How to be a style inbetweener
News Review & Features
Today I found myself leaving the house in a pullover and bare legs. Am I mad?
Far from being insane, you are a walking exemplar of transseasonal dressing. While the term trans-seasonal sounds like egregious fashion jargon, it is a necessary fact of life for most people living in a temperate climate, albeit a necessity that is constantly evolving and refining. In the past, it might have looked odd not to wear tights with knitwear, but the modern trans-seasoner understands that a bespoke approach works best. Where are your personal hot and cold spots? Most people feel the cold on their top half, while legs remain relatively hardy until mid to late November, so jumpers and high necks make perfect sense. (Ayurvedic medicine also stresses the importance of keeping necks and ears warm and counsels never going out with wet hair. Granny was right). If you love the look of chunky sweaters but find them suffocating once you’re in a heated office, look for cotton knits, or ones with built-in ventilation – scooped backs, side vents, slit elbows… and wear them with your floaty chiffon dresses. That way you maximise an expensive purchase by turning it into a year-rounder. Chiffon skirts look lovely with thick tights or warm jackets, while fine cotton skirts look too summery. Looking for the perfect peacoat?
Jigsaw A-line’s navy blue stunner is the bench-marker – roomy but not oversized, with classylooking piping and sleeves that are wide enough to fit over jumpers and even a slim blazer (£499, jigsaw-online.com). To add further versatility, invest in Me+em’s reversible sheepskin gilet, which has been designed to glide over stout knits as well as under trench coats and blazers.
The hood’s a nice luxuriouslycasual detail. A smart buy in every sense.
What on Earth is a Sock Boot and should I be worried?
As with so many perplexing developments, the sock boot can be traced back to Balenciaga, and its brilliantly mischievous creative director, Demna Gvasalia. Think of something really naff from the past, bring it back in violent patterns and upsetting colours and you have the makings of a cult hit – although if it really were that easy I’d be designing for Gucci at the very least. Back to the sock boot, this is a stretchy fabric little number that can look amazing with knifepleated midis and will solve many a practical and sartorial dilemma at night. Moreover, it provides a neat answer to that soul-searching question: will I look a bit bag lady if I wear actual ankle socks with my skirts? I’ve chosen the brightest, punchiest colour on the high street, because guess what, I won’t be wearing them. (£39.50, marksandspencer.com; also available in ballet-shoespink.)
What do I wear under this season’s checked blazer, given that even my silkiest shirts feel a bit bulky?
The chicest approach is to bare your skin. But to avoid any unseemly, Doctor Foster-esque incidents, shimmy into one of John Lewis’s Modern Rarity 100
per cent silk camisoles in pink, white or charcoal (£65, johnlewis.com). The effect will be the same but you’ll feel warmer, more secure and if you do end up flashing anything, it will be a sliver of lace.
Apparently white shoes are a thing. Is this really true? If so, why? And do I have to wear them?
For thousands of years, white shoes were a no-no. But fashion frequently seeks to rehabilitate that which is beyond the pale – quite literally in this instance. (Although weirdly, it has yet to make The Normal Sized Woman an icon. But let’s leave that observation aside for a whole other article.) Yes, white shoes are cropping up with increasing frequency in the fashionable outfit matrix. Initially I was as appalled as you by this, but maybe I’ve gone soft or just been worn down by white attrition, because I’m now seeing the point of them. Say you’re wearing your usual monochrome outfit but somehow it no longer delivers the punch it used to. This is what being fashionable is all about: it’s a game of diminishing returns. You need to up the ante, add some interest, do a Jeremy Corbyn and pull something nonsensical yet wildly effective out of the bag. Enter the white shoe. It is a silly idea in theory, will do nothing for pale legs and make your black tights look like a Minnie Mouse outfit. But that’s only if you view them through the old, standard prism. Cast prejudices aside, and the white shoe looks fresh and clean – and hey, what’s wrong with Minnie Mouse? Ease yourself in by wearing your white Adidas Stan Smiths with everything until the weather turns. Then, if you’re still not ready to embrace full white, try a co-respondent. It is guaranteed to add crisp definition and fashion relevance to everything you wear, whatever the colour.
Where can I find a stylish rucksack that won’t embarrass me when I go from work to dinner?
Look no further than Allsaints’ leather Kita backpack (£298, allsaints.com) In a gratifyingly luxurious pebble leather, it’s large enough for shoes, laptop and the rest, and comes with a detachable pouch for that lunchtime dash.
The Bare Winter Shoulder – are you kidding?
Panic not. Almost everyone’s shoulders are lovely – a weight-resistant, wrinkleresistant, sag-resistant wonderzone. It makes sense therefore, to flash them at opportune moments. None more so than the parties and dinner dates that will surely start to light up the winter schedule. This dress from Preen’s collaboration with LK Bennett is a beauty. Slip it under a tuxedo jacket or jumper during the day for the big reveal at night.
I love kitten heels. Why are they so mean to my feet?
Like all things feline, kitten heels have a dual nature. Low in stature, they should by rights by a breeze to wear, but they’re also generally pointy-toed, and that’s a killer for the average, generously proportioned British foot.
Wear them sparingly therefore, and alternate with the kind-hearted two-inch soled velvet or metallic trainer, which provides as much, or more height, looks good at night and is so much more comfortable (£60, asos.com). To make trainers cosier in winter, upholster the interior with some sheepskin insoles (£10, celticandco.com). Additionally, after a day in points, give succour to your feet by slipping on a pair of toe-stretchers (yogamatters.com has the ultimate £36.50, but go to amazon.co.uk and you’ll find them starting from £2.49). Begin with 10 minutes and work your way up to an hour or so. They’re guaranteed man repellers but toes adore them and any incipient bunions will be stopped in their tracks. They were the talk of the front row throughout fashion month.
Is the nude nail still It on Planet Nails?
Yes. And just to shake things up a little, No. While the fashion set has rediscovered that less is more when it comes to nail colour, burgundy polish is definitely having a moment among early adopters. Cover all your bases (and nails) by signing up to beautypie.com, which launches its range of nail varnishes next Wednesday. The idea is that, by becoming a member (£10 a month), you can spend up to £100 each month on beauty products and skincare straight from the factory. If you’re a product junkie, the savings can be impressive, since all the ranges are made in the same factories that produce for the leading luxury beauty brands. This nifty little set costs £1.30 to members compared with £14 for those who haven’t signed up. To keep any polish (and cuticles) pristine for longer, try Slixir, a patentpending, paraben and mineral oil free, ultra-fast absorbing formula with light reflecting particles to soften the appearance of wrinkles (£21.95, victoriahealth.com).