FASHION RESOLUTIONS
Lisa Armstrong on her style pledges for the New Year
That brave NEW dawn on 1 January always br ings a call to action.And I find none more therapeutic than drafting my New Year’s resolutions, especially when they pertain to my specialty: clothes. Applied to my closet, the “out with the old, in with the new” mantra translates into editing or maybe, in today’s pumped-up fashion-speak, curating. And believe me, f ew activities are this cathartic—try it and see. Here’s where I’ll be starting.
KNOW THINE HUE
Apar t from going naked, few sartorial decisions are as liberating as choosing your ideal colours. Pick a shade you love and stick to it. Mine is blue, fading to grey.You can’t imagine how much time this saves me shopping. I sweep past the racks of mustard an d geranium or click straight on the blue option and make like I’m the most decisive consumer since Henry VIII went wife-shopping. And much to my delight, 2015 is the “Year of Blue.” From Jonathan Saunders to Cl a re Wai gh t Ke ll e r at Chl o é, designers embraced it—gorgeously. There’s a blue hue to suit all of us. And, ver y generously, I don’t mind shar ing.
CROP YOUR PANTS
There’s a new length in town, and it’s not seven-eighths. More like six-eighths—as was in evidence at Chanel—or, if you can handle it, five-eighths (see Isabel Marant). Let’s not quibble. What matters is to flash some ankle in beautiful heels or flatforms. Many of the pants I own can be easily taken up (ideally by an expert) to fall in line with this “now-est of now” looks. Caveat: Don’t tr y this in flats unless you’re a 17-year-old super model. Because the other thing to know about spr ing’s pants is that they’ve acquired some girth. Civilians may need all the help we can get so as not to look like we have.
BE PREPARED TO LET MINIMALISM GO (SOMETIMES)
The most known of all knowns is that Céline is fabulous. Even at prices that make you weep. Everything Phoebe Philo does is chic, elegant, refined—minimalist. But as of this year it’s also floral, or some of it is. For even Philo has embraced a bit of the neo-- maximalis m wafting around. Brocades? Try Prada’s sweet kneelength skirts. Japanese pr ints? Meet Marni, Alexander McQueen, and a dozen others who have fallen hard for Japonisme this spr ing. If you want to ease into this gently, you can always wear a patterned brocade waist coat with your jeans. Maximalism and minimalism simultaneously? By June we will all be masters.
UPDATE YOUR DENIM
You may soon find yourself consider ing the Texas tuxedo. I don’t blame you: Stella McCartney, Fendi, and Gucci were just a few of the labels flirting with double denim and persuading us all, if only for the duration of their shows, that it’s the moder n way forward with a suit. For a subtler take I’m eyeing Louis Vuitton’s impeccably tailored runway jeans. And how about Dolce’s jewelled ones, for a look that will scare the horses? Either choice would look effortlessly r ight with one of the fancy white dress shirts that flitted through the collections. Genius.
STEP INTO SUMMER SUEDE
It’s your new best fr iend. Really. Leather may have all the glossy attitude (and trust me, I’ll be adding a pair of leather track pants to my roster), but suede is the one you’ll want to sleep in. Not literally—that would be a waste of the deliciously soft, drapey, velvet-esque skir ts, shor ts and shir t-jackets at Gucci, Fendi, Derek Lam, Loewe, Bottega Veneta… need I say more?
DON’T BE DEFINED BY HEEL HEIGHT
Those women who like to say “I only wear flats,” or “My feet are so incredibly evolved that I simply have to wear five-inch heels even when I’m running marathons or endur ing shooting sciatica pains”—they need to get with the times. This will be the year you can wear any heel height you fancy, even when it’s a glittery platfor m. I know—so soon after we banished them. But Saint Laurent’s Hedi Slimane hath decreed it’s okay, so it’s okay… I guess. Maybe we’ll mix it up: Slimane’s sparkly platfor m sandals for day and flat-for ms for night. Whatever feels r ight. Radical. Happy 2015. ■