Bold Shoulder

The decorative focus rests squarely on our shoulders, darlings, and not in the manner of the deplorable 80s pouf, either! Whether garishly overdone or delightfully playful, bold shoulders took center stage on the runways, and they’ve made their way into the shops as well!

Though exaggerated to a virtually unwearable extent, the angular sculptural forms protruding from this Konstantina Mittas dress are noteworthy because they encapsulate fashion's current superhero obsession. Photo at top right via Vogue Australia. Go to www.vogue.com/au.

The inverted triangle shape created by the Mittas shoulder is echoed in this subtly striped Amaya Arzuaga minidress; photo via Spanish Vogue, at http://www.vogue.es/.
Bottega Veneta interprets the bold-shouldered blazer in a decidedly modern way, keeping the bodice fitted and the collar wide. It is pure genius that the additional volume is created not by garish padding (a la "Working Girl"), but by the delicate and purposeful placement of an extra fold of fabric, creating a clean line where there might otherwise have been an awkward shoulder seam! Photo courtesy nymag.com.
At Kenzo, where wearable plants sprouted from the runway for Fall 2008, the model is nearly swallowed whole by an oversize tulip-shaped confection. The linear shoulder stands in playful contrast to the billowing hem of the minidress.
At Chanel Couture, a magenta dress gets an exaggerated hourglass shape by the use of twisted mounds of fabric at the shoulders. CC loves this one!
Christian Dior Couture takes the oversize shoulder asymmetrical, with a frothy leopard-print creation tightly cinched at the waist.
Black lace gets a poufy black satin shoulder cap at Christian Lacroix Couture.
Most shocking and fanciful of the lot, the left shoulder at Anne Valerie Hash Couture is adorned by a space-age egg with a sculptural cutout revealing a shiny gold lining. CC wonders how this pod is attached and whether it will be sold in the boutiques...
It takes a true fashionista to sport one of the above designs.
But runway does translate to real way, as with Paul and Joe's short sleeve baby blue double breasted jacket, a more approachable take on the outsize shoulder.

CC adores this purple Fendi structured sleeve dress, at Neiman Marcus.
And we might actually wear this Marc Jacobs pale yellow colorblock dress; photo via elle.com.

Alexander McQueen offers several pared-down versions of the runway trend. Top, wing embroidered dress;

Bottom, enhanced shoulder belted dress. Both at Net-a-Porter.com.

Another gorgeous possibility? This stone-hued RM by Roland Mouret Moon dress. Loving!!! Also at net-a-porter.

Can you shoulder the trend? [How] would you do it?

Fashion credits: Runway photos in this post courtesy style.com, except where noted.