SUMMARY SEASON
Embracing Autumn’s masculine-feminine
If you’ve read that boho, Victorian Gothic, and Jamie Lee Curtis (I’m m not kidding) are all makingng a comeback this Autumn, mn, then the season might t be filling you with a deepp and justified sense of foreboding.oding. On a runway somewhere, all of those influences made an appearance. ance. But most stylish women don’t wake ke up thinking, I have to channel Barbarellaarella on the school run today, and thenn I’m switching to Rapunzel. For those who do, and it works for them, mazel l tov. This is for those who want to look k au courant, as opposed to carried away.y
So bear with me. I’ve cracked this.his. There are only two important trends nds we need to keep in mind right now:ow: womanly and manly. I know, it sounds nds almost too reductive. But these twowo forks will lead us down the path to some fabulous clothes.
The womanly woman is very womanly indeed. I’m thinking principally of Burberry’s suedefringed ’70s groupies; Chanel’s haute bourgeois housewives, withh their perfectly judged knee-length h skirts and sexily sensible knits; Prada’s ada’s pastel Jackie Kennedy–meets–Italian princesses; ; Dior’s space-age cadets; Valentino’s and Erdem’s romantically mantically inclined and much embellished medieval muses; and Dolce & Gabbana’s stupendously glamorousorous Italian mamas (believe me, Dolce’s mama has never er leaned in – she’s too busy telling her domestic staff whatat to do). I’m thinking too of Gucci’s screwy but stylish Margot Tenenbaum doppelgängers, with their pleated leather kilts and faux-
revolution. By Lisa Armstrong. innocent “Did I really forget to put on my bra?” sheer blouses.
And then there were Riccardo Tisci’s “Victorian Chola girls” at Givenchy. For the uninitiated, (okay, I admit it, that was me) “Chola girls” isi a term sometimes used to describe first-fir and second-generation MexicanAmerican women whose advanced degrees in lip liner, baggy pants, and elaborateel hair and eye make-up have made for some of the most ritualised and striking girl-gang looks of our time. Tisci took all that and chucked in some High Gothic lace and corseted tailoring.t Because that’s what you do whenw you’re . creative.
We’re not done. Michael Kors’ deliciously classic camelistas will make you want to never dress like a Marxist studentst again, assuming you ever did. MiucciaMiu Prada actually was a Marxist studentstude and is said to have favoured Yves SaintS Laurent. But that was Italy. Incidentally,Inciden if you haven’t met a camelista, you’re i in for a honey-coloured treat. There isn’t a beigy-gold-toneb piece of cashmere or lace this tawny-limbed goddess hasn’t loved, worn, andan mastered. Even her Maltipoo is champagne-hued.champag
Did y you notice what happened during that list ofo Autumn inspirations? We went from 1475 to 1975, taking in about 20 different religious, eth ethnic, and political persuasions. And I haven’t even mentioned the ’80s vibes at Loewe or the ’90s revivalreviv at Christopher Kane.
As I was saying,sa the only way to make sense of all this is to definedefin it all as supremely feminine. Which it is, though notn necessarily in a uniform way. At