Heating off? That’s no excuse not to look chic
THeSe days, an invitation to come over on a Friday night is bound to include a reference to the temperature in the house. ‘ Come at seven but wrap up warm; we’re not allowed the heating on!’, your friend might say.
It may be the mildest November anyone can remember (praise be), but still, it gets chilly round a kitchen table after dark and while we’re all talking about air fryers and smart
meters, the equally pressing question is what to wear indoors this energysaving winter.
We need to get on to this immediately. There’s no point me flagging up a pretty top if
you’re too cold to wear it, and equally we can’t live in duvet coats. What we’re talking about is supplementing the
clothes we want to wear with warmer- uppers that don’t compromise how we look — and add some extra dash.
You don’t need to be a rocket scientist to work out how to dress warmly, but what’s more of a challenge is dressing stylishly while keeping the cold at bay.
As it happens, this winter, designers are having a love affair with quilting, sheepskin and faux fur — all the cosies — so we don’t have to steer off fashion course to stay warm.
First, get some thermals for when you’re guaranteed to be
cold. Try Uniqlo’s long-sleeved top (£19.90, uniqlo.com) or Marks & Spencer’s Heatgen Plus range (top £16, leggings £16, marksandspencer.com).
Now is the time to wear a polo neck under everything from a shirt to a cardigan
(£29.90, uniqlo.com); a looserfit, cropped cardigan can look surprisingly elegant slightly
slipping off your (well-covered) shoulder (£19.90, uniqlo.com). WHAT looks modern with any outfit — and you may have got one back in spring, along with all the fashion set — is the
collarless, quilted jacket; what I’m henceforth calling the indoor/outdoor coat.
The key with this is it’s warm but light (bulk is what you want to avoid with indoor/ outdoor dressing) and it looks light, too, especially in pale moss green or cream.
You’ll find good versions in & Other Stories (£120, stories. com), Abercrombie & Fitch (£99, abercrombie.com) and Marks & Spencer (£ 89, marksandspencer.com).
Once indoors, the idea is it shouldn’t look like you’ve kept your coat on, so avoid hoods and collars. That said, a short teddy bear coat can work, providing it’s neat, pretty and the sleeves don’t get in the way. Head to British ethical
label Jakke ( jakke.co.uk) for a good selection. Add a chunky necklace over your roll-neck and you’re dressed, or a silky scarf if you prefer.
The obvious alternative is a gilet. Mint Velvet does a cream faux-fur below-the-knee one
(£ 159, mintvelvet. co. uk), which is a warm sleeveless coat by another name. You
could wear it over an off-white polo neck and trousers (very Isabel Marant). Layering shades of white is currently the height of chic.
The easier route is layering black: a sweater and trousers plus a longline faux-shearling
gilet (£ 150, cos.com) looks elegant, or Whistles has a thigh-grazing style in glossy fake fur (£149, whistles.com).
If you’re gilet-mad, like me, this is an opportunity to wear one all the time — though I find the longer ones a little restricting. I like a gilet to be hip length, that way you can
comfortably wear it over dresses (midis with statement sleeves), look a bit glamorousboho and stay toasty warm.
The other smart trick is an oversize, luxury scarf. You want one that’s big enough to make a statement and bright enough to liven up safe layers.
Cos’s multi- coloured check mohair scarf (£79, cos.com) is not cheap but consider it your
winter equivalent of a nest of gold chains and never take it off. Alternatively, do as fashion editresses do and wear two bright sweaters, one wrapped around the neck of the other.
Thick tweedy trousers are hard to look good in, as are knitted dresses. Below the
waist, my money is on trousers or a skirt with thermals or tights and fleecy boots.
LK Bennett’s tan, shearlinglined ankle boots are on sale (£189, johnlewis.com) as are Kurt Geiger’s fur-lined biker boots (£49, shoeaholics.com).
Not surprisingly, Uggs are having a revival, this time with a mini-platform style (£145,
ugg.com). The good news is you may have some of these already, consigned to the Too Hot For Indoors bucket.
Not any more, they’re not.