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What is a Peplum? Should I Wear A Peplum?

050310-jessica-alba-290b 

peplum is a a flared ruffle attached to the waistline of a dress or jacket or blouse. The peplum has been been popular a few times in fashion history including Elizabethan times and the 1980's. Today brings a new resurgence of the peplum and I wanted to let you know that it is okay to get on board with the peplum trend with a little bit of advice. 

 
Peplum-man  Peplum-80's-dress  Portrait-Of-A-Lady-In-Elizabethan-Dress

When a trend is on it's 3rd, 4th, 5th or 100th time around you have to be careful when wearing it. You don't want to emulate the past form it took. You want to reinvent it, embrace the fresh and modern version. If you are feeling a little too King James or Prom '86 coming on when you put on a peplum, skip it. An example, last Saturday Jessica Alba wore this Marios Schwab dress with a peplum – this isn't the freshest version of a peplum so I would say skip it. Even though the top portion of the dress is elegant and modern, the long skirt added to the peplum mimics too much an 80's silhouette. 

Hints to keep in mind to avoid the 80's look: 

1) Avoid pastels, florals, and geometric patterns and stick to neutral colors like grey, black, nude, deep blues and olive green. 

2) A shorter peplum tends to be more modern.

3) Go towards peplums that have more of a flare to them and less of a ruffle.

Great peplum looks pictured below:

Peplum-dress 

Porter Grey Embroidered Peplum Dress with Cutout Back

Agua-peplum-dres  

 

Aqua Peplum Combo Dress

Tartan-peplum-jacket  

Pink Tartan Peplum Suit Jacket

Loeffler-randall-peplum-dress
 

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One Response

  1. I like the long black dress in the first picture. it seems so fashionable with a touch of classic design.
    -mikee

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