While many are huddled inside, trying to stay warm, fashion designers around the globe will be busy showcasing their Spring 2013 collections. New York’s Fashion Week will commence on February 7 and fashion editors, stylists, and buyers will try their hand at predicting which clothes we, the masses, will want once the weather warms.
The ritual of finding new fashion trends and forecasting which styles will sweep the nation is hardly a new phenomenon. One of LIFE magazine’s first female photographers, Nina Leen, captured a “new mode in sports fashion” back in 1958, the checked look. In the magazine, LIFE showcased where you might use this look–not on the runway, but at the racetrack.
Nina Leen, [Woman with checked parasol at racetrack], 1958 (1805.2005)
Nina Leen, [Women wearing checked outfits, waiting to place bets at racetrack], 1958 (1806.2005)
Nina Leen, [Woman with big checked handbag and matching shoes at racetrack], 1958 (1804.2005)
