Why I’ve FINALLY fallen for a jumpsuit
UNTIL this summer, I had jumpsuits assigned firmly to the ‘fashion folly’ category. But last week, outside a h&M store, all that changed. It was a strapless number with a Fifties bustier top in a retro hawaiian palm print that finally got me.
To my absolute surprise, my first impulse was: ‘Oh, that is nice.’
If I’m scrupulously honest, my actual sequence of thoughts was: ‘Oh that’s a nice, summery thing. Would have gone for that if I was 25. Shall I buy it for one of my daughters?’
Tempered as it was by my muttondressed-as-lamb radar, that spark of attraction was, nonetheless, there.
I should have seen this coming because, these days, every time I visit a designer, there always comes a point in showing their collections when they triumphantly declare: ‘And here is this season’s jumpsuit. We’ve done it again because they’ve been doing so well!’
They often seem as amazed as I am by the revelation.
Leaving to one side the age-appropriateness of the jumpsuit, you’d have thought the practicalities would be enough to put women off.
Any garment that forces you to get half-undressed to go to the loo needs serious consideration (not an obstacle for the airmen who originated the full-body garment, obviously).
ThEN again, there’s no accounting for the indignities women will put up with if they like how a piece of clothing looks. In the jumpsuit’s favour is the fact that it is a shape-shifter, capable of being casual, formal and all shades in between.
In designer showrooms and high Street stores alike, I have seen them tailored as workwear, displayed alongside beachwear and shown with the denim collection. They can be covered-up and slouchy, or off-the-shoulder and frilly.
Meanwhile, every current trend — from floral prints to military khaki — has been rounded up and incorporated into the design. I’m sure there’ll be women who even go down the aisle wearing wedding jumpsuits this summer, so ubiquitous are they.
So how exactly did this look take such a firm hold? At the grown-up end of the market, designers in their 40s — chiefly Stella McCartney, Phoebe Philo and Roksanda Ilincic — have been not just designing but wearing jumpsuits for the past couple of years.
From the other direction came the teenage craze for the ‘playsuit’, the all-in-one shorts suit. I’ve watched that one escalating in my own home as my daughters have graduated from beach playsuits in T-shirt jersey to viscose Forties flower prints for parties.
In the high Street, the floral, full-length designs are the most common take on the trend this summer. h&M’s aforementioned Lyocell jumpsuit is £24.99 (hm.com), while Oasis’s Sashiko jumpsuit (£45, oasis- stores.com) and Warehouse’s Stencil floral jumpsuit (£59, warehouse.co.uk) have more coverage on the shoulder.
If you have more to spend, Isa Afren’s linen design is currently reduced from £405 to £202 at stylebop.com.
Or for a more sophisticated, grown-up silhouette, Whistles’ Buena Gathered Waist Jumpsuit is reduced from £180 to £75 (whistles.com).
REGARDING the practicalities of jumpsuit shopping, make sure you go with a friend who is prepared to take on zipping-up duties. The crucial part of a jumpsuit’s design (and one that can never be predicted) is the length of the garment from shoulder to crotch.
Everyone’s torso is different, and you might have to try on several before finding one that doesn’t sag in the middle or painfully ride up.
With that in mind, make sure you practise sitting down in it before you buy. As a rule, I would advise a style that has a wider, floatier bottom-half, making it daywear when worn with flat sandals and eveningelegant with heels.
Above all, enjoy experimenting with jumpsuits this summer — and I’ll see you in the queue for the loo.