When I was little, my Uncle’s wife–who was from New York and very sophisticated–used to bring me big chiffon bows to clip at the nape of my ponytail. She got them off the streets of SoHo from the vendors–at 6 or 7, I had no idea that this style was a staple of WASP culture that had trickled down from the likes of Christian Lacroix and other booming ’80s designers.

Yesterday’s Oscar de la Renta show gave a nod to the late ’80s in more ways than one, even if silhouettes were predominately inspired by the late ’50s, early ’60s. There were the hair bows, often accompanied by some sort of feathery, curly flounce. And there were the skirts suits–in saturated colors like apple red and kelly green–which evoked a sort of quiet power.

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