Six reasons why you MUST buy a jumpsuit
HErE is a public service fashion announcement that may surprise you: if you want to make your summer easier and more stylish, get a jumpsuit — a navy one for day and a silkier, slinkier one, maybe with a print or a stripe, for evening.
We know what you’re thinking: jumpsuits make your bum look big, they’re a Seventies throwback, or, I am too old for a jumpsuit.
Wrong on all fronts. They may make your bum look big, but so will anything if it’s not cut right. They
were around in the Seventies and Eighties, but you’re probably thinking of boiler suits ( bulkier) or flying suits (covered in zips). And even if you’re not, the jumpsuit of the moment is a streamlined classic; flattering, chic and refreshed for summer.
As for the mutton-dressedas-lamb issue, you are no more too old for a jumpsuit than you are too old for a matching shirt and trousers. And you are missing out.
Still not persuaded? Here are six convincing reasons to give a jumpsuit a go:
oN those days when a dress feels too insubstantial and trousers and a jacket too stiff, a jumpsuit hits the spot.
JuMPSuITS are not known as ‘all-in-ones’ for nothing. You step in, do them up, add shoes and you’re good to go.
THEY automatically make you look 25 per cent more puttogether, precisely because you haven’t had to put anything together; no tops to go with jackets, no matching skirts, no tights; just one clean silhouette which you can spruce up or dress down as required.
Jumpsuits are the epitome of smart- casual dressing: casual in theory, but in practice, streamlined and almost impossible to look messy in.
THEY make you look longer and leaner. Not always — you have to pick the right one — but a tailored, block-coloured jumpsuit with a defined waist has the same figure-flattering potential as a roland Mouret dress, while still allowing you to ride a bicycle, shin up a ladder or run for the bus.
WHEN the weather warms up, they are cool because they don’t cling anywhere. The right style is fitted but not tight, which is why models wear them on the move (both Claudia Schiffer and Lara Stone were recently spotted wearing jumpsuits).
THEY’ r E different. Different as in you look very
definitely summer 2018. And if you need another reason to invest in Whistles’s shortsleeve linen wrap design (£159,
whistles.com) or Comptoir des Cotonniers’s long- sleeve, loose- fit marine all- in- one (£185, comptoirdescotonniers.
co.uk), we give in. Navy or indigo are the smart colours to choose. You can wear a jumpsuit in these shades to the office or for going out at the weekend, and they’re easy to dress up.
For day you want one with a gathered-waist back, a plain or buttoned front (this is not a zip moment) and cropped legs (or you can roll them up).
When you’re picking your day jumpsuit, think Meghan Markle on an official engagement: simplicity is best. Add some heels, earrings, swoop up your hair and Bob’s your uncle. Go for red or sand if you want to ring the changes.
For evening, wider legs, prints, deeper necklines or bare shoulders are the answer. Zara has a cute floral print jumpsuit with a deep V-neck (£49.99, zara.com).
And Anthropologie’s Kachel Teatime Jumpsuit (£ 178,
anthropologie. com) is socalled because it’s the all-inone equivalent of a floaty tea dress: pretty and floral with three- quarter sleeves and covered buttons. But because it’s a jumpsuit, it has that modern, fresh edge.
Meghan would probably go for the Audrey Hepburn of jumpsuits: black and sleeveless with a gathered neck (£56, warehouse.co.uk).
one last word: some people have confused the issue by including dungarees in their definition of a jumpsuit. Dungarees (with the bib front) are entirely different and hard to pull off post-40. otherwise, there is nothing in the world holding you back.