KEY POINTS:
A new twist on a popular trend has revived last season's look, and brought it back into vogue
It's like one of those trashy horror movies where the bad guy never really dies. You know, just when you think it's safe, the virginal heroine has been rescued and you're all taking a deep breath while reaching for the popcorn - bang! - the demented slasher leaps through a window, bursts up from beneath the waves, jumps out of a cupboard or pops out of the gloom, still alive and ready to eat some brains or do similarly unpleasant damage.
It's the same with the fashion trend known as boho.
Followers of fashion know the term well - it became shorthand for a sort of free-wheeling, mix-and-match, creative style of dressing which saw ruffled and tiered gypsy skirts teamed with embroidered peasant blouses, vintage cowboy boots and lashings of beads, scarves, floppy bags and hair. British actress and former It girl, Sienna Miller, is generally credited as the celebrity to most popularise the look, along with supermodel Kate Moss.
But of course, once something's become intensely trendy - as in, all the chain stores are stocking about 20 versions of the tiered skirt and you, your mother and your grandmother are all donning embroidered peasant blouses - then the look loses something of its cachet.
Boho became the butt of many a fashion writer's jokes and it was in fact Miller who really put the nail in boho's flowery coffin when she told American Vogue in an interview that she was over it. Her oft-repeated quote: "I feel less hippie. I just don't want to wear anything floaty or coin-belty ever again. No more gilets, or cowboy boots. There are 12-year-olds wearing exact replicas of my mother's Moroccan belt."
But still, even a B-list beauty like Miller couldn't rid the world of boho forever. Just recently it has sprung back into life and, like some pretty zombie with a big axe, it's ready to take a further toll on your wardrobe.
This time around the trend is called foho - apparently, according to the fashion writers at the Daily Telegraph, who invented the term, it's short for folk meets bohemian. This is because, they say, the look has a slightly more toned down, folky feel than out-and-out bohemian madness. And apparently this is mainly based on their observations of how modern-day folk singers and folksy types dress. Mentioned are the likes of sister-band Coco Rosie, actresses and models Milla Jovovich, Vanessa Paradis, Mischa Barton and Helena Christensen.
What it all comes down to is that some of the elements formerly considered strictly boho - that is, some crochet or embroidered detailing, tie dyed fabrics, washed out denim, flowing scarves, leather fringing or floral cottons - are now quietly creeping back on to our clothes.
And why not? After all, the look is pretty, feminine, relatively easy to wear for all ages and it's a way of being creative with your wardrobe. It also sits well with current political concerns about the environment and the more hippie-ish attitudes developing in fashion.
The main byword for the whole lot is subtle. It's folky with a modern twist. And it's obviously what the models and actresses formerly known as boho had to do to modernise their looks.
Sure, they can still look slightly undone and arty, but rather than adding lashings of beads and fabrics, they'll go with one interesting-looking, ethnic inspired necklace or an embellished scarf. Or a 60s-inspired floaty blouse with crocheted insets and a pair of skinny leg pants, plus some modern sports shoes or wedge boots.
And it seems to be mainly about details. While overseas the retro-inspired maxi-dress is a major trend for the summer and is possibly the only totally boho garment to make a proper comeback, it's hard to say whether many New Zealand women are going to be sporting floor-grazing frocks as soon as the sun comes out.
Nonetheless you have been warned. Boho is back. Even if you decide to stick with your more minimal outfits for now, there'll be no need to jump and scream, or run, next time you see a bit of crochet or a spot of tie dye lurching along the street.
Bo-who?
Bohemian. The original bohemians were gypsies, travellers or refugees from a central part of Europe that, at one time, was called Bohemia. However over time the term has come to refer to a wide variety of people, from artists and poets who originally aped the dress and carefree, alternative lifestyle of the original bohemians at the turn of the 20th century, to 60s and 70s hippies, to Sienna Miller, Bob Dylan and, crikey, even Jesus Christ.
Bobo
Short for bohemian bourgeois. This is more of a sociological term. Basically it refers to grown-ups with disposable income and adult responsibilities who refuse to give up on their alternative, bohemian past. They still want to wear jeans every day, go to rock concerts and discuss left-wing politics - even though they have a mortgage and kids.
Faux-ho
See bobo.
Festival chic
A term used to describe what music festival-goers are gadding about in. It was invented by, and is mainly used by, the British press as each European summer, hundreds of people flock to a vast range of music festivals around that continent, all dressed in their best holiday outfits. Very similar look to boho and foho.
Ashcan chic
An excellent tongue twister invented by American journalists to describe how twin actors, Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen, were dressing. In other words, boho.
Boho-rock
Wearing flimsy, feminine outfits with a studded leather jacket and/or biker boots. Basically mixing some of the tougher aspects from the punk rock or heavy metal school of dressing with softer items. Or by layering. It's what Kate and Sienna did next and could also be confused with a grunge revival.
Cocktail grunge
A careful balance between looking like you cared to dress up and as though you simply threw everything together. Also known as luxe grunge or boho chic.
Boho-rave
Our (slightly tongue-in-cheek) prediction for the next boho trend. This will involve a combination of the New Rave looks - fluoro colours, sportswear - with the hippie aesthetic. As in tie-dyed fluoro prints, ethnic scarves with fuchsia 80s cocktail dresses and maxi-dresses with cool sneakers.
BOHO - so last season
* Tiered gypsy skirts
* Overly embroidered peasant blouses
* Cowboy boots
* Lashings of necklaces
* Mad mixtures of prints
FOHO - So next season
* Interesting, floaty scarves
* Faded florals
* Flared, retro-inspired jeans
* High-waisted, faded denim
* Wedges
* Bandannas
* Maxi-dresses
* 60s smock shapes
* Hippie detailing like fringing, crochet or tie dye
