Minimalist Maximalism

It's funny how certain garments have a reputation for one thing or another.  Take sequins, the trampy Aunt Louise of the happy wardrobe family.

Now, I should fully disclose that I have a sequin buying addiction.  The more sequins the merrier, and this isn't necessarily a good thing (The greater the mass of sequins, the larger the mess of colors = the more epic the shoulders, and the less likely I'll be able to resist— this is a rule).  Okay, so sequins have this reputation for being over the top, gaudy, excessive, trashy... and of course that's fun and fabulous and who doesn't like looking like a peacock/disco ball on occasion, but my real point here IS: sometimes sequins surprise you!!

I was thinking about this after purchasing this delightful, matte green vintage Arnold Scaasi number.  I hadn't heard of Scaasi when I'd seen the dress (should I be embarrassed?) but it was one of those purchases where everything came together in a crazy alignment of the fashion forces.  I bought the dress because it looked like a heavy sheet of fish-scaled minty texture and it had me actually hyperventilating.  THEN I ran across an article in CONNOISSEUR from July 1984 on Scaasi's work (I will scan this today, it's so good!) and THEN I found out that there's currently a Scaasi exhibition going on at the Boston Museum of Fine Arts through June 2011. Has anyone been to the exhibit? So strange the way things work out sometimes!

Anyway, the Scaasi is what got me thinking about what I'm gonna call "minimalist maximalism."   (Is this a term? I just made it up!) There's so much talk right now about the "minimalist" vibe going around, and I guess I'm not immune to it (hence the crazy talk about gutting my wardrobe?), although I'll always worship at the altar of more is more. Ahhhhhhh, I like interesting things, pretty things, hideous things!! And lots of them.  The idea of living monastically repulses me!  But minimalist sequins (monochromatic sequins, matte sequins, sequin colorblocking??!) ... that's something I can get into.  So I had some fun shooting a couple of looks, green Scaasi included, of minimalism, my way- if you will.

Green sequin dress by Arnold Scaasi, black sequin pants by Rachel Roy, black sequin shirt vintage John Wannamaker, zebra sequin shirt vintage Jeannette for St. Martin 1985, blue sequin dress vintage Richilene, striped maxi layered under zebra F21.

Images and styling by (I)D.