Everybody Flora Kung Tonight . . .

Remember that song?! This editorial in Vogue reminds me of clothing by the 80s designer Flora Kung, known for her ruching and intense floral prints. (And shoulders.)

But even more they remind me of poring over Vogue in the 1980s, that decade when I finished boarding school and began university (and promptly left to work in fashion in Montreal).

I loved looking at Ralph Lauren ads with Clotilde, a vision in conch belts, Native American weavings and eyelet petticoats (above). And Karen Graham for Estee Lauder (till 1985) was enigmatic: too static to be attractive, she nevertheless held my eye with her almost alien clear looks (below).

But the ads I recall perhaps both the least and the most were for Lillie Rubin, the Florida boutique, begun in 1964, and which featured Flora Kung dresses as well as ads featuring Ms. Rubin and her daughter (named Lynn?), if I remember correctly. (Please do fill in any gaps if you can; I haven’t been able to locate any of those ads on the internet.)

While a few savvy bloggers are wearing vintage Kung, it appears that her influence is in the air for fall 2010. And I even read (on the internet, so it must be reliable!) that Ms. Kung, who left for Paris and gave up design when she turned 30, may be staging a comeback. I’d be interested to see how she interprets the decade to come.