Rebecca Lowthorpe is fashion director at Grazia. HOW TO DRESS LIKE A GROWN UP Rebecca Lowthorpe
Forget black. Autumnal brown is the It colour
BRoWN is the new black. No, really. The designers have spoken, the stores have responded and every fashion fiend I know survived this month’s onslaught of fashion shows by dumping black in favour of brown.
Black, once the sanctuary of fashion mavens — that made us resemble a flock of crows attending hourly funerals in New York, London, Milan and Paris — has been replaced with camel, treacle, toffee, cinnamon, chocolate and beige.
This rethink on the richest autumnal hues may be alarming to those whose usual approach to winter is black, navy, grey, and more navy. But it’s one of the loveliest, most flattering ways to wear colour and there’s a shade to suit everyone. What’s more, there’s nothing these tones don’t go with, from pink, mustard and lemon to white and even your beloved navy.
For all their autumnal glory, iconic brown fashion moments are thin on the ground. Unless you count Julia Roberts in her transformative brown polka dot dress in Pretty Woman. (Your go-to for that look is the polka dot pleated midi skirt, £39.99 in store at H&M.)
Brown doesn’t scream red carpet celebrity. But it is the colour for those who are out and about in the public eye. See Melania Trump employing shades of beige/camel/toffee/honey and the Duchess of Sussex in every shade of tan. T He last time brown was truly a la mode was the Seventies. Indeed, it was the colour of that decade — for everything from kitchen units and wallpaper to cars (my family had a beige Vauxhall Viva). To many, including me, it was the decade style forgot.
I look back in horror at the outfits my sisters were made to wear. The eldest in ghastly brown nylon flares with matching brown bowl-cut hair and the most revolting platforms you’ve ever seen — also brown. My middle sister, in a camel duffle coat, so solid it stood up by itself, threaded with mohair mittens on strings.
My mother, however, always the sophisticate, wore an Alpaca coat for years — the first time I heard the brilliant word ‘terracotta’. It wrapped like a dressing gown and she wore it with auburn knee-high boots. Now that’s a look that would hold up today, in line with designers such as London-based Roksanda Ilincic, Givenchy’s artistic director Clare Waight Keller (the Brit behind Meghan’s wedding dress) as well as brands Chloe and Loewe.
Where to start? easy. There are four pieces that matter — they might already be lurking in your wardrobe. The coat is your big-ticket investment piece. You won’t find better quality on the High Street than Marks & Spencer’s wool wrap coat in cocoa (£119,
marksandspencer.com). Wear it with a flash of orange or a pointed mustardy-tan shoe to bring it up to date.
The jacket is our second item. Try a heritage check blazer (£60, oasis-stores.com). The check is a great way to break up winter’s solid, dark shapes and is still ‘a thing’, especially among fashion editors and Instagrammers.
Number three? The midiskirt, a classic for good reason. This season’s update is both the pleated version and the more flattering midi-wrap skirt. Whistles has a chocolate suede wrap (£299, whistles.
com). Skirts are a great way to introduce leather; try Mango’s russet button-through A-line (£79.99, mango.com).
Number four applies to those who just want to dip their toe in. Your key is accessories — a bag or a boot. Anything goes in brown, but the most expensive-looking bags come in toffee-tan leather or mock croc, while the latest shape is round. Massimo Dutti’s split suede crossbody bag ticks both boxes (£99.95, massimodutti.
com). The on-trend boot is the slouchy, heeled, knee-high, but there’s a great solid-heeled chestnut riding boot (£210,
dunelondon.com) if you prefer to march, not totter.
Right then, I’m due a visit back home to see my mother. I hope she kept that terracotta coat.