Dress to Impress
Gone are the days of hipsters, thongs and sweaters with logos. This season, we’re all going ‘grown up’. Not quite full-on lippy & hair-spray glamour (which is a relief, given the warm days we’re bound to encounter during a Spanish winter) but a definite move towards a smarter and more tailored silhouette.
Shown again and again on the catwalk this season have been smart trousers with high waists, tailored jackets, longer-length skirts, and oodles of knitwear. The strong trends have been military tailoring – again. (This one seems set to become a classic); and lots of colour – muted & jewel shades alike. And this season’s strong trend of mixing colour with colour, instead of teaming with black, makes for an altogether more sophisticated look.
So where does this all leave the ‘normal’ woman? Which of the trends are going to flatter the average Josephine? Well, the outlook is good. Many of these trends are imminently wearable as we’re talking style, not fashion.
Realistically, we’re talking tailored jeans & trousers that serve to ‘hold it all in’; sharp & sassy jackets to provide shape; chunky knits to cosy up in; and fine knits in great colours to use for layering. And because we’re aiming for an altogether more feminine look, we have a great choice of dresses & skirts to team with boots and pretty knits. And all of this in a fabulous palette of colours, which you can choose to suit your skin tone.
And this is the crux. The season isn’t to be spent chasing a particular dress, or sporting a certain shade of green despite the resemblance it bears to something the cat has dragged in…or brought up. No, this move towards a tailored silhouette is all about getting it right for you for, surely, this is the whole point of tailoring: taking what you’ve got and making the very best of it.
Copyright September 2008 by Nicola Franklin
