresses and Skirts

After several years of "demonstrative, look-at-me" fashion, are designers getting ready to bring us back to the tailored lines and seamless appearances of Jacqueline Kennedy? According to several designers interviewed by the New York Times, the answer is yes -- uptight will be the new sexy.

Michael Kors is one of the designers who will be paying homage to the late '50s and early '60s with his collection. Kors promises, "There is not a minidress to be found, not a platform shoe in sight. And 'suit' is not going to be a dirty word." Even designers who are not embracing the entire concept are incorporating the idea -- Dolce & Gabbana is showing poppy-patterned skirts while Marc Jacobs used vintage style corsets and bras in his show for spring.

There is much diversion between designers, however, on whether taking fashion in a conservative direction is the right choice -- are these styles popular because there is a backlash against looking so "undone" for so many years, or is it because in a time of uncertainty in our country we instinctively retreat to something more well known?

Either way, I'm welcoming this trend with open arms. Especially if it means the end of midriff baring tanks and low-rise jeans on tweens and starlets flashing their bad parts.

Tags: dress, fashion, jackie-kennedy, jacqueline-kennedy, kennedy, new-york-times, retro, shift