Is this the best kept secret in fashion?
Affordable. Well cut. So grown-up...
Every once in a while a label hits the High Street that makes you cry: ‘Why didn’t I know about you before?’ It’s as though a fashion designer has magically tapped into your style consciousness and created your perfect capsule wardrobe.
Well, it’s just happened to me and I think many readers will agree when they discover the new label Finery.
Arriving at six John lewis stores on February 12, the label has proved a runaway success online since it launched a year ago. It’s made up of eminently wearable wardrobe staples, tweaked just enough to give them a little fashion edge.
label co-founder Caren Downie believes Finery has filled a gap on the High Street, which was getting ‘progressively younger and more samey’.
At 55 and with roles as Asos.com fashion director and Topshop buying director under her belt, Downie understands that grownup women want affordable fashion (prices start at £19 for a jersey top) yet refuse to compromise on design.
To that end she isn’t hugely bothered by catwalk trends or even the seasons of the year.
‘Take Finery’s colour palettes,’ she says. ‘rather than deciding that women will like pastels in spring and strong colours in autumn, for example, we’re more inclined to think they’ll like the colours they favour all year round and will want versatile pieces.’
The Sanford Wrap Dress is on my must-have list. A traditional wrap dress in a rich mulberry shade (available in navy, too), it’s made from flatteringly thick (non-clinging) jersey with a clever asymmetric hem which immediately makes the silhouette more interesting. Add to that the wide Japanese sash-style ‘Obi belt’ and you’ve got a sophisticated wardrobe staple. And it’s only £65.
As you’d expect with a collection in its infancy, not everything is right. I’d struggle to include the straight up and down, mid-calf, floral shirt dress in my wardrobe. As, I suspect, would anyone shorter than 6ft and wider than Cara Delevingne.
But despite fashion’s power players loving the brand (with vogue describing it as ‘chic, shockingly affordable, and very well designed’), the label has a broad appeal that spans generations. ‘We’re hearing from younger shoppers that they buy a piece, get home and discover their mum has bought it too,’ says Downie.
John lewis also believes Finery’s balance between fashion-edge and wearability is spot on. Head of womenswear buying Jo Bennett, who introduced the label to the store (and picks her capsule wardrobe, below), says their values are absolutely in line with those of John lewis.
‘We’re always looking for integrity, quality and accessibility,’ she says. ‘The designs need to be innovative but to flatter real women.’
True to the label’s disregard for fashion ‘seasons’, rather than introduce a new collection to store every few months, Finery will be drip-fed into John lewis with new pieces arriving every week.