Why punchy pinstripes always mean business
LIKE many a Nineties trend, pinstripes — as borrowed from the boys ( remember Madonna in hourglass pinstripes on her Blonde Ambition tour?) — are having a bit of a renaissance.
As I type I am wearing my Odette pinstripe shirt with elevated ‘petal’ cuffs (£65) by my favourite online brand Kitri. Crisp and versatile (I think of it as my new Breton top as it goes with everything), it was the first thing I reached for to get back into the groove of work life dressing after the easter break.
Of course, I wasn’t the only one for whom stripes seemed like a good idea for the first day back at the office. Theresa May announced the snap election last week in a pinstripe dress by British newcomer Daniel Blake. Navy, with a chalky stripe — and an asymmetric waist detail for a modern twist — it packed serious sartorial punch. (There is a similar ‘ kimono’ dress on Blake’s website for £495 right now.)
Pinstripes have always been bound up with work and power — originally worn by bankers in the 19th century, when the stripe width supposedly denoted which bank the wearer worked for.
Winston Churchill was also partial to a pinstripe, commissioning Turnbull & Asser to create his signature Siren suit in the fine-lined cloth. (A Siren suit being a proto- onesie invented by Churchill himself. Inspired by the cut of a boilersuit, he wanted a garment that combined a certain formality with the utility for, say, making a dash for an air raid shelter.)
In 2017, the easiest way to incorporate pinstripe into your wardrobe is with a shirt. Designers are besotted with pinstripe shirting this spring, playing with slashed sleeves, asymmetric necklines and some fabulously fancy cuffs.
ONE designer duo who have been experimenting in this vein for a few seasons now are Palmer Harding, whose elegant cuts and adaptations of men’s shirting for the female body make them practically poet laureates of the genre. I have been drooling over a shirtdress- cum-beach cover-up of theirs on matches fashion.com (£285).
On the High Street there are endless shirt options (Topshop’s deep-cuff version, £25, is lovely); though I’d avoid embroideries and embellish- ments. To my eye, plainer is chicer. I like my striped shirt tucked into a boldly coloured print or lace midi skirt for the office; and wear it with jeans, white sneakers and a pale duster coat for the weekend.
As the days warm up, a flounced asymmetric pinstripe skirt is a cheery update, replacing last year’s knife pleat midi skirt as your spring/summer staple. There is a lovely version coming to M&S (£35) at the end of this month.
More expensive, but with enough wow factor for a wedding, is the flounced skirt from Maje for £199 (add a broderie anglaise blouse, a tasseled earring and a heeled mule).
Pinstripes are not the only stripes in the game this season. Folksy stripes in romantic tiered dresses ( very Little House On The Prairie) are a lovely weekend away option. Aussie designer Zimmermann creates the best.
And I love the serotonin-boosting deck- chair stripes that high-fashion labels from Balenciaga to Celine have endorsed. There are fantastic High Street interpretations, be it a crisp tie-cuff green and white shirt at Warehouse (£39), or a red and white asymmetric skirt at Zara (£49.99).
Add a plain white tee and a flat backless loafer (Boden, £44.95) for a chic holiday look.
Speaking of off-duty dressing, the dark linen jumpsuit with thin chalk stripes from Kitri (£125) is fabulously flattering. I saw it on one of my fellow glossy magazine editors the other night. It’s the modern day Siren suit in fact!