Check out autumn’s RIOTOUS new trend
WHAT comes to mind when I say ‘tartan’? Skirts for men? John Lydon scream singing something about the Queen? A lumberjack or two, maybe?
The truth is that tartan, plaid or check — call it what you will — is whatever you want it to be. And this year, while fashion is undoubtedly still in the throes of a major Nineties moment, tartan is serving us a rather cheerier curveball, straight from the Seventies playbook.
Bright, poppy and frankly garish is the order of the day for flared trousers, woolly coats and, believe it or not, formal evening wear.
This technicolour riot is just the beginning. The most fashion-forward are clashing their tartan with all manner of other prints. At the recent Burberry spring/summer 2018 show, Christopher Bailey’s male and female models mixed different tartans with argyle, embroidery, applique and even chunky crystals.
What can I tell you? In the Instagram age, even the most traditional of fabrics has gone, as my tweenage daughter would say, ‘a bit extra’.
ZArA’S checked, sequinned dress (£25.99, zara.com) is a case in point. With fat checks in bold-asbrass yellow and added shimmer, it’s a show-stopping party dress in the season’s hottest trend. All you need to add is a pair of black strappy shoes.
If you can’t bring yourself to pile sparkles on top of checks, try Zara’s yellow maxi dress at £25.99. It’s great for a night out, but also handy for wearing with ankle boots or layered with a black polo (or striped knit, if you’re game) for work.
On a quieter note, can we talk about the amazing £165 coat from & Other Stories
(stories.com)? It’s got that slightly off-kilter Seventies green colour palette going on, but it’s not too crazy. real fashion mavericks will team theirs with something orange or even a totally mismatching bright floral dress, but it will also work beautifully with blacks, denims and beiges.
And I think I’m in love with the primary colours of the H&M Jacquard-weave coat (£89.99, hm.com), simply because I’m pretty sure I had something identical in my Seventies childhood. Much like then, I’ll probably still team it with denim and colourful trainers. If you’ve got the legs for it, live my dream and buy the gorgeous mini skirt from Boden (£80, boden.co.uk). The grey is a foil for the bright shades and would look very smart with a black jumper and tights.
The colours say Seventies, but the style screams punk, so it will also look excellent with chunky boots, a slogan T-shirt and leather jacket.
If, like me, you’re not wild about flashing your legs, try the flattering length of the mustard-toned pencil skirt, from Hobbs (£99, hobbs.co.
uk). Knee-length chocolate brown boots will make it deliciously Seventies. Of course, if we’re going to be authentic, we can’t ignore the staple of the decade: flared trousers. The cheery red pair, from Uterque (£115, uterque.
com) are perfect. They look great with ankle boots and the crop means they’re not sloshing in winter puddles.
There’s so much fun to be had with this Seventies trend you might conclude the designers wanted to make us — gasp! — smile when we get dressed.