Polka Dot Fashion Pt 2

Hi everyone,

Thank you for listening to me chat about the history, where to buy, and how to style polka dots. I love this fabric, because it's whimsical and you can have fun with it or not. 

It's a classic style that's here to stay!

Thank you for listening!

Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:11

Hello everyone. Welcome to Take a Fashion Seat. Tonight I want to talk about polka dot fashion. Yes, guys. I want to talk about polka dot fashion. This is part two. So last year at this time, I talked about it. I went into different aspects where you can buy polka dot. But tonight I want to talk about how to style it, the history of polka dot, and the latest polka dot looks. Okay, so basically styling polka dot is about balance. Since uh it's you can play with it or dress it up. So you can do uh modern, um, limit your patterns um to one statement per outfit. So you with polka dots, you want to pair it with something solid, like solid white, solid black, solid brown, or classic denim. You can elevate the polka dot to feel fresh um and not dated. So you want to always elevate it. So more modern selects, you could do um drop waist, asymmetry, um, choose modern cuts like a drop waist, matchy dress, or you know, like a asymmetrical skirt. Um, you can do mesh and satin, like swap the stiff 1950s fabric. Um for a more modern cut corset or a silk slip skirt. Now styling the pieces. You can do like a polka dot dress, um, keep the outfit clean, layer it with maybe a leather bomber or jacket. Um, you can do some muse with it, a piece of gold jewelry um for a polka dot skirt. You could, you know, it can be flirty, and you can do um a boussier type of t-shirt, you know, um a mini skirt, polka dot dress. Um, you can even do a cotton shirt. I would do like a button-down cotton shirt because that's what I wore today. A polka dot mini, not mini, but mini skirt with a button-down cotton shirt. Um, you could do a polka dot top paired with um some straight leg jeans or a leather mini skirt. But some ways. Now you can do polka dot footwear and accessories. So you could do like thong heel to the polka dot, some knee high leather boots, um, you could do like a structured bag, like a shoulder bag, you could do like a coat, you know, like an oversized coat and polka dot. So you could be, you know, you can play with it, and you can pattern mix. So if you want to you do white polka dots with classic black and white gingham, um, or a subtle striped colour palette. So there are ways that you can style polka dot. Polka dot is a classic, so you wanna keep it that way. It it'll never you can num it'll never go out of style. It will never, like it's a historical classic look. Now the polka dot evolved um a long time ago in the 19th century. So it started for centuries the fabric um was uneven and because it was it limited like a regular, it looked like spots, so it was hard to kind of like for people to like embrace it, but during modern era they embraced it, and it's like a very popular, beautiful fabric, and um because the polka dot is um unevenly, you know, people manufacturers capitalize on like trends when it comes to polka dot. You can get like any trend at any moment. Now, Hollywood, um, by the 1920s, the pattern became like a fashion mainstay, it became iconic with Minnie Mouse and Kristen Dior, Marilyn Monroe, and royalty and celebrities. So it's so iconic now. Now, royal figures were, you know, people like Kate Middleton, the late Princess Diana. Um, remember the movie Pretty Woman, Julia Robitts Award, you know, and I loved that movie. That was like one of my favorite movies, and I loved her brown and white polka dot truss. Now, Kristen De Orr in 1954 celebrated the Couture Look Marilyn Monroe Award um in the 1950s, um, a polka dot heart is hot, and Minnie Mouse goes back to 1920. Um it's C-minute in her pattern, so gotta love it. Now, Polka Dot is also pop art. So it, you know, you gotta understand it. Um, artists like um Star by Ben Day, Roy Lichtenstein, you know, they produce comic books while Japanese contemporary artists um Yayu Kusuma, um, the use of her endless vibrant dots. So it's also used for pop culture. The polka dot history, the polka dot looks is here to say, guys, it's just a look that we can't get away from. Okay, so I got a special treat for you. Okay, we're gonna do polka dot looks. Okay, guys. So give me a second. Where you can buy polka dots. So this is places to get it. Then we're gonna go back again to the history. So where to shop for polka dot? We're gonna do that next, and then we're gonna go back to the history. So we're gonna give you some pointers of where to shop for polka dot like today, if you need to go out and buy it. So you can always do thrifting, that's the number one. There's always a vintage store that has polka dot. But you want to go to places like Saks. Sacks has very nice uh polka dot. You can do Target even have it, Mayberry, you can get polka dot there, you can get it at Tilly's, Pet Sun, you can get it in Nordstroms, Urban Outfitters, White House, Black House Market, you can get it there. I'm just looking at different places where you can kind of like purchase it. If you like if you wanted to go buy a piece today, I would recommend Nordstrom's Urban Outfitters. If you're working on a budget, you could probably go to if you're like on a really strict budget budget, misguided and old navy, you could get something. Now, you can get like if you mid, you could do HM. That's like fast fast fashion, um, coals, something like that. You can get in. You can also get and I see this cute polka dot dress, it has a bow, it's really cute. You could do a Kira. So if you wanted to get something now, these are places that you can go to now. Um, Bell and Bloom and the Northern Rack. So you these are right now. And if you needed to go purchase some polka dot right now, these are places you could go. Go to Reformation ASOS, these are fast fashion, shop right wrath, rainbow shops, and like this is you can just get it quick. Now, um, Cosmo did an article on polka dots for last year because I did an article and I did a podcast last year on polka dots, and Cosmo wrote an article about the polka dot trend, and I see this woman in a polka dot scarf wrapped around her head, so you could do all white and you can do like a polka dot scarf. So last year it you you did um the hottest prints were checkers, cheetah print, and polka dots, so that was the thing, and um you could get like different styles, it was like really embraced last year, so people are still wearing it because it's gonna always be a classic. So I have like um a maxi and a midi polka dot dresses, and I also have a midi skirt. Um, I'd love to do like some polka dot peep toe shoes, that would be cute, and I would like to do a polka dot scarf. I would like to add those pieces to my wardrobe. Now you could do a one-shoulder top, that's cute, and you can make it look elevated. So you can elevate your look by doing a polka dot like one-shoulder. You could do a polka dot halted dress or a cocktail party. You can do it with like maybe a floral necklace. Well, you could do um a choker, it'd that would bring it out. Now, for shoes, you could do some polka dot mewes, they're cute. Kelly and Katie has a cute mew that you could do um with the polka dot. Um, you could do a polka dot slip dress, they're always cute, very airy, pretty. You could do like a polo event, afternoon tea. Polka dot is really good for all those things. You could do a scarf to wrap around and wear it even as a belt. So they there are different ways that you Kate Spade has a cute um teared dot maxi scarf, it's really cute, and you can do like a cam, you know, a camisole with it, and you can even do a sweater. Now you can splurge if you want a Gianni bag, they have a polka dot bag, which is really cute. Um, you can do mini dresses, um frilled looks if you're doing like a tea party, a garden party. You can even do a skinny scarf and turn it into a belt. So it's different ways um that you can style polka dot, many ways, and it's just gonna always be iconic. Um, so Reddit did um someone wanted an iconic polka dot look. So if you go through Reddit, Reddit helps you because everyone has opinions. So um you could do um some places you could do reformation, nasty girl. Um, these are places you can find vintage stores, you know, for polka dot dresses. Um, it's very suitable for weddings. So I'm reading that if you when you go to a wedding, you definitely want to wear a polka dot. It's perfect for a wedding, perfect for a garden party, perfect for an afternoon event, um, perfect for church. So these are places where you can wear polka dot. Now, um, you can also do polka dot. So we're gonna get back into the history. I'm gonna go back to the polka dot history. So um I'm looking at this vintage dress that um it's like a haul to style. Then I'm looking at one like a two-piece of pants. You can do polka dot pants with a top, um, you can do like a polka dot jacket, and these looks are so cute because a lot of them are vintage, and you can kind of dress them up by putting a hat with it, a statement duster, wide leg drama pants. You can do you can elevate it by be making it tailored, a romantic midi, you can do a monochromatic accessories, introvert inverted colors, but you can dress it up, dress it down. So it's these are different ways um that you could do polka dot, and that's the history of it. So modern polka dot outfits um I balance with um tailor looks, contemporary looks, and retro charm. So avoid looking like it's a costume, so keep it clean, keep it neutral and texturized, don't go looking like a clown. Keep the polka dots plain and simple. You can put them with a plain pair of shoes, muse, you know, you could do all kinds of things. Summer is perfect for polka dot because you can put hats with it and scarves. So polka dots, there's a lot on um the history, there's a lot more shopping. Um, I wanted to point out part two because it's just so much, and I couldn't put it in all in one podcast, so I had to come back and revisit it, and I wanted to talk about it. So now the technology part of it rebranding is the modern polka dot um was born born from the industrial revolution with the introduction of like the sewing machine. Um, manufacturers could like space the dots, and they can do other things with the dots. So the dots weren't like it was when they first came out. So remember, everything is upgraded and things are more modern. You can do more with polka dots. Just remember you can piece them and you can do different colors and different patterns with polka dots. Um, you could stitch it, you can even do polka dot for the house, home decor, like polka dot pillows, guys. Um, these are accessories. Um, you could do um polka dot curtains. I mean, these are just polka dot sheets, home detour, you know, it's home decor. So the origin started way back, but now everything's modern, and you can get it in different ways. So um polka dots um were rarely seen prior to the industrial revolution due to how difficult it was to create things, but now you can do they got machines, so they can kind of work with the polka dot patterns. Um, in the 1990s, for example, polka dots were a regular sight, and casual women dresses and had come committed themselves in history pattern of the decade thanks to pop coffee. So basically, you can dress it up, dress it down, you can wear like the retro looks, you can wear it in a new format, wear it in an old format, but it gets better as sewing machines are made and patterns are made, and you can transform the looks into modern looks. It's it's so much. Um, there's an article, guys. Um, I'm gonna go into one more chat about it. So why they call polka dots? So when you think about cheerful patterns, that's what you think. You think polka dots. So that's how I started. It started as um, it became a huge part of the fashion vocabulary because it's fun and whimsical, and the history goes back. Um, like the dance which comes from the polka, check half, referring to the half steps, um, began to sweep up dancing through the Europe and the United States. So now I gave y'all some history. The polka dot dance. So I mean it goes back even to a dance. Um, and what do that have to do with dancing? Um, not entirely clear, but basically they kind of like put the dance in the fashion together, and they kind of like collaborated with the timing of the polka dot dance versus the polka dot clothes. So that's just giving you a little bit of history and how the manufacturing started and how it grew, its popularity grew, and over the years, despite um people like basically not wearing it like all the time, you can wear it all the time. It's different events where you can dress it up or dress it down. So, and it's saying like in the night in the 1940s, um Walt Disney designed the mini mice, the mini mouse dressed with the polka dot. So that's when that started. So, like I said, it started a long time ago and then it evolves, and now you got Royal wearing it, you have celebrities wearing it, you have fashion designers creating it, and it's here to stay. So, I hope you enjoyed my polka dot top part two. I just wanted to go back to the history. Then I also wanted to point out where you can shop and get it, and bring to you different ways to style the polka dot. So, um, got a lot of polka dot fashion. I hope you enjoyed the podcast tonight. Thank you for listening. Guys, continue to listen to my podcast. Um, it makes me happy and it makes me smile knowing someone is interested in the history of clothing, what what's trending, what's not, and what not to wear, um, vintage clothing, fast fashion, sustainable fashion, keeping up what what we put on is so important with everyday life. So, thank you for listening, guys. Um, have a great evening. Um, I have some upcoming amazing guests coming for the summer and the fall and the winter. So, um, and I have a new um website, www.takeafashionseat.com. It's under construction, so you can still go on it, but it's still under construction. But check it out when you get a chance. Thanks again for listening. Um, have a great evening. Bye everyone. You're amazing, and keep on listening to Take a Fashion Seat. It's an amazing podcast that I hope each of you will continue to follow and listen to every week. Hopefully, in the future, I can go to three days a week. That's in the future.