Skulls and crossbones might sound like a good idea for millionaires with live-in stylists. But how can the rest of us pull off the trend without looking like a weirdo?
The trick, fashion experts say, is to keep the macabre to a minimum.
"It's an easy thing to incorporate into your wardrobe," says Dannielle Romano editor-at-large of DailyCandy.com. "Remember, we never dress in costume. It's done in a very playful way."
That means pick one skull piece and wear that and that only.
If you have a skull scarf tied around your neck, leave the skull earrings at home. If your T-shirt bears a gigantic, grinning skeletal face, your belt buckle shouldn't be the miniversion of it.
Experts say the trend should be stylish and not grungy: a T-shirt under an expensive tailored jacket. A scarf hanging loosely from the latest "It" bag. A little black dress accessorized with a gold piece of skull-and-crossbones jewelry.
But it should still be done in a tongue-in-cheek kind of way.
"It's a Chanel-like jacket with a skull on it. Or a printed silk blouse all in tiny skulls," says Sasha Charnin Morrison, fashion director at Us Weekly magazine. "It's the juxtaposition that makes it cool."
"If you're a fancy society lady, it is a little bit like, `Ha! Fooled you!' If I were wearing a biker jacket, you wouldn't let me into this restaurant, but if I'm wearing a 100-percent cashmere sweater with a skull on it, then it's OK," says Romano.
Tanika White
