The fashion forecast for summer: Crocheted cardigans. Knee-skimming skirts. Kumquat-size beads. Baggy, saggy dresses. Bermuda shorts. Brooches. Forget boho chic and celebutante trashy. The look this summer is a little, well, older.

Senior citizen style - "the things that you would find in your grandmother's closet" - is what's au courant, says Erin Sumwalt, fashion market editor at In Style magazine.

All over the city, twentysomething women are sporting clothing that wouldn't look out of place on their sixtysomething relatives, from floral prints and oversize sunglasses to sensible sandals.

And exactly what accounts for the switch from teen tart (remember last summer's flouncy micro-minis?) to the current retirement revival, according to Jeffrey Campbell, a shoe designer in L.A. whose line includes refurbished '40s wedges? "It is a backlash to the Paris Hilton phenomenon," he says. Looking hot in a tube top or slip dress is no challenge. But if you can pull off a knee-length skirt, layers of wildly printed tops, pearls and some early-bird-special sandals, you're a style icon. "To me, that is what determines the trend setters from the followers," says Campbell.

"Definitely, a strong woman is wearing the granny stuff," agrees Nypull's DeLuise.

--Thanks, but no thanks. Guess I'm not "strong" enough to wear granny chic. Pearls and brooches, I can handle. But I don't do baggy dresses. When you're 5'3, knee-length and baggy makes you look like you just stepped off the Mayflower.

Posted by Lawren at July 1, 2005 07:15 AM | Trackbacks (0)

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