Growing up in n' around Savannah and then returning frequently, for years and years and yes, years...the overall style was and still is traditional. Traditional with a "capital T". Tradition makes a Preppy's heart happy that's for sure.
Nothing much new was added-in to the styling parameters around here in my earlier Savannah days excepting the fun, bright patterns of purveyors such as Lilly Pulitzer and Vera Bradley. My first bikini was a Lilly one and my mother started me out on the "Black Walnut" Vera Bradley pattern of which I still have several pieces and pull out each autumn to enjoy using. That was bold-stuff back then... the swirls n' swishes of these distinctive prints! Now they're par-for-the-Preppy-course around here, Beaufort, Charleston and other southern coastal spots.
My style-eye's so used to these now that they're akin to plaids, polka dots and pinstripes.
However, there's a new fresh pattering in-town I've noticed crop up around these parts lately. It's not one particular styling or brand, it's more of a movement.
Some would call it retro but I like to think of it as, Savannah Swish!
It's a dollop of Artsy-Retro added into the traditionalism that's so Savannah. It's undoubtedly majorly influenced by the predominance of SCAD, Savannah College of Art and Design. It's funky, fresh and pure fun. It's not really my style but I sure can appreciate it when I see it.
Savannah Swish is...kinda' Betty Boop meets Scarlett O'Hara!
Scarlett O'Hara on a good day that is. The flirty side of her rather than the manipulative one.
The flirty flounces of Forties kitchen colors and Fifties kitschy patterns n' prints and Sixties psychedelic graphic designs and Seventies haute hippy all collide together in a riot of lifestyle offerings ranging from refrigerator magnets to cocktail dresses to garden sculptures and beyond.
The colors are bright and bold. The designs are noteworthy. The feel is whimsical yet artsy.
It even translates into a street-scene vignette like the one I walked by today just off of Chippewa Square: a bright red mod designed scooter parked near an old wall and flanked by garden urns showcasing a simple flowering of white vinca. I snapped the picture above and smiled...
...I may have returned home to a whole lotta' tradition but I'm also discovering new things too!
P.S. when I have more time out n' about town, I'll add more pics of Savannah Swish styling ;)
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