Stealing Style From Granny

Is conservative the new radical? The fashion world certainly seems to think so. This season, designers filled their runways with restrained silhouettes that echo the graceful, showing-less-is-more aesthetic of generations past.

保守就是另一种形式的激进？时尚界显然是这么认为的。本季设计师们推出的廓形保守的时装频频亮相秀场，它们反映出了几代人以前那种优雅端庄、露得少即为美的审美观。

Designers are reimagining soignée staples for spring and summer─skirt suits, twin sets, below-the-knee dresses, kitten heels and frame bags─that appear anything but moth-eaten. In fact, fashion's neoconservative coup d'état feels deliciously defiant, given the excessively revealing styles pop culture celebrates. A quick flip through any supermarket tabloid yields an onslaught of oversexed stars and their indelicate fashion choices, which prompted a strict dress code for this year's Grammy Awards. When you factor in over-the-top street style and the all-round oversharing that has become pervasive, the reeled-in restraint of a bygone era looks more and more like a cool, quiet revolution.

设计师们开始重新打造优雅风格的春夏季主打──裙装、两件套、过膝连身裙、中跟鞋和夹框包等等，款款似乎都散发出陈旧的气息。实际上，鉴于当代流行文化追捧的时尚风格过于暴露，时尚界这次爆发的新保守风格变革，这一挑战颇受到欢迎和赞赏。随意快速浏览任何一份低俗小报，你就会发现一大群过度卖弄性感的明星和她们不甚文雅的时装选择，这也促成了今年格莱美奖颁奖礼采取了严格的着装准则。再考虑到过于夸张的街头时尚和无处不在的全方位的过度暴露，来自以往某个时代的约束看上去越来越像一次了不起的悄无声息的变革。

This dignified uprising can be spotted on many of today's most influential style setters─British fashion icon Alexa Chung, Russian supermodel Natalia Vodianova and Moda Operandi co-founder Lauren Santo Domingo, to name a few.

这一庄严的“时尚起义”的影响可在当今最具影响力的许多时尚引领者的身上看到，比如英国时尚偶像艾里珊•钟(Alexa Chung)、俄罗斯超模娜塔莉亚•沃迪亚诺娃(Natalia Vodianova)以及时装品牌Moda Operandi的联合创始人劳伦•桑托•多明戈(Lauren Santo Domingo)等。

'A young girl now doesn't want to dress like her mother; she finds her grandmother much cooler, ' said Nina Ricci creative director Peter Copping, who designed skirt suits inspired by his own nana. 'She wore little smart, tweedy suits. I always had a romantic notion of that.' But the designer, who modernized his separates by cutting them in a light-as-air bouclé woven onto organza, also drew inspiration from a much younger source. 'Someone told me a story about the [22-year-old] model Eliza Cummings and how when she got her first big money job she went straight out and bought a Chanel suit, ' said Mr. Copping. 'I thought, 'Wow, that's really clued up!' '

莲娜丽姿(Nina Ricci)的创意总监彼得•科平(Peter Copping)说，现在的年轻女孩不喜欢打扮得和自己的母亲一样，她们反而发现祖母的着装更加有型。科平就从他自己的祖母那儿吸取灵感设计了裙装，他说：“她穿着时髦的粗呢小套装，我一直觉得它很浪漫。”他通过采用织在欧根纱上的极其轻盈的圈圈纱面料来裁剪服装，从而赋予它们现代气息，他也从更年轻的一代人中汲取灵感。他说：“有人给我讲过一个（22岁的）模特伊莉萨•卡敏斯(Eliza Cummings)的故事，讲她如何在得到第一份高薪工作时立即就去买了一套香奈儿(Chanel)的套装，我心想‘哇，那确实是在行！’”

In his spring collection, Bottega Veneta designer Tomas Maier, who has long imprinted the brand with a classic femininity, crafted sheer cardigans, calf-grazing dresses and a coat in the sort of rose print one might find on the walls of a '50s-era powder room. 'I never liked the obvious definition of 'sexy, ' ' said Mr. Maier. 'I actually don't even like the word. I prefer a woman to be sensuous and in charge─definitely in charge of what she's wearing.'

宝缇嘉(Bottega Veneta)设计师托马斯•梅耶(Tomas Maier)素来给该品牌赋予了一种经典女性柔美气质，他在其春季系列中打造了薄纱开衫、长及小腿的裙装和玫瑰印花大衣，这种玫瑰图案或许可在上世纪50年代盥洗室的 壁上看到。梅耶说：“我从来都不喜欢对‘性感’的浅显定义，实际上我连这个词都不喜欢，我更喜欢女性散发美感和拥有主导权，这里当然是指对其着装的主导。”

Twenty-six-year-old designer Wes Gordon agreed. 'In serious times, you need serious chic. Anything cute feels bad right now. A grown-up, covered-up silhouette is the anti-cute, ' said Mr. Gordon, whose signature long-sleeve gowns and full skirts have been worn by bright young things such as Jessica Biel and Rita Ora. His spring collection had a red skirt suit worthy of Nancy Reagan. Among Mr. Gordon's inspirations: a book of Valentino Garavani's designs from the '70s (the house's current designers, Maria Grazia Chiuri and Pier Paolo Piccioli, are also huge proponents of the conservative-but-cool look) and Greta Garbo. 'But late Garbo, when she was running around New York City with a popped collar, hiding from people, ' he said. 'It's good to be a little mysterious in the overcrowded, overexposed world we live in now.'

今年26岁的设计师韦斯•戈登(Wes Gordon)也认同这种观点。他说：“非常之时需要庄重的风格。现在任何性感的东西都给人不好的感觉，而成熟严实的廓形则正是反性感的。”他设计的招牌式长袖礼服和伞裙受到了杰西卡•贝尔(Jessica Biel)和丽塔•奥拉(Rita Ora)等引人注目的年轻女星的青睐。其春季系列还推出了一套衬得上南希•里根(Nancy Reagan)的红色裙装。戈登的设计灵感源泉包括葛丽泰•嘉宝(Greta Garbo)以及一本有关华伦天奴•格拉瓦尼(Valentino Garavani)70年代设计的书（该品牌当前的设计师玛丽亚•格拉齐亚•基乌里(Maria GraziaChiuri)与皮尔•保罗•皮乔利(Pier Paolo Piccioli)也是这种保守但又有型的风格的超级支持者）。他说：“嘉宝在世时，当她在纽约四处走动时，总竖着衣领躲避人群。在如今我们生活的这个过于拥挤、过度暴露的世界中，保持一点神秘感挺好的。”

Even London's resident bad boy Christopher Kane is of a similar mind. 'Ladylike is the ultimate sexiness, ' said the designer. 'It's clean, elegant and in control. The famous saying, 'It's the quiet ones you need to watch, ' definitely applies to this style.'

就连伦敦的坏小子设计师克里斯托弗•凯恩(Christopher Kane)也持相同观点。他说：“端庄高贵是性感的终极表现形式，它纯净、优雅、有节制，‘安静者方值得关注’这句名言显然可以用在这种风格上。”

Although the movement centers on mature silhouettes, it's the accessories that carry it over into phenomenon territory. From the delicate stampede of pointy kitten heels and sensible block-heeled sandals to the flood of frame bags and collar-grazing necklaces, little touches are capable of creating big changes in attitude.

虽然此次时尚革新的中心是成熟时装，但促使其获得非凡发展的却是配饰。从一款款鞋跟尖细的精致中跟鞋、实穿的粗跟凉鞋再到大量涌现的夹框包和围领式项链，小小的点缀便能让时尚态度发生巨大的改变。

'There is a shift in sensibility happening now─shoppers are moving away from conspicuous It-bags, the vertiginous platform heel and gaudy in-your-face jewels, ' said Kate Davidson Hudson, co-founder of the newly launched accessories shopping site Editorialist. 'What feels new is being a bit quieter and more discerning─having your subtle gold studs, cat-eye glasses, proper box bag and most importantly, the mid-heel shoe.'

新近上线的配饰购物网站Editorialist的联合创始人凯特•戴维森•哈德逊(Kate Davidson Hudson)认为：“现在消费者的实用性观念正在发生转变，她们开始远离高调夺目的IT包包、令人眩晕的厚底鞋和华丽张扬的珠宝首饰，眼下时兴的风格要更沉静一些、更有品味──配上你淡雅的金色饰纽、猫眼款式眼镜和得体的箱形手袋，更重要的是蹬上一双中跟鞋。”

Indeed, low-riding heels─from Louis Vuitton's Magic Square pumps to Miu Miu's squat, crystal-encrusted patent-leather numbers─have been star sellers for spring. There has also been an attendant uptick in popularity for the shoe brands that your grandmother and great-grandmother loved. Roger Vivier, the brand known for its low, pilgrim-buckle pump made famous by Catherine Deneuve in 'Belle de Jour, ' seems more popular than ever, both for its shoes and the book on its 75-plus-year history released last month with publisher Rizzoli. Ferragamo, another perennial ladies-who-lunch favorite, is celebrating the 35th anniversary of the Vara, its sweetly iconic gold bow-topped shoe, with a new campaign featuring of-the-moment women such as Ms. Santo Domingo and Chiara Clemente wearing the classic, dainty-heeled slippers. As of this month, they can be customized to one's liking on the brand's website with a choice of color combinations and materials, and the option to monogram the soles.

确实，从路易威登(Louis Vuitton)的Magic Square单鞋到MiuMiu镶嵌水晶的漆皮便鞋，浅口鞋一直是春季的明星畅销款。此外，一些祖母辈和曾祖母辈喜欢的鞋履品牌也一直呈现流行度上升的势头。例如，罗杰•维威耶(Roger Vivier)，这个牌子因为凯瑟琳•德纳芙(Catherine Deneuve)在影片《白日美人》(Belle de Jour)中穿着其带扣的浅口单鞋而知名，而如今它似乎比以往任何时候都更受追捧。这要归功于它出品的鞋履以及Rizzoli出版社在5月份出版的讲述其逾75年历史的那本书。菲拉格慕(Ferragamo)也是一个长期受贵妇青睐的鞋履品牌，其风格甜美的带标志性金色蝴蝶结扣的Vara鞋迎来了35周年纪念，该品牌以一项新宣传活动进行了庆祝。其中桑托•多明戈和奇亚拉•克莱门特(Chiara Clemente)等当代著名女性便穿着这款鞋跟优雅的经典便鞋亮相。到本月为止，消费者可在该品牌网站上根据个人喜好定制此款鞋子，可自由选择色彩搭配和面料，还可选择将姓名的首字母交叉刻印在鞋底上。

One longtime Ferragamo Vara fan is Ms. Chung. 'I think one of the first times I was photographed, I literally sneaked into a Topshop [fashion] show and I was wearing a cardigan, some white tights and Ferragamo heels, ' recalled Ms. Chung, host of the music TV show Fuse News on the Fuse channel, and author of 'It, ' a book on her personal style and inspirations (out from Penguin in late October).

艾里珊•钟很久以前就是菲拉格慕Vara鞋的粉丝。她回忆说：“我觉得在我最早开始拍片的时候，我简直就像溜进了Topshop时装秀，我穿着一件开衫、白色紧身衣和菲拉格慕的鞋子。”如今她是Fuse 电视台音乐电视节目Fuse News的主持人，并写了一本名为《It》的讲述其个人风格和灵感的书（将由企鹅出版社(Penguin)在10月底出版）。

She's also emblematic of a certain brand of young-fogy dressing that has become popular with the next generation of taste-makers, including 27-year-old sister-designers Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen, whose discreetly polished and structured bag designs for their label The Row have become industry favorites.

她也是某一派年轻但又保守着装风格的代表人物，这种风格受到了她下一代时尚品味创造者的追捧，其中包括27岁的姐妹花设计师玛丽-凯特•奥尔森(Mary-Kate Olsen)与阿什莉•奥尔森(Ashley Olsen)。她们为自有品牌The Row精心打造和设计的手袋成为了行业的最爱。

The youthful duo's austere clothes have also become the ne plus ultra for tasteful, urbane women of all vintages. For spring, the designers showed ankle-grazing silk skirts and belted jackets in classic shades that looked simultaneously old-school and modern.

这对年轻设计师二人组设计的风格简朴的服装也成为各年龄段品位不俗的都市女性的挚爱。她们在春季系列中推出了长近脚踝的丝质裙子和经典色调的束带外套，它们看上去既怀旧又不失摩登。

Earlier this week, one of the biggest events on the fashion calendar took place. The Metropolitan Museum of Art's Costume Institute ball celebrated the opening of the exhibit 'PUNK: Chaos to Couture.' The annual gala has long been considered the sartorial event of the year, and the choice of punk as this year's theme feels particularly poignant. With its shredded T-shirts, creative facial piercings and mohawks, the riotous aesthetic, which peaked in the late '70s and early '80s, couldn't be further from the clean and sober silhouettes surrounding us now, but the motivations behind the two share some DNA.

前不久，时尚界最重大的盛会之一──纽约大都会艺术博物馆时装学院(Metropolitan Museum of Art's Costume Institute)慈善舞会启动，拉开了“朋克：从混沌到时装”(PUNK: Chaos to Couture)时装展的序幕。这个一年一度的庆典长期以来就被视为当年的时装盛会，选择朋克风作为本年度的主题让人觉得特别贴切。碎布条般的T恤、别具新意的面部穿孔和莫霍克式发型，这些都是在上世纪70年代末和80年代初达到巅峰的朋克风的标志，这种桀骜不驯的审美观与当今我们周围那些整洁庄重的风格相差十万八千里，但二者背后的动机有着相同之处。