where it all began

you guys, i just realized that i never posted about the collection that got me into fashion! prada, fall/winter 2000! i was a junior in high school when it came out and it was the first time that i became completely enraptured with a collection. i mean, i spent my fair share of time browsing through the standard fashion magazine offerings at the grocery store in suburbia, so i was well-versed in the trends, but i wasn’t one to follow trends at that age. i had already cultivated a fine sense for vintage and had a serious habit of visiting the thrift store by my house several times a week. not to mention the countless weekends spent cruising around looking for estate and yard sales with my friends. in short, i didn’t think of myself as being into fashion.

but thanks to the internet, i soon found myself browsing through collections on firstview. back then they had free access to way more content than they do now. i had seen the prada spring/summer 2000 collection with the lip prints and thought they were pretty cool, but when this particular collection came out, i almost died. in fact, i did die, and a new person was born. it will always stick in my mind. the chiffon dresses, the tucked in scarves, the fur stoles, and grosgrain ribbon belts… i was particularly obsessed with the dress in the first column, 3 down. i even went to south coast plaza to see if i could find it, convinced that i might actually go to prom if that were the dress. um, yeah. that never happened. i don’t regret that i was never interested in actually going to prom (and didn’t), but i do regret that i never got my hands on that dress.

anyway, this being a style blog and all, i figure many of you are probably into fashion. do you have a notable collection that got you inspired?

13 comments

  1. wow…almost an entire decade has passed and prada is still just as inspiring…this is what i love about true fashion, its timelessness. i can't say that i was inspired by any one line or designer -per say- film actually was the beginning of my leap into the fashion world…i used to be so inspired by characters from movies or the stage even, i would try and put together outfits like them. :)
    beautiful post my friend,
    claire

  2. i love how it's been nearly a decade and these looks are still in style. the giant scarf belted as if it were a shirt, the fur stoles, the floral dress, i love it.
    for me, i loved drawing people…and people wear clothes. so i got really into drawing clothes. and then i got really into buying clothes. :)

  3. i used to watch the style channel when i was younger and sketch dresses on my bed .. but i dont think i ever paid much attention to the designers i was watching!

    i've always been far more fascinated with what real people are wearing … hence the love of fash blog world!

  4. I really started getting into fashion a few years ago when i started visiting Portland, OR and its weird fashionable hipsters consumed the streets wearing rejected wool granny sweater from the 90s, short skirts/skinny jeans, neon tights (or dark/lacey), old leathery vintage boots, gaudy jewelery, all of these people sporting the most amazing tattoos ever. ugh. :) however, im not all that savvy when it comes to using fashion terms. im more into drawing/fashion design so far.

  5. I remmeber this collection. Oh how I love yellow, and Prada does it so well.
    In the year 2000 I remember wearing lots of shirt dresses with fishnets and chunky patent heels.
    And tight skirts were all the rage … the dress hadn't quite made its reassurgence yet.

  6. I love that every one of those pieces is so timeless. It could have been worn in the 50s and it could be worn today…and all the time in between. What a great line to get you started! It was Jessica Schroeder, not a line, that got me started this summer. And then I found you!!!

  7. What a beautiful collection! No wonder it jump started your love of fashion! For me, it was the supermodels of the 90's that got me loving fashion, and then Marc Jacobs back during my high school days that really made me love it even more!

    colormenana.blogspot.com

  8. What a gorgeous collection, and so understandable that it would inspire you! It really does have a '30s/'40s vintage vibe to it as the poster above mentioned, and it is all just so stunning. I would wear any and all of it, rightnowthisminute. And if I had access to that very last sparkly dress, I might have to crash a high school prom just to have a place to flaunt it ;) (I skipped my actual prom too!)

    Thanks so much for sharing, it's really interesting and cool to find out things like that about bloggers!

  9. i can see why you dig it, and its awfully vintage inspired. luella bartly and japanese street style is what got me into fashion. :)

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