♥ Diraac Fabulous ♥

It seemed up until about 2005; the most shocking departure you'd get in the world of diraac fashion would be the introduction of 45" wide cotton voile fabrics and underskirts that were not nylon affairs pre-made in China. In the four years since; there has been a sudden acceleration of different styles; fabrics and designs coming onto the market, some of them rather a radical departure from previously; but it seems now things are coming full circle. Cotton voiles are back in again as are other simple, plain textured fabrics such as fine crinkle chiffons, silk and high quality acetate satins.  Rises in the prices of some natural fabrics; and falling prices in some synthetic types; along with a vast increase in quality due to new technologies over the past few years, have really turned things on their head.

In early 2009; the prints that came into fashion were quite bold, sharp and with a retro flavour that not everyone could carry off; nor was it really to everyone's taste.  A diraac with a print of dice and playing cards in green and purple, anyone? (This was a real diraac design I saw in a market in London!). Previous to this there was a trend for chintzy Laura Ashley type prints, with the occasional hand-applied sequin outline; to break up the monotony. When it comes to an outfit like the diraac; in which the print dominates so much; you don't want something too outlandish, but at the same time small insipid prints in blah colours are hardly going to set the world on fire; and may look more like you're wearing your mum's curtains. Thankfully neither trend really lasted terribly long; as they had a limited appeal.

The styles that are in now are in a variety of prints; in a few select colours; although the colourways tend to be more muted than the fashion in previous years (monochrome, dark brown, brick red, and burnt lime are some examples) they are not at all bland; and are really flattering. The type of prints that are in tend to be fairly abstract, although floral prints are creeping in again as well; sometimes with an African or 'ethnic' flavour. Very bold; oversized prints with an Andy Warhol 'pop art' kind of look, especially in pink and blue colourways, are also very much in style.  Most fabrics used nowadays are fine and mono-textured; as opposed to the silk burnout fashion of previous years, although synthetic burnouts with the satin effect dominant are still very much in vogue; particularly in extra-wide varieties.When it comes to gogorad, the extremely trendy ones usually have a small narrow straight strip of highly embellished trim at the bottom edge only; this is quite a radical departure from previous seasons where scalloped embroidery or lace reaching sometimes from floor to knee; were in style. I don't think this is a trend that will last too long; as having such a narrow trim on the gogorad limits how you can tuck in the diraac and display the lace underneath; but nonetheless a couple of sets I am going to put up have this type of gogorad so you can see what you think.

As for garbasar; for the past few seasons; moves have been made towards more subtle embroidery as opposed to the huge sequinned, velvet or satin appliques, repeated all over the fabric. Some garbasars now are very generously sized; being around 55" wide and being cut considerably longer than previously. I certainly prefer the newer varieties; they tend to go with a lot of different diraacs; whereas with the heavily decorated varieties the sequins especially tended to limit what the garbasar would go with. In addition if the sequins or patches were not sewn well; or the silk was particularly delicate and thus snagged on the decorative parts easily; you'd end up with a pretty shabby looking garbasar after a couple of wears. Not to mention the garbasars with badly applied iron-on appliques which leaked glue before they have even been used. Considering many garbasars cost a minimum of £15; this was a pretty poor investment.

If you have seen any trends in your locale you'd like to share; or even suggest to sell in the store, please contact me or leave a comment InshaAllaah!