Baroque decadence

1. Vintage Versace (source) / 2. Topshop shirt, dress and jacket / 3. Motel shirt and skirt / 4. D&G Spring 2012 collection (via Style.com / 5. Versace for H&M / 6. Topshop Spring 2012 lookbook / 7. River Island vest, dress and top / 8. Vintage Versace (source) / 9. Motel shirt and jeans
I've been thinking about baroque/scarf prints ever since Lady Gaga started wearing all that 80s and 90s Versace, closely (and obviously not coincidentally) followed by the launch of Versace for H&M. These completely over-the-top prints hark back to my style of 'yesteryear' (approximately 2005) when I had a wardrobe bursting with leopard print and tacky gold stuff, and the above collection of images isn't so much a wishlist as a general moodboard. That phase is behind me now (although I'll always have a magpie-like appreciation for trashy gold), and I'm pretty sure I have neither the youth nor the glamour to pull this sort of thing off. Partly because of the aforementioned Versace renaissance, partly because of the most recent (and final) D&G collection, these prints seem to be popping up all over the place on the high street this season, especially in Topshop's 'South Pacific' collection and at River Island, which might as well have been MADE for this sort of thing. It would be stretching the truth to say I'm seriously contemplating buying the majority of the above, but I think a scarf print silk shirt would be an excellent investment for spring... tucked into a pair of high-waisted trousers or a sleek pencil skirt, or worn loose with skinny jeans and a simple blazer (sorry, I thought I was writing an eBay listing for a moment there). I've got my eye on the Topshop one, but might hold back in case a more attractive colour scheme pops up anywhere else. Meanwhile I'll be scouring the internet for ludicrously expensive actual vintage Versace shirts and crying into my keyboard at the fact that I will never own them.