How to Style Stuff You're Sick Of

4:45 PM, June 25 2012

By Natalie Matthews

Before I wrote this story, I wasn't excited—at all—to wear the once very, very trendy but now slightly past-prime pieces in the gallery. Now I'll be revisiting those ubiquitous collegiate staples I felt squirmishly too old to wear, as well as the fast fashion top sellers of 2011. The backlash to the backlash changed my mind.

A really cool French girl I interned with years ago perma-borrowed one of her mom's Herve Leger dresses from the '80s. Before the label relaunched in 2007, she wore it all the time. No one knew what it was. It was cool.

Of course, now those bandage dresses are everywhere. To turn it into something more than a predictable prom dress option, I'd toss on a tie-front blouse or sweatshirt—transforming it into a pencil skirt—and wear it during the day. With open toe booties, it'd be, well, cool.