Joy! Hiding your neck is this season’s BIG trend
ReMeMBeR when screenwriter Nora ephron wrote ‘I feel bad about my neck’, which, she went on to explain, she particularly hated seeing reflected in the rearview mirror of a car when she was travelling in the back?
We’ve all been there, more or less. Sometimes we just want to hide our necks away from view and not have to think about them. But that’s not what’s driving this autumn’s trend for turtlenecks.
It would be easier to say where turtlenecks didn’t appear on the catwalks for autumn/winter.
There were printed ones under sheer shirts at Fendi; white ones under equestrian jackets at Chloe; plain ones layered under everything from sweaters to dresses in no less than 31 out of 44 looks on the runway at Isabel Marant; and we’re not even counting all the turtleneck dresses, blouses and sweaters out there.
Fashion has declared the skinny turtleneck or polo-neck (one is crinkly or folded over, the other stands up like a funnel, but really it’s whatever you want to call it) the must-have of autumn 2019.
And we’re saying: ‘Great!’ Because we love a turtleneck. They look cool and they do make life easy.
Not so sure you’re in the high-necked sweater camp? Well, here are some reasons why you might want to consider signing up.
If you want something to go under one of this season’s blazers to make it look modern, that would be a burgundy or white polo-neck (£20, newlook.
com). If you want to show off your trio of gold chains on a smooth plain background, try a turtleneck, possibly white and cotton (Per Una, £8.50, marksandspencer.com).
To give your brown midiskirt and boots added Seventies Bourgeois Chic — and SBC is very much the mood of the season — you’ll need a tonal toffee polo-neck (£55, whistles.com).
LAYER
a skinny turtleneck under a favourite floral dress to make it entirely autumn-appropriate (poloneck, £12.99, hm.com); or for a silhouette- defining contrast to wide-leg trousers, go for a luxey cashmere turtleneck (Ines at Uniqlo, £89.90, uniqlo.
com) or a fine knit in one of 12 colours (£24.90, uniqlo.com).
Polo-necks are less fussy than shirts, sleeker than sweaters. They go under everything — making that thing more wearable, either because it’s a bit sheer or low- cut or short- sleeved — or they simply add another layer of colour and texture, to make it more interesting.
And because they’re a clean cover-up, they add a certain cool modernity, which can counter-balance prettiness or extravagance and bring it back down to earth.
you can wear a longish print skirt, add a skinny polo-neck under a jacket and shazam! you look grown-up smart, not floaty boho.
The same goes for midwaisted jeans or a denim skirt; both look sharper and more ‘now’ with a plain turtleneck tucked in — streamlined and ready to go.
Need any more reasons? Fine. How about polo-necks can be a good way to wear bold prints? With prints, once you add collars and buttons and zips, or even just a square neckline, it can all get a bit much. With a print polo-neck it doesn’t look over-the-top.
Ganni has an abundance of turtleneck tops, shirts and dresses, including a sheer mesh turtleneck top — with double thickness at the front to avoid showing your bra (£100, ganni.com) — to wear with a matching wrap skirt. Or even, it suggests, layered under a different print dress if you feel up to that. Richard Allan x H&M is the place to start if you do (£9.99, hm.com).
I’ll be keeping it much more simple, taking my cue from Isabel Marant and wearing my turtleneck under a shirt, a sweater or a jacket (not a dress — that’s a look I’d rather leave to my stepdaughter).
Layering a turtle neck (lightweight and ribbed) allows you to wear colour right up against your face as well as making everything look more pulled together. Otherwise I’ll be wearing a proper knit turtleneck and keeping my eyes peeled for a variation on the gorgeous Fair Isle polo-necks at Celine — but that’s for later.
So that’s neck-hiding and looking up to the minute covered in one easy step. If only everything was this simple.