SS 2011 Women's Fashion Trends

SS 2011 is borrowing a lot of the old from 2010's women's fashion with only a few small departures. Click here for Glamour's slide show of some of the top trends for spring and summer 2011.

Read on to learn more about the trends for women's spring and summer 2011 fashion .

Some of the bigger trends of 2011

Genre

SS 2011 will favor the 70s over any retro decade in style, the 60s will still be present but the 70s will have primary focus and the sweet ladylike looks of the 50s will take a backseat. Look for the low kitten heels of the 60s and the re-emergence of 70s bell bottoms to break the several season streak of skinny jeans. Both kitten heels and bell bottoms are fairly timeless wardrobe additions that will ensure that you look up-to-date this season and will remain in style long after. And the bonus is that those of you who hate the skinny leg look will finally have your wide-legged mode of recourse back.

Hard and Soft

Texture will be a biggie as seen in the leather, lace, and see-through fabrics at the fore in SS 2011 runway shows. Lingerie as outerwear, leather biker styles, and punk-inspired 70s fashions will convey the most extreme of the texture options of the season as well as the seasonless fashion standard of a healthy dose of androgyny. The least wearable of these trends of course is the street wear lingerie but for the willing and fearless women out there, the warmer months should offer better opportunity to sport this current trend.

For some information on an additional trend (lace) in this category, read Tarah DeSantis' article, 2011 Spring and Summer Fashion Trends for Women.

Hems

Bell bottoms and capris will lead the pack in hem preference for pants while maxi dresses will continue to show their timeless appeal.

Color and Print

The expected and welcomed salute to spring awakening will best be seen in explosions of color from all spectrums of the wheel and natural/exotic prints.

Stripes also continue to be a popular print of the season though I will never understand the fashion industry's affinity for horizontal stripes, unless you are a 100 pound waif they are not a good idea. Horizontal stripes give the appearance of a wider shape; if that's what you're going for then please enjoy, but if not, I would stick with vertical stripes as a rule.

You'll also see a bit of print mix and matching as we saw last summer, so don't be afraid to clash.

Old Trends That Are Evolving

Military-chic Wear

The military look is one of a few trends that is still here but is slowly evolving into a subtler version of what we saw in fall and winter of 2010; you'll see less lapels and buttons and a look slowly morphing into a simple business wear style.

Big Accessories

The large bangle bracelets and big sunglasses we're used to will still be present with only minor changes to suit the current 60s and 70s favored fashion genres.

SS 2011 Women's Fashion Trends: Conclusion

The good news is you won't have to re-invent the wheel when shopping for your new spring and summer fashion items, your wardrobe will only need some minor tweaking to be SS 2011 fashion ready. Have a blast trying as many of these new and older but evolving trends as you can and always try to pick out a few timeless pieces from amongst the trends that will help you strengthen your wardrobe.

Happy Shopping!

Related Sites:

Glamour

Fashionising

Disclaimer:

All specific trend details were obtained from the following two articles and runway pictures.

Spring 2011's Most Wearable Fashion Trends and Spring 2011 Fashion Trends: Spring/Summer 2011