Long weekend style
New rules of cool casual
These extended weekends keep coming, don’t they? I’m not complaining. Long may it continue and if Jeremy “Patron Saint Day” Corbyn gets lucky come June 8, maybe it will.
Although not holding my breath on that one, to be honest.
In the meantime, as we’re already several hours into this current long weekend, you might be just about ready to transition out of your pyjamas. No rush though. In fact, you can continue to wear silky PJs all weekend and remain very much on trend.
But should you want to ring the sartorial changes between bed and standing six-deep behind what may or may not be a Hockney landscape, what to wear? Word to the wise: a stripey Breton top and skinny jeans is no longer the cuttingedge of off-duty. Yeah, the zeitgeist called and said he’s bored.
So we’re moving on, people. Granted, not the Duchess of Cambridge who appears to be sticking firmly to this tried-andtested formula, but I cast no aspersions. A future queen’s mind is on more elevated matters.
For those who are feeling the need to shake up their Saturday brunching look – also known as experiencing an irrepressible urge to go shopping – I say embrace it. “Life moves pretty fast,” as Ferris Bueller once said, “and if you don’t shop once in a while you might find you’re still wearing last decade’s fashions.” Or maybe I’ve remembered that wrong.
Casual wear moves on just as quickly as any other type of fashion. I mean not long ago – about six weeks ago, in fact – the thing to do was to show off your luxury gym kit beyond the gym. Personally, I like to spend as little time as possible wearing leggings in public so that concept never worked for me.
But now apparently not even the honed and honey-toned are up for it. Jo Davies, owner of the daywear boutique blackwhitedenim.com in Cheshire’s ritzy Wilmslow, told me this week that her customers “are getting out of their gym kits now and changing into something a bit more considered. If everyone’s wearing their Sweaty Betty leggings you want to start standing out from the crowd again.”
Davies is seeing clients look beyond leggings and even beyond jeans to other trouser styles. The general advice is welcome – loosen up your silhouette with the roomy or the wide-legged. Track pants can be dressed up with a fluid shirt or cashmere sweater – try the new collection from madeleine-thompson.com which does co-ordinating cashmere separates with rainbow stripes (also stocked on net-aporter). Dress it up with a heel or down with a loafer. London-based personal stylist Anna Berkeley has been directing her clients to cargo or combat-style pants. Banish the thought of 1990s All Saints in Maharishi accessorised with a neon thong, Berkeley recommends Whistles’ khaki cargo or the chic high-waisted cotton-canvas by Australian brand Bassike. If you still haven’t embraced the jumpsuit or all-in-one, this is the season to do it. The current styles are loose and lightweight – in silk or chambray or Tencel, as used in a style (left) by Sideline, a British brand specialising in the kind of separates that make your weekend instantly look more manageable. Culottes or cropped wide-legged are easy to wear with trainers or backless slippers.
Davies is seeing a lot more interest in skirts – especially silk prints. “Our customers are turning a slightly more dressed-up fluid skirt by brands like Rixo into daywear by wearing it with a cotton sweatshirt or a logo T-shirt. That juxtaposition of sportswear and luxury is quite appealing at the moment.”
A skirt will lend you more styling options than a dress – meaning more wear for your money. I recommend MIH’s white denim Bell skirt (£225, mihjeans.com), which I’m wearing a lot. APC, Stella McCartney and Caramel also have good versions.
Over your top half you can throw a casual roomy shirt or shacket – yes, a dreadful hybrid noun but a useful item – a heavier shirt in the style of a jacket.
Feet? What to do? I’m a big fan of white shoes as they add a punctuation mark to an outfit – whether that’s a spotless trainer or a white loafer.
Berkeley’s been recommending the minimalist flat court shoe to her clients – as done this season by both Joseph and Office. “It’s great if you like a quieter style of dress,” she says. “Otherwise you can go full-on barmy with a Miu-Miu style flatform.”
And as we’re talking barmy style, consider the sock. Previously the preserve of the die-hard fashion fan the stripey sock or lacey sock with a sandal or loafer/brogue now seems to have reached critical mass.
On trend with warm feet? Life doesn’t get better.