Luella A/W 2008/9
It's all high neck dresses, chunky black shoes and aprons as the Amish look gets ready to take next season by storm. Female First look at the tradition behind this modest new trend.
Early predictions say this trend is set to be huge next season with various London Fashion week collections and Vogue Italia's front cover having a definite Amish theme.
Luella gave us the traditional Wednesday Adams style black and white plain cut dress livened up with red tights in her autumn/winter 2008/9 collection. Peaches Geldoff also tackled the Amish trend for fashion week as she revealed her more conservative new look.
Vogue Italia decicated a whole centre spread to the Amish look and even used items made by a authentic Amish clothes maker (Plainly Dressed) for the shoot.
The Amish are an Anabaptist Christian denomination, formed in 1693 by Swiss Mennonites led by Jacob Amman who still exist in the US and Canada to this day.
The Amish look is all about quirky modesty with a delibarate attempt to embrace what is usually considered old-fashioned and plain but there is a lot more to the traditions behind the way this community dress.
The main idea behind Amish dress is that clothes are for practical use and should not used to display any sort of vanity or difference in status.
Prints such as florals, stripes, polka-dots are banned from a lot of Amish communities because they allow the wearer to stand out from the crowd- so expect to see a move towards plain block colours this winter.
Some Amish groups ban buttons- meaning hooks and eyes are used to keep clothing closed- while others allow small undecorated buttons in a dark color.
This is down to buttons being associated with military uniforms, and also to their potential to display wealth or decorate clothes.
Amish women wear calf-length plain-cut dresses in a solid color and aprons are often worn at home or when attending church, usually in white or black.
Coats are thick and wollen and usually long- so it looks like swing coats might have seen the end of their reign.
The essential Amish accesory is the apron. Women must wear their aprons when they are at home or in church so look out for apron style lace embellishment on the front of dresses next season.
It all sounds very plain and boring but this look is so easy to wear. The simple cut of Amish dresses suits almost any shape and those chunky shoes aren't half comfy. It can also be easily dressed up with some coloured tights or a visible patterned underskirt.
Caz Moss- Female First