THE NEW RULES OF COOL
YOU’VE JUST bought one of those new season checked jackets. Do you A) wear it as a pristine suit with its matching checked trousers? B) wear it with your favourite pair of smart black trousers? Or C) with straight-legged blue jeans? The answer is, of course, C.
Welcome to the new rules of engagement: how to casj your polish. It’s all about styling yourself in a bang-up-to-date way which, for the moment at least, means taking all your most precious pieces and wearing them with something defiantly real. Those statement Miu Miu shoes with the dazzling diamanté buckle? Sling them on with jeans, too. That Prada cardigan drizzled with aquamarine beads? Wear it with a love-worn old T-shirt, preferably with some slogan on it. Your new floral mididress? Trainers, slightly scuffed.
Why are we casualising the pieces we hold most dear? Because heaven forbid we look like we’ve tried too hard; too much polish just looks off, wrong and, in some cases, desperate. And where’s the personal style in spanking new head-to-toe looks, whether they come straight off the runway or high-street rail? Sounds easy, right? But, eek. How the hell to pull it off?
Of course, I’m writing this as we head into fashion month – those four weeks of FROW are stretched out in front of me like a marathon I’ll never be fully prepared for. Where everyone will be analysing their neighbours’ daily dress codes as much as, if not more than, anything on the catwalk. Worse, they’ll be analysing me! There is nowhere to hide. And let me tell you, it is ball-breakingly hard to look on point every day for four weeks, even for the most seasoned fashion professional. Not only does the weather play a role in ruining any pre-planned looks – there will always be an unexpected heatwave when the only
jacket you’ve packed is your beloved sheepskin aviator; there will always be a flash flood when your only footwear option is open-toed sandals – and now I have to seriously decode and factor in the new rules of not-too-much polish? This means no dressing like I’m off to a cocktail party at 9am – even if I am off to a cocktail party at 9am. And no wearing the slickest of trouser suits – unless I sling it on with gently grazed trainers, like I just don’t care… Oh… Hang on a sec… This new casj-meets-polish styling reboot is beginning to sound like one big fashion month relief. Will I embrace it? You bet. And so should you. After all, it’ll give your treasured items a new lease of life and revitalise your worn-in pieces. In fact, get it right, and we’re looking at a whole new personal style recharge! Also, think of the gleeful opportunities you’ll get to say: ‘What? This old thing?’ I’m in. Are you?