Trend Report in the style of COMPANY magazine.

It's a trend: Dolly Darling

Fashion goes girly this spring with fanciful flowers, frills and fondant hues.  Achieve pastel perfection and look better than ice cream this spring.  

The S/S catwalks everywhere enchanted us with whimsical designs that evoked memories of the cutest girl in class.  Ravishing ruffles, beautiful bows, and dainty floral prints beautified garments from a variety of designers, proving that this youthful, feminine look is going to be big news for spring.  

A complete contrast to the strong, minimalist looks seen at the A/W 2010 shows, this trend is a definite backlash against androgyny.  To celebrate the arrival of spring, sugar shades have replaced drab, dark hues to brighten up your wardrobe.  This trend combines the ideal mixture of being prim and proper, with an essence of fun and flirtatiousness. 

Pretty, girly styles have cropped up time and time again over the decades.  This season there is a strong sixties influence; think models Penelope Tree and Twiggy in their prime for inspiration.  What makes this trend current is the choice of gorgeous milkshake shades and fantastical details that adorn the garments.       

For her sweet as sugar diffusion line, Alice Temperley revealed that Marie Antoinette was her source of inspiration.  The French queen’s “Let them eat cake” attitude shines through with her frivolous embellishments and dusty palette.  Roksanda Ilincic followed suit, creating sweet wrapper dresses in the softest of silks, pairing dove grey with the sweet peach and candy pink.  Whilst at Nina Ricci, Peter Copping designed fairy tale pieces, which were scattered with rosettes and daisy chains for extra girlish charm. Domenico Dolce and Stefano Gabbana take the biscuit for the daintiest collection at D&G.  Dress upon dress of ruffled floral indulgence made us go weak at the knees in admiration, longing to be as cute as a cupcake like the Dolce girls.     

    

With her ivory skin, candyfloss hair, and love of sorbet shades, Nicola Roberts is the ultimate icon for this trend, nailing the look as she promotes her appropriately named makeup line, Dainty Doll.  The Girl’s Aloud singer shows us that girlie is gorgeous with cute-as-confectionary dresses and dramatic dolly lashes.    Follow in her footsteps with River Island’s feminine flower top and a pair of equally adorable heels.    Head to Topshop or Miss Selfridge to be spoilt for choice, as you will discover an array of adorable tops, skirts, dresses and shoes that appeal to even the sweetest tooth.  Similarly, Accessorize offer a wide selection of vintage style treats including delightful charm bracelets and fascinating hair bands which will add the cherry on top to your ensemble.  

If all of this girliness is making you giddy, work the trend alongside your own personal style like Alexa Chung and Fearne Cotton.  These two style icons are known for mixing up child-like, pretty dresses with edgy heels with leather jackets on top, to add their own quirky twist.  Still too twee?  Try incorporating some pretty accessories in lollipop colours or add a flower in your hair as a nod to the dolly darling aesthetic. 

All you need to do to complete the image is to exaggerate your eyes with larger than life lashes.  Add a flush of blush to brighten delicate porcelain skin and you’re ready to go.   Ideal for any occasion, this trend can be dolled up as little or as much as you like.  Forget childhood tea parties, Company predicts that this delicious look will entice you all to take a bite.