This week we take a look at some ‘trashy’ looks that actually work.

BEFORE you turn the page and mutter “I wouldn’t be caught dead wearing anything that looks like it’s owned by Ke$ha”, take a minute to visualise this fashion disaster.

Sure she looks like she just rolled out of her makeshift cardboard box home and fashioned a dress out of trash bags (she actually did do this once) but you have to admit, there’s a certain charm to her trailer-trash style.

But you think Kesha Rose Sebert (birth name) was the first to leave the house with her hair in a mess, have stockings ripped all up the sides and looking sick and sexified, look a little further back into pop culture history.

Long before Ke$ha and Taylor Momsen began sporting the ‘trailer trash/streetwalker’ look, there were others who incorporated these elements into their style including Courtney Love, three out of five of the Spice Girls and, at one point of her life, even Christina Aguilera.

Of course, what Ke$ha and Taylor did wrong was to take all their ‘trashy’ items of clothing and wear them out all at once, something you can avoid by working with just one piece at a time.

Stockings – frayed, ripped, holey

Fishnet stockings mainly work for themed parties and Halloween bashes, but worn with the right outfit you can make your frayed or ripped tights look less trashy, and more ‘flashy’.

Fashion forward?

You’d be surprised at how huge this trend is in Japan, Korea and Taiwan – they pair their stockings with boots, gladiator pumps and sometimes even ballet slippers.

To dampen the ripped effect, throw in a not-so-mini skirt and a cutesy top for contrast.

Pocket-showing shorts

This is a tricky one as most fashion sites and advice columns tend to warn against any shorts – denim or otherwise – that don’t hide your pockets.

Strangely, the trend doesn’t bother me much. Not too long ago I bumped into a friend who was wearing a white pair with a matching boyfriend blazer and a navy-striped blouse and sneakers, and I must say she looked very fashion-forward.

Admittedly, she does have a very fine pair of legs on her side, but I’m sure most people could pull this look off if they counter the shortness of the skirt, with some length and coverage on the top half of the body

Faux Fur/Feathers

Nothing says tacky more than fake animal fur or feathers, and Ke$ha knows this, which is why she loves showing up in various items made from this synthetic material.

Something like this

This item is even trickier than the stockings, especially if you live in tropical climate like Malaysia. Still, the way to get away with it is to wear items with just a little bit of the fake stuff.

For example have this element on maybe just your collar and cuffs of a jacket, or the hemline of a skirt, even just on your shoulders like in this picture.

Even a small purse or a beret made of fake fur or feathers is acceptable, but nothing more.