FASHION FRIDAY: LUREX SHINE FOR NYE

30 Dec FASHION FRIDAY: LUREX SHINE FOR NYE

When the ball drops in Time Square, the holiday trifecta finally – amen – comes to a close. How will you end 2011? With a yawn or a bang? Kristin Holbrook of Two Skirts wants to put a shine on your finish – with lurex.

Two weeks ago, the subject of our weekly installment of Fashion Friday was sequins. That’s one way to add a little sparkle to the Big Night.
Another is lurex. According to Kristin, sparkling knits and shimmering silk-like fabrics are in vogue for the holidays. (Have been since the fall.)

A trademarked brand name, Lurex is a type of yarn made from synthetic film onto which a metallic aluminum, sliver, or gold layer has been vaporized. It’s also dye resistant so the metallic yarn retains it’s color and brilliance despite high temperatures and chemical treatment. Back in the1960s, Lurex was popularized when actress  Julie Newmar wore a black lurex suit as “Catwoman” in the “Batman” TV series. Throughout the 1960s and into the 1970s, Lurex fabrics began turning heads when designers such as Rudi Gernreich, Oscar de la Renta, and Yves Saint Laurent traded in their sequins for flashy Lurex threads. The 1980s and 1990s marked an era of transparent Lurex in the form of pantyhose. In the early days, Lurex developed a reputation for being scratchy and uncomfortable, but thanks to technology, this incarnation is is super soft as well as shiny.

What are the variations on the theme of Lurex in store at Two Skirts? How to to wear the look day and night? What to wear New Year’s Eve?

Click the “play” button and listen to what Kristin has to say.