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Streets Blossom with 'Urban Demoiselle' Style

By Patrick Michael Hughes | August 7, 2012 11:42am

MANHATTAN — In spite of sultry summer weather and hoardes of vacationing tourists, Street Chic knows that New York City is still the fashion hub of the lovely young things who strut the streets like it's their job. The avenues blossom with a conspicuous assembly of "urban demoiselle," who move through some of downtown’s most fashionable haunts.

This stylish grouping of young ladies, who typically are between the ages of 21 to 26, can be found perusing racks in the city's venerable shops. They check the pre-fall looks at the elegant Italian boutique Marni, on Mercer Street in SoHo, or find Japanese cult-label leather accessories at Henry Beguelin on Charles Street in the West Village.

The urban demoiselle style has been championed everywhere from the runways of Marc Jacobs and Sonia Rykiel to an editorial spread in the August issue of Vogue Mexico.

Street Chic was quite taken with the polished yet nonchalant fashion savvy of the urban demoiselle. The styles we spotted ranged from a cotton top with a Peter Pan collar embellished with pom-poms and a loosely tied grosgrain ribbon bow worn with neat cuffed denim shorts, to a knee-length, sleeveless, princess-line vintage dress with a washed floral design.

Shopping for and wearing a few of the pre- fall looks at the elegant Italian boutique Marni, on Mercer Street in SoHo.
Shopping for and wearing a few of the pre- fall looks at the elegant Italian boutique Marni, on Mercer Street in SoHo.
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Dnainfo.com/ Patrick Michael Hughes

One of the most shining examples of the princess-line dress — one of the important looks for the urban demoiselle — was spotted at this summer’s Frick Garden Party in July, on New York social star Miss Julia Flynn. She wore an incandescent Fullcircle sleeveless dress in a nude hue, covered in clear sequins with art deco drop-waist details. The look was wonderfully paired with Christian Louboutin lace overlay shoes, and her hair was casually braided to one side, a style made popular by John Barrett’s Ponytail Bar at Bergdorf Goodman.

The frock, with an untailored and deliberately laid-back silhouette, is also part of the cool and unforced style of the urban demoiselle. The dress’s look typically features a round neck and is sleeveless, with little to no seaming or embellishment.

Street Chic keenly observed the way in which these dresses were styled, with the most charming examples spotted in SoHo. The frocks were capriciously styled with black socks or taupe sandals, two-tone monk strap men’s style shoes, and a sheer-nude crushed bucket hat.