OPEN SEASON

Unlock the pre-fall collections with fresh style missives that are key to the season. Cooler weather wardrobe mastery is within grasp. By Alice Birrell.

Unlock the pre-fall collections with fresh style missives that are key to the season. Cooler weather wardrobe mastery is within grasp.

FOR THE FRILL OF IT

Foppish wilting frills these are not. The new ruffles have muscle as they wend around the body, as in Ellery’s sculptural peplum, or cascade tier-cake- like into a high- drama Valentino dress. The point is not to be sweet but harness a pinch of dance-hall elegance and amped-up, not washed out, femininity. Look to Delpozo for a demi-couture take, or Solace’s souped- up version of a mini-dress that uses ruffles to dial up a sense of occasion. Note, though: these have no limits when it comes to when to wear them. Day to post-dusk, they’ll prop up any wardrobe. INVEST IN: a holistic embrace of the trend, like a LBD that’s all layers.

DOUBLE DOWN

Styling tricks that sweep in with a kind of game-changing freshness are few and far between in this modern age, but suddenly there’s a power couple putting fashion on notice. Granted, layering dresses and skirts over pants has been done before, but there’s a subtle alchemy at play now that’s making this time around feel very 2019. Without the petulance of grunge and a little smarter than 70s loungewear, the combination calls for some structure, as at Proenza Schouler and Calvin Klein. The absolute golden rule is that hems are midi, no higher, to ensure it feels lean. a matched combination like all-in-one colour to give a more subtle effect for those dipping a toe in for the first time.