Fall 2012 Trends: Metallic Gold

Posted on Mar 22, 2012 in Fashion

Kittens, one of the trends for the fall collections was metallic gold. We hesitate to say “It’s BACK!” in the manner of the average fashion mag because metallics never really go away. They just recede for a while before the zeitgeist resurrects them in a big way.

Elie Saab

For whatever reasons, a whole bunch of designers at the same time made it a focus of their fall collections and with Stacey Keibler grabbing the spotlight at the Oscars, as well as Jennifer Lawrence, working that “girl on fire” shit for all it’s worth, it’s been having a bit of a red carpet moment as well.

Marchesa, Monique Lhuillier, Michael Kors

Prabal Gurung, Giambattista Valli, Reem Acra

Rachel Zoe, Paco Rabanne, Ralph Lauren

We’re gay, so we’re genetically predetermined to like the sparkly, but some people find working a head-to-toe gold metallic to be a bit on the tacky side. We say to hell with that. From Cleopatra to Joan Crawford, it’s a classic look for the kind of gal who doesn’t mind making herself the center of attention. So let’s hear it:

Metallic gold: Yea or Nay?

[Photo Credit: elle.com]

Tags:

j_anson

Yea! And also, YAY! Although I find it goes from zero to tacky in about 10 seconds, and seems to depend a lot on whether it’s a warmer, redder shade of gold or a cooler, greener shade. Those cooler shades just look cheap to me.
slightlybitterkitten

Yay! (But, I am self-consciously aware that it often looks like gilt tin foil.)
http://profile.yahoo.com/KKZK3D5PZ33IGT5MGAOOM6RSX4 yahoo-KKZK3D5PZ33IGT5MGAOOM6RSX4

Don’t forget Meryl Streep at the Oscars. When the Devil Wears Prada herself wins an Oscar while wearing gold, I’m sure people take note.
MitchellGilburne

It’s All about that Ralph Lauren for me.
Paigealicious

Oooh, I really like that Ralph Lauren number.
http://joyouslifesf.wordpress.com Kiltdntiltd

Being a fellow Gay, I also am predestined to love the glitz rather inordinately. And I do love most of these looks. They are, however, far too loud a statement for most situations, and unless the lady in question is supremely self confident, would come off as trying too hard. My suspicion, is that we will see accents of gold showing up more often, in clothes as well as gold dominated accessories. Easier to pull off a gold metallic blouse, or a gold belt, than a full length gold dress.
- Nicole Howard
  
  Agreed. YEA! I love this trend! I wish I had the money and an event to wear one
  of those outfits to. And I have to agree that using gold as an accent color is becoming very popular. I have definitely been buying some gold accessories. I find the easiest way to wear it is on my nails.
  But, I keep them short. And I work in an ecology lab, so no one really
  cares what you’re dressed like.
  - http://joyouslifesf.wordpress.com Kiltdntiltd
    
    Can I tell you how it makes me smile that you’re working in an ecology lab, with gold nails? LOVE this.
  - aristida_girl
    
    Yea for fashion in science! You go girl, keep the fun going in the lab, someone has to do it… :)
  - http://twitter.com/algaechick algaechick
    
    Another yay for fashion in science! [<-----algae chick, signing in] I has many a sad after some of the meetings I go to, where the only fashionable scientists are the visiting Europeans.
    I wish I could paint my nails, but I work with acetone, so can't do it. Need a pop of something different, so my toenails are always painted-usually blue. I'll add gold to my rotation! My office mate also requires a unique pop-at the moment it's colored hair extensions-currently on red. hmm, do they make gold hair extensions?
- ballerinawithagun
  
  Agreed, a little goes a long way.
http://www.facebook.com/charlotte.horseman Charlotte Horseman

Yea, as long as it’s event/venue appropriate. I don’t want to see this trend on Katherine Heigl grocery shopping.
- nannypoo
  
  Neither do I, but you know we will.
  - AthenaJ
    
    That, and a huge pair of sunglasses, a scarf, and old lady hair.
    - nannypoo
      
      Pumping gas.
marilyn

Yea. Why not???
http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=746098172 Leigh Anne Statton

Some of them really are uber fierce, but man that Rachel Zoe and Giambattista Valli are just FUG.
SewingSiren

Perfect. I’m planing on wearing all gold for my 50th birthday. My theme is everyone that comes has to dress older or fatter than me.
- mjude
  
  i “liked” your comment but i have to say that so made me laugh so damn hard.
  - http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1540233153 Malve Lyborg
    
    Same here!
- Call me Bee
  
  You betcha–I did!
http://twitter.com/bredalot Bridget Smith

It always looks cheap to me, which is sort of ridiculous. But I also can’t wear it, so years of shying away from it in every iteration has perhaps altered my brain paths: metallic silver or jewel tones don’t cause the same instinctive “NO!” reaction.
- http://twitter.com/marieldrucker Marie Drucker
  
  Yeah. Can’t wear gold here either … but I do love silver.
  - Terrie_S
    
    That’s okay. I can’t really wear silver, so we can split the metallics.
    - Rebecca Zmarzly
      
      I can’t wear silver either, so I’ll join the gold club with you. So happy it’s coming back in!
http://pleasewelcomeyourjudges.com/ Brian @ PWYJudges

Loves it. Walking around like a giant Oscar gets a total YAY from me!
fashionzombie

I’ll say YEA, just because I need that Giambattista Valli coat. Otherwise, I don’t like metallic gold, though I will take almost any other shade as a metallic.
http://www.facebook.com/ruth.gottesman Ruth Gottesman

Yea. Although I prefer the ones that add texture to dissipate the gilt foil look like the Paco Rabanne dress.
DeborahLipp

It’s a Yea on the red carpet, but head-to-toe has limits. Yea in principle though.
Judy_J

Only if Elvis is wearing it.
Noshmek

Make it go away – forever. If there was ever a more economically tone-deaf fabric as draping the rich in swaths of gold, I don’t know what it could be.
http://pulse.yahoo.com/_K7VOQSAYZ7H2OBX6LOJNNIBSSE Amanda

Yea and YAY!
http://vhanna26.typepad.com Vera

Love it. Makes an impact.
http://pulse.yahoo.com/_NVO7OW3RZNFUPUUVTO53UICRTE Emily Johnson

NAY, NAY, NAY! I typically agree with every word you say, but this I can not stand behind. Gold is tacky as hell.
Anathema_Device

I think gold looks best when it looks like molten/liquid gold. Most of the looks here are really pretty, but I would never wear any of them…not that I have a life that would allow me to. Gold doesn’t look all that great on me.

Although, I could rock this gold Loewe skirt I pinned a few months back: http://pinterest.com/pin/22869910577280188
- http://joyouslifesf.wordpress.com Kiltdntiltd
  
  I wanna see you in this! What a rockin’ hot skirt!
  - Anathema_Device
    
    You and me both, darlin’, you and me both.
    
    And if you join or on Pinterest, follow me and I’ll follow you back.
- DinaSews
  
  That’s how gold should be used. That’s a gorgeous skirt.
- ballerinawithagun
  
  That is a great skirt. I would love a purse, boots, anything out of that gold leather.
Chaiaiai

Um….May I posit…”it” never went away. At least, not in this Bitter Kitten’s closet. I am determined to go through life (well, once I’m rich and/or old enough that I don’t have to dress for a boss or give a damn) looking like the interior of a Ferrero Rocher box. Triple serving of the Reem Acra and RL, please.
Lilithcat

I love it.

I would die for that Ralph Lauren. (And it looks as though the model will. She’s about to cut herself on her own collarbones). The Reem Acra is pretty fabulous, too.
lalahartma

Nay. Tacky looking.
Little_Olive

I love me a gold moment -esp. the Ralph Lauren. Tough job making gold so ethereal.
I hate the Marchesa. It looks almost sad next to the others.
- http://www.GiftedCollector.com Nancy Abrams
  
  Isn’t that Marchesa what Stacy K. wore to the Oscars?
  - Little_Olive
    
    It is, indeed. Didn’t love it then and do not like it now.
http://twitter.com/TheRedZavodnik Ginger

The Reem Acra and Elie Saab are out of this world! I say yea, but I’m a girl that likes her shimmer.
lalahartma

Just say no to the 80s.
lonepear

My inner magpie can’t get enough shiny, so it’s a yea.
RzYoung

oh yea
PeaceBang

Mostly nay, if only because it’s too damn much for an entire gown and the make-up is NEVER right. The Ralph Lauren dress is divoon.
AlexisPayne

Yea!!!
Sara__B

Yea! Especially when the fabric is fluid, not stiff.
http://www.celestiae.net Isy

Yea! I plan on investing on a metallic gold cocktail dress for fall… if that Elie Saab was a mini, I’d wouldn’t mind starving for a few months to own it!
Jase37206

YAY and YAY
Jessica Rowe

Yay, but it does not work on a lot of girls. My freckly, blue eyed, brown-haired, my skin is so pale it glows in the dark, look does not suit gold.
TheLaurenJean

Yea! And YES!!! Love them. But there is a fine line between tacky and amazing, so not for everyone?
DinahR

YEA and YAY!! Bring on the sparkle and fun.
DinaSews

Generally a NAY for me. That Ralph Lauren is to die for though.
http://twitter.com/ursny UrsNY

Yeah, but only if it’s a gold that works for my neutral-cool skin tone, and only for running out to get milk before 10am.
lilibetp

I’m okay with OTHER people wearing gold. Gold makes ME look like I’m on the waiting list for a new liver.
http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1401197785 Jennifer Peters-Ahnberg

I can’t do it but I love to see it on other women. Yea!
Call me Bee

Oh…ok. Yea. But only if you’re a stick. Gold on a pudgy midwesterner will look tacky instantly.
(Did you see the little gal from Hunger Games in her gold dress at the premier in LA–I think it was–? She was stunning!)
Sobaika Mirza

YAYYYYY
http://twitter.com/SuzBald Susan Baldwin

The Lauren is stunning – I could see someone having a Nicole Kidman-in-Dior moment in that gown. Blanchett, maybe, or Emily Blunt.
http://twitter.com/PhDKnitter marlie

LOVE. IT!! I seriously want a gold dress now.
jw_ny

Nay…not a fan of gold in general. I will admit that Stacy Kiebler did look stunning in the Marchesa at the Oscars though. The Rachel Zoe dress is hiddy…nobody should wear that gold potato sack!
janetjb

Nay.

For the most part those models look beautiful, but for mere mortals it too often falls into tacky.
MilaXX

YEA, with restrictions. Gold or any metallic really depends on the fabric, and cut of the look. It easily crosses the line from gorgeous to gaudy.
hellkell

NAY, because gold and my skin tone DO NOT get along.
IAmJ

The Elie Saab, Paco Rabanne and Ralph Lauren numbers are divine. It’s too bad that only a handful of people could truly make head-to-toe gold pop.
http://twitter.com/aStudiobytheSea a Studio by the Sea

All of them are just eh except for the Ralph Lauren. And Stacy looked much better in the Marchesa than the zoned out fake boobed model.
- http://profiles.google.com/valencia.lucia87 Lucía Valencia
  
  Super ditto on that. And jesus fucking christ that Marchesa model looks sooo unhealthy and malnourished it’s scary.
Julie Fountain

Yay! I love the Reem Acra especially. And the Ralph Lauren.
k op

Yay! Wish I were the type of girl to wear gold, lots of sparkly gold. That Ralph Lauren is gorgeous.
Terrie_S

Yea, provided it’s only the dress (and not the shoes, jewelry, etc, as well), doesn’t look cheap and the shade works with their skin tone. Personally, I look good in gold, but I can’t do that much gold without something to contrast it.
AthenaJ

Yea – but when it’s done right. Most of the examples here work. That Ralph Laruen would definitely be Cleopatra-wear…totally ‘I am a goddess, bitches!!’ Though the poor model looks as if she’s about to keel over from hunger at any second, poor thing.
I might get cut for this, but I sorta like the Marchesa (*ducks as sharp objects are hurled at her*). The Duchess’s dress is giving the model’s vajay-jay a double sad face. The Reem Acra is definitely my favorite out of this lot and also works those semi sheer panels a lot better, too.
AuntieAnonny

I need that crocodile coat.

Need.
nancymae

Hell YAY! These are gorgeous looks, especially the Elie Saab, Ralph Lauren and, dare I say it, the Rachel Zoe.
http://pulse.yahoo.com/_EDI2DLE7DE3YPW2ONIHBWOVHMA ecallaw

Wow, that Elie Saab is stunning.
shiftercars

I wish Jennifer Lawrence had worn the Ralph Lauren instead of the Prabal Gurung!
halleygee

It’s fine if done right on the red carpet or if you’re Gwen Stefani but that’s about it.
- kimmeister
  
  Ha, I was totally picturing Gwen in the Reem Acra. She’d kill it.
  - alyce1213
    
    Yes, that’s Gwen’s dress. And only hers.
Sophie Collier

It worked for C-3PO. I keed. I like metallics, so I’m a-ok with this trend.
alyce1213

The only thing I can say about this massive influx of gold dress is “All Things in Moderation,” PLEASE!

And I would kill for that Ralph Lauren.
formerlyAnon

Nay, for mere mortals past the late teens. Bluntly, it makes our largest parts look humongous. Best left to an accent or a single piece.

The professionally willowy (or at least super-thin) & genetically gifted can have at it, though I hope they’ll learn to saunter or strut as befits a woman wearing shoulder-to-hem shiny gold.
kimmeister

Yea, if it’s done in the right fabric and works with your skin. (I’m another who looks better in silver.)
ringthing

Yea. It is amazing to me to observe the Downton Abbey Effect on fashion; so many of these dresses are spot on 1920′s impersonators.
DCSheehan

These pictures hurt my eyes. No.
http://pulse.yahoo.com/_BMEASIKJSVE6YP3DE2VLJA5CUU JulieJ

I would feel like a warrior princess in the Paco Rabanne. So YEA!
NurseEllen

Big old YEA! (Full disclosure: I’m part magpie.)
Pants_are_a_must

Gold is a color that flatters everyone, so I say YEA.
TheOriginalLulu

YEAH!!!
Loving the Elie Saab, Marchesa, Prabal, Acra and Ralph Lauren.
luciaphile

I’m sure for those who have the required body, self confidence, money, and event it’s great. The problem is that when this filters down to the hoi polloi the result tends to look like original Star Trek on crack.
RebeccaKW

Yea! I want so much of this!
BrooklynBomber

Eek. The only ones I like are the Elie Saab and Rachel Zoe (and I’m not sure about that one). I think we women of a certain age are probably better off staying away from this trend.

There are a few I can see as Academy Awards type gowns. And I hatee the hip-rosette one on sight, before I even scrolled down and saw it was Marchesa!
LesYeuxHiboux

Yea for other girls, gold does nothing for my skin or hair, but I would wear head-to-toe silver in a minute. I was fortunate to be a teen in the late nineties/early oughts.
http://twitter.com/rmcgrudiva RL McGruder

Always YEA!
CatherineRhodes

YEA
piecesofconfetti

YEA!
http://twitter.com/jaythenerdkid Aaminah Khan

I’m mentally weighing up whether I could get away with wearing metallic gold while out running errands. I’d be the sparkliest gal at the supermarket!

I love a bit of shiny so I’m glad to see this coming back. Better than an endless parade of dishwater dresses, at any rate.
http://twitter.com/AShinyOConnor A Shiny O’Connor

Yea. I’ll take it with doses of neutrals (Madonna knows her shit). Head to toe is only appropriate for stage, red carpet or super high end gala, and how many of us count those in our working calendars? Gold really needs a neutral to bring it down to a wearable level. Black, white, grey and even navy make gold workable at street level.
http://www.facebook.com/people/Jessica-TallGirl-Freeman/1043623567 Jessica TallGirl Freeman

I think most minions are of the thought “where does one wear a metallic gold evening gown?”. I vote yay for the trickle down metallic tops and skirts and non-evening gown dresses the masses will be receiving…via the Miranda Preistley explanation of how high fashion ends up at Macy’s.
kolokOlchik

Yea!
Presumptuous Insect

I love this shit!!! Especially the one with the red background.
lrhoff

Works for me — bring it on!
Warmheartedgirl Seattle

YEA! Except that Michael Kors monstrosity, of course. Butt ugly dress.
ThaliaMenninger

NAY! The Reem Acra is the only one I like. I think it’s the shade of gold that makes it look tacky or not. I never like the brassy gold ones.

If I wanted to look like the robot in Metropolis, I might like these better.
TieDye64

Yea, but a little of this goes a long way. Head to toe shiny can quickly cause headaches.
lilazander

YAY! I don’t know whether I could pull off a whole metallic oufit, but a metallic jacket or tank, I sure would. But like it was said here before, it could possibly become problematic depending on a styling, place, occasion and body type. But, I still say, YAY!
turtleemily

WTF is with the cutouts on the Michael Kors dress?
http://pulse.yahoo.com/_CQPXLNCBM5CZSHZZXJDHPVFS7E Buffy

Depends. It’s not for everyone. I for one look like crap in metallic gold (evidence those Glamour photo shoots from the 80s – but I rock a turquoise feather boa )
RedRaven617

Rachel Zoe’s reminds me of a Laura Ashley nightgown I went I was 14 years old. ‘Nuf said. But overall, I give it a “Yeah”
http://www.facebook.com/people/Micaela-Cannon/1465504041 Micaela Cannon

I just bought a metallic gold sequin skirt from sears a few weeks ago, (trust me imagine the classiest version of this creature that you can) and I’ve worn it for going out a few times. Every time I’ve gone out on the town in that sucker I invariably get complimented by women and flirted with/hit on by men. I love it. Bring on the gold, I say!
aristida_girl

Yea! Shiny metallics make me very happy…I want to see Angelina Jolie in the Prabal Gurung, and Charlize Theron in the Ralph Lauren..
Sylvia McCarthy

Yea! I’m drawn to metallics like a moth to a flame, but I’ve never plucked up the nerve to actually buy anything. Maybe this will be my year!
holdmewhileimnaked

to hell w/ that [ditto].
almost every piece of the abovenoted is close to heartstoppingly fabulous, even the kors drop waist [& i, for pure & decent cause, along w/ every thinking person who is perhaps not pure but certainly decent, detest drop waists]. maybe rachel zoe shouldve thought beyond the kaftan. & that prabal gurung w/ the weird cutouts that, i think, jennifer lawrence wore–well, seeing it on anyone who wasnt shaped like a reed kind of killed its appeal. & the post-heyday rabanne really does look post-heyday. but these are quibbles. the rest of them are wow & beyond that.

edited to add:
i need to dig through my stuff to see if i have any more gold metallic to sell. sadly, i may have sold at least most of it the last time it came around. [weary sigh]
http://twitter.com/IfIwasasculptor Erin Leahy

YEA. A THOUSAND TIMES YEA.
http://twitter.com/IfIwasasculptor Erin Leahy

YEA. A THOUSAND TIMES YEA.
http://twitter.com/Eovaai Eovaai

YEA. It’s such a eye-catching look for the woman who knows how to WERQ it.
ccm800

Yea for New Years
BrightsideSusan

Done right it is a big yea, but ti is done wrong a lot.
- introspective
  
  Indeed. Thats why I want to support it but hesitate. I see a lot of tacky on the red carpet. I see even more fodder for a “starlet or streetwalker” segment when the trend moves from red carpet to gal on the street.
Cautiously Pessimistic

Yea, if only because gold is one of my best colors, and it’s always a good thing when your best colors are on trend.
Gorengirl

Hell Yea!!!!
SVLynn

Yea, love the first one, could see Angelina in that one.
http://twitter.com/BeantownMrs Praggya

Yea!! Gold and sparkly? Sign me up!
http://twitter.com/BeantownMrs Praggya

Yea!!! Gold and sparkly? Sign me up!
PhillipWilde

On the right woman, metallic gold can be a definite YEA.
girliecue

Gold? Yea! Yay! Yes! And, as some parts of the South say: Yay-yus!
tinyredlocks

I’m more of a silver girl, but I do like the shiny, so mild “yea”
MzzPants

Yeah!
R. L.

Yea! I am all for shiny things.
SapphoPoet

Yea!

Disclaimer: I’m currently wearing pale gold shoes.
http://twitter.com/carelessriver Cassie (C.M.W.)

More like “meh” until I figure out whether it actually works on me. Have a sneaking suspicion I will eventually say a personal nay but an overall yea–you just have to have the right skin tone, and I doubt I do.
KathKo

Definitely Nay.
Even if a metallic gold hint in an outfits almost always manage to skyrocket it to fabulous, I find whole metallics thingy to close to C3-PO to my taste.
OneTwoThreeFashion

Love the Prabal Gurung, it looks like it came out of an old glamourous movie. Also love the Ralph Lauren.

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Fall 2012 Trends: Metallic Gold

Metallic gold: Yea or Nay?

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