Pack a Peplum Punch

The newest trend for Spring 2012, seen all over the runways, is peplum.  I knew this was a definite trend when my friend brought the peplum tops at H&M to my attention.  When a trend trickles down to fast fashion, it is a wide-spread trend indeed.

A peplum is a short - generally ruffled - overskirt attached at the hips to a piece of garment, and was first distinctive during the 1940s.  Peplum can easily be done subtly (like above), or highly exaggerated with lots of volume.  Either way, it sculpts an hourglass figure by keeping it tight around the waist, and flaring out at the hips.

I got asked how one would wear peplum, and while it may seem like a risk with many chances for failure, it's actually quite easy!  If you have a peplum top, pair it with slim pants, shorts, or a pencil skirt, depending on the overall look you're going for.  Shorts will make it young and casual, a pencil skirt will keep it sophisticated, while pants probably constitute middle ground.

If you have a peplum skirt, pair it with a simple tank top, t-shirt or blouse.  Some people might prefer further belting their peplum in order to draw the eyes straight to the exaggerated hips.

With shoes, I'd advise you keep it sleek.  Match it to another colour in your outfit, but if you really want to bring attention to your peplum, make your shoes match your peplum.

For most of us, monochrome is a good beginner's way of doing peplum, but if you start to get more experimental, try colour blocking, or even mixing prints.

I think this is a great trend because it's spicing up our typical silhouette, and it's both elegant and daring at the same time.  You could style it so it's feminine, you could style it so it's minimalist, or you could style it so it's modern and artsy.  This is something I'd love to try if I had the proper pieces to go with it.

There's no doubt this is a trend for Spring, so don't be afraid to go ahead and glorify (or create) those dangerous curves of yours.  Passerbys?  They won't know what hit them.

Image Source: Photo 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7