Stock up on stain remover — cream is in!
DOn’T know about you, but the news that beige is what we should be wearing has not lifted my spirits. Dress it up any way you like — beige, camel, honey — it’s a shade that works best if you are super polished, shiny-haired and caramel all over.
Melania Trump can pull off beige, but for the rest of us, it’s a tough call. Cream, on the other hand, is a different matter.
You may have noticed pictures of fashion editors at the recent shows — the chicest among them were wearing a splash of cream. Some were wearing lots of it in subtly different shades (a vanilla shearling coat, over a cream jacket, plus bone white jeans) that looked good, if high maintenance.
But it was the one big hit of cream, roughly a third of your outfit, that stood out. A cream midi skirt with a black jacket and snakeprint boots.
A cream coat, with dark denim jeans. Cream straight trousers, worn with a toffeecoloured suede jacket over a cream polo-neck.
Chic is probably the most overused word in the fashion dictionary, but it is the only way to describe this one-third cream look.
ThIS is the time of year when cream punches way above its weight. From March to May, cream looks fresh, smart and unexpected. It’s chicer than white, easier to wear than pastels and it’s the colour that goes naturally with navy or black, or even beige, and gives them instant spring attitude.
It’s like turning on a bright light. Make one third of your outfit creamy tailoring and you’ve moved everything on instantly.
Swap your navy padded coat for a cream double-breasted coat — Mango’s double breasted short coat (£99.99,
mango.com) would be a good choice, or Monki’s faux cream shearling (reduced to £50,
monki. com), or the Leora belted trench (reduced to £179, damselinadress.co.uk) — and you’re looking like you’ve been to a health farm, and had a head of highlights.
Or put away your black corduroy trousers and try cream cord (£ 69, stories. com) or Uniqlo’s cigarette high-rise jeans (£ 24.90, uniqlo. com) with your leopard print teddybear coat; that’s already a different, lighter brighter look. It’s a myth that cream trousers are unflattering — they aren’t if they’re cut well.
Still, I’m tempted to get a cream midi skirt instead of trousers, because it’s what cool women are wearing in Copenhagen. It’s also my hunch that the high-waisted, slightly flared cream midi will be the denim skirt of summer.
Mind you, a cream satin biascut midi skirt (£129, winser-
london.com), worn with black knee boots and a dark blazer looks surprisingly like the answer to smart casual evenings, before it gets warmer. Cream acts as a cooler for prints: put a longline cream sweater (£39, topshop.com) with your animal print skirt and it’s suddenly perfect for lunch with the in-laws, as well as an instant luxer-upper.
A couple of cream things worn together — a jacket or coat over a funnel neck jumper — with blue jeans and white trainers is the uptown girl’s favourite look of the moment.
If you’re still not ready for cream, trust us you will be. At the Autumn 2019 show for Max Mara, a brand known for its camel coats, models took to the catwalk wearing headto-toe cream (including boots) topped off with a giant shaved shearling cream coat.
Last, but not least, a word about keeping cream clean. Sit on your bag-for-life on the bus. Don’t rest your elbows on the sticky café table. Take it off before you make the bolognese. It’s worth it.