NEW YORK, Dec 10 — After a long period of fashion being dominated by streetwear and utilitarian style, posh style is poised to take its revenge by bringing pleated skirts, lace blouses, and other essentials of a proper young lady’s wardrobe to the forefront. A trend that translates into a noticeable desire for preppy chic or Plazacore, which is currently all the rage on social media, with accessories straight out of Upper East Side closets making an unexpected comeback.

In the coming months, you may find yourself torn between donning a pair of cargo pants or slipping on a pleated skirt. On one side is a kind of revenge of the geeks with the advent of ‘normcore,’ while on the other side is a nod to the ultra chic with the much trumpeted return of preppy looks, a style some watchers are calling Plazacore this time round: a style indissociable from the protagonists of the Gossip Girl series, in particular Blair Waldorf. And if we thought that this trend would be limited to a few ruffled shirts, some ballet flats and coat dresses, well, we were wrong. It also encompasses the surprising comeback of three accessories that we weren’t expecting to see in a period defined by a need for comfort and functionality.

Coloured tights

If you were a fan of the show Gossip Girl — the original, not the reboot — you probably remember the colourful tights — matte and opaque or cozy and woolly — flaunted by Blair Waldorf and her minions on every street corner of the Upper East Side. A preppy chic staple that’s about to make a comeback at the dawn of 2023. Seen time and time again on the spring-summer catwalks, and more specifically at Versace, Vivienne Westwood, Xuly.Bët, and Thom Browne, coloured tights are set to be seen everywhere in coming weeks, testifying to the interest in this famous Plazacore style that is winning over fans around the world. A key accessory that can, for the less daring, be replaced by colourful high socks, a tad less eccentric.

Mary Jane shoes

With heels making a comeback and preppy chic styles going viral, this combination was destined to rehabilitate the image of this shoe style long associated with students and proper young girls: Mary Janes. The phenomenon is even less surprising considering that uniforms have been trending for several months, and that this ultra sophisticated model is an ideal compromise between the comfort of loafers and the chic of stilettos. If the original Mary Jane style was a flat shoe, it’s a style that has long been executed with a high heel — sometimes thin, sometimes chunkier — but is always defined by a strap on top of the foot. For an even more modern look, they are now available in platform, version, a style that is already popular in the fashion sphere.

Spotted on the catwalk of Chanel in a very classic two-tone version sporting a bow as a strap, Mary Janes were also seen at Paul & Joe, as well as on host of famous influencers, such as Suki Waterhouse who opted for a lace model at the recent Dior show in Egypt. To be worn with high socks or (coloured) tights for an even preppier look.

Pearls

Ok, they never really went away, but pearls will be everywhere in 2023 as well, complementing the preppy chic style espoused by the elite. All over the looks for the spring-summer 2023 season at Junya Watanabe, pearls accessorise the house’s punk looks in surprising ways, often in layers, with piles of ropes draped across the body. But they were also spotted at Dior and Simone Rocha.

And of course, pearls have been showing up in TikTok videos for several weeks, with renewed interest for all types of pearl jewellery — necklaces, rings, earrings, as well as headbands, and even clothing entirely adorned with pearls. Which goes to show young fashion fans are more than ever ready to adopt this chic trend of the year to come. — ETX Studio