Column: Blondie's fashion sense still relevant

Blondie says keep it. You should listen.

It might be a new year, but looking ahead is severely similar to looking back.

The artist that most comes to mind also has a comment on your potential New Year’s resolution.

Neatly clearing your closet doesn’t apply to Deborah Harry, and it shouldn’t to you.

Debbie told STYLE.com her favorite pieces are those shredded dear things we all love and claims them as stylemonger must-haves.

The rumors are true.

Blondie will be back with their new album “Ghosts of Download” this spring.

It has many asking if the loudness of this punk icon’s ­fashion of the 1970s and '80s will return too. But first, let’s go back.

Blondie’s popularity built during the '70s with its self-titled debut album “Blondie” in '76 and regular appearances at New York’s infamous CBGB club.

But when the band went mainstream with the ’78 release “Parallel Lines,” so did the interest in Blondie frontwoman Debbie Harry and her virile sense of fashion.

The punk scene was already riveting in the United Kingdom with designers like Vivienne Westwood and her SEX collections with the Sex Pistols’ Malcolm McLaren.

However, the new wave genre was simultaneously washing over the underground scenes in the United States, adding hot pink gloss to the punk movement with Harry leading the way.

Harry still claims she never knew much about fashion.

She confesses she’d pretty much wear a blindfold, grab random things from her closet and wear that for the day.

Nonetheless, it worked.

As Harry began to wear black pleather boots, body suits and short shift dresses, so did the rest of the United States.

Though her style started simpler, eventually too much started to feel exactly right.  
She said fashion was a process, and she was still learning.

But with returning fashions this season, Harry might just have the sophisticated upper hand that only comes with experience.

Throughout the years, Harry would remain a pop culture canvas as she was featured practically everywhere.

In her “Heart of Glass” music video, Harry dances with a sheer gray scarf.

We’ll see similar sheer trends that differ from past seasons.

No longer is sheer suggested to be subtle or soft. We see hints of attitude by designers like Alexander Wang with his sheer shirt design with bold black text reading “Parental Advisory Explicit Content.”

We also see trends returning from the '70s like wide-leg trousers and fringe accents from designers like 3.1 Phillip Lim.

With more of an '80s flair, boxy crop jackets and shirts are in again from designers like BCBG Max Azria’s line . It’s only a coincidence BCBG and CBGB are so close.

And as the music and trends return, so does Harry as magazines’ “It girl.”

This week, Vanity Fair announced Annie Leibovitz will photograph Harry for an upcoming issue.

So, “one way or another,” follow Debbie’s advice.

Don’t clear the closet. Keep the clothes.

And though some might still be waiting for their fashion revival — cough, David Bowie — some might just be lucky enough to make a comeback.

Follow columnist Kel Collisi on Twitter @kelcollisi.