CMYKaboom!: Nina Ricci SS09

Images courtesy of Style.com

For years, the ultimate fashion question has been debated between in the minds of dressers everywhere: long or short dress? And then, once the decision has been made, the unending doubts: is the maxi too formal? Is the short dress too riske? But who says I need to decide, what if I don't want to decide? I'm better than that, I deserve the best of both worlds, and Olivier Theyskens understands and has answered my prayers in the form of Nina Ricci's SS09 collection.

Images courtesy of Style.com

I adore these dresses, for many, many reasons. Firstly, the silhouette. The way the silhouette plays with the eye: are they long dresses with a chop? Are they short dresses with a train? My mind cannot make up its mind, so plays back and forth upon the two ideas, making even the simplest frock simply irresistible to the eye. The dresses themselves are acutely detailed beings, vacillating in their era. Some of them are reminiscent of Victorian gowns, constricting and embellished to psychosis in with flared sleeves and high necks. Others are tweaked to the point of looking like futuristic space wear. Yet as separate as these are, all the dresses feel cohesive as a whole.

Images courtesy of Style.com

If the dresses weren't enough to captivate me, the slacks certainly finish the job. Theyskens creates tapered slacks that are detailed with graceful fin/flaps/awesome wings that just throw the entire pair into overdrive. They manage to be both dramatic, but subtle enough that you could pair them with a simple tee. My new dream item is a pair of these in both brown and black.