WHAT HAS LIZ JONES DONE FOR AMERICAN APPAREL DISCO PANTS?

Posted by Bethan Holt, Fashion Junior at Large

You can always trust Liz Jones, the Daily Mail's resident image-obsessed columnist and token cat lady, to come up with a blinder every week or two, but it's usually along the lines of sperm stealing or facelift shockers. Today, she has surpassed herself by donning disco pants. Unless you've been living on Plantet Zog for the past year, you'll know that these are the high-shine, uber tight, £70 American Apparel leggings which every other girl under the age of 25 seems to own. I hasten to add I'm not one of them- I wouldn't put my thighs through the public humiliation. Now Liz is in on the trend, testing them out for her Fashion Therapy column. I'm pretty sure a number of readers will be needing therapy after seeing the picture. Not that Liz looks REALLY bad in them- she's pretty much the shape you really need to be to carry these off (skinny with a good bum and long-legged) but she certainly doesn't fit the demographic which has been owning the trend so far. Jessie J, Solange Knowles and Cher Lloyd are all fans and everyone we see wearing them fits that young girl with a bit of attitude vibe. If they'd been my wardrobe staple for months and I saw the article, I'd be mortified. I'm no ageist but I'm expressing the dilemma we all know when we see someone of a wildly different age to ourselves wearing something we love.

Liz Jones in disco pants in today's Daily Mail 

So what does Liz's decison to wear disco pants in Britain's most read daily paper mean for the trend? Are you going to stop wearing yours? Or perhaps you're a woman of a certain age who hadn't realised that spanxy, shiny leggings were majorly hot right now and now that Liz Jones has worn them, you feel like you can too? Has liberated you and opened your mind to wearing something you didn't think you could?

American Apparel's fresh faced, verging on a bit porny disco pant ads (image from http://martytoes.tumblr.com/) They're £70, from here

The disco pant's usual mode of styling (image from http://summertimesadnessxo.tumblr.com/)

We've gone on a bit of a mental journey, imagining further milestones in middle-aged women grabbing a trend. We're picturing Nancy Dell'Olio rocking up to various soirees in one of the many colour ways which disco pants come in. Then, the Loose Women will all be sporting them one lunchtime. Next Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall will wear them for the Olympics Opening Ceremony. Not long after that, Donatella Versace might wear them in peacock to take her bow at Versace SS13. Will Helen Mirren and Imelda Staunton perhaps adopt them as alternatives to the usual dress on the red carpet? Finally, Hilary Clinton could wear disco pants while she's on the political campaign trail this Autumn- she already loves a scrunchie which is another American Apparel signature. Is this getting ridiculous?

The original disco pants which Liz age ladies will remember, Grease's Sandy (image from dailymail.co.uk)

I'm just interested to see how introducing the disco pant to a whole new audience will play out. Liz's perspective, which uses Olivia Newton-John's Sandy from Grease as visual reference,  gives the disco pant a fresh slant. Although she admits "if you can remember Newton-John’s tacky trousers from the first time around, step away from the disco pant. It’s a look for the very young and long of limb, not the positively geriatric", she actually plants a seed which tells those who do remember that maybe they could relive the disco moment of their youth if they still have the figure. Instead of being worn with brothel creepers or high tops, it'll be heels and pretty tops. From today, the disco pant is no longer just about being part of a certain 2012 rebel girl tribe. And I'm betting that Liz Jones is a million miles from the kind of brand ambassador American Apparel would ever have expected, or wanted, to attract.

Do you own disco pants? Will you carry on wearing them? Are you going to let your Mum/ Auntie/ Grandma borrow them? Are you Liz's age and now thinking perhaps you could pull off disco pants?

SHOW AND TELL: ABOUT BOY LONDON

Posted by Melanie Rickey, Fashion Editor at Large

  The BOY London collaboration with my favourite T-Shirt label, Long Clothing (£40 each)

When I was 18 years old I can vividly recall the day my little sister Jennifer came home with a white leatherette BOY London baseball cap. I was so frickin annoyed because I wanted one, and now she had one I couldn't etc etc. Ah, the things we used to get upset about.

We didn't look at elitist, out-of-touch catwalk fashion in the early 1990s; our bible was The Face, our icons were other young people and the brands we connected with were ones we could relate to and afford with our pathetic recession-hit bank balance. Fast forward to today and I am an adult woman witnessing a fashion groundhog day, as BOY London is in the midst of a revival and club kids dress, look and act pretty much exactly how we used to, the only difference being the addition of Mac tech about their person.

BOY London was founded in the late 1970s by a fashion-obsessed lad about town called Stephane Raynor who was part of the Blitz Kid and New Romantic clubbing movements. By the time we found it, it had been worn by Andy Warhol, Madonna, The Pet Shop Boys, Boy George, and its shop on Old Compton Street in London's Soho always had queues outside. In the mid-late 1990s its popularity and its distinctive eagle and BOY logo had had its day.

Back in February though, a curious thing happened: BOY London relaunched with Selfridges as its premier stockist, with none other than its founder Stephane Raynor still at the creative controls, although this time around he has a decent backer. Amazingly it has been freshly discovered by Rihanna, Jessie J and Nicki Minaj as well as hipster Chloe Sevigny.

The result is, after a hiatus of more than a decade away from business, the brand and its founder has taken root again in a fertile ground of edgy pop stars, even edgier club kids and a recession hit economy that is creating its "own" street culture and affordable brand icons. The brand is red hot all over again.

After Rihanna wore the below outfit on Jonathan Ross' show last month, the Selfridges website experienced such an enormous sales spike they sold out of five key styles overnight. Why? Because the brand is affordable: the average T-shirt is £35, sweatshirt £55 and leggings £40; TopShop prices.

Of course, Jessie J, Rihanna, and Nicki Minaj didn't happen across BOY in Selfridges though: their stylists discovered it after they found the 90s vintage - if 90s stuff could officially be called, vintage which it can't - store Sick on Redchurch Street  in East London which is owned and run by none other than the bad BOY founder himself Stephane Raynor. Fashion in full cycle.

Me and my sister Jennifer in our BOY days back in 1990 ish

          

BOY LONDON BACK IN THE 80S AND 90S 

Andy Warhol in BOY 

 The Pet Shop Boys circa 1994

Pet Shop Boys 1994

        BOY LONDON IN 2012

Chloe Sevigny out and about in BOY 

Rihanna in BOY on the Jonathan Ross show a few weeks ago (via ohverlycritical.com) 

BOY London founder Stephane Raynor created this outfit for Nicki Minaj, outed for the first time last weekend. From his tagged Tumblr

Jessie J in BOY last weekend - Her sweatshirt costs £55, the leggings £40 

BOY London Leggings, £40 (the black version are sold out)

BOY London sweatshirt, £55 

            

For more information on Sick on Redchurch Street go here

What do you think of the BOY London revival? 

Go shopping for BOY at 

http://leavetheboyalone.com/




PS SORRY FOR FORMATTING - cant fix it!