Hurrah! ‘Matchy matchy’ is back at last
WHAT if I told you that the winter’s biggest fashion trend — movement, in fact — is already lurking in your wardrobe and there’s no need to shop for a thing?
It’s true. Here’s what to do, in three easy steps. Step 1: Pull out your favourite pieces of clothing and group them by colour. Step 2: Choose some items from the same colour group and put them on. Step 3: Actually, there is no step three. That’s it. You’re done. Can you believe it? fashion has decided so-called ‘tonal dressing’ — wearing the same colour head-to-toe — is the height of chic this season.
It makes me laugh because I remember a time, not that long ago, when to be ‘matchy matchy’ was considered the height of naff. No more.
And, boy, does it take the stress out of pulling together an outfit on a dark winter morning (presuming you have enough light to distinguish your bottle-greens from your darkest navies at that hour).
Thanks to such designers as Max Mara, who sent bold top-to-toe red looks down the runway, and Joseph, who did the same with vivid lilacs, it’s the no-brainer way to look like you’ve been paying attention to the season’s hottest trend.
What’s more, you’re totally in control as there’s no such thing as a ‘wrong’ colour. It’s simply putting together clothes you like wearing, in a colour palette that looks great on you.
If you think that’s deliciously low-maintenance, it gets even better. You can also relax about exact colour matching. In fact, a little bit of in-tone clashing is considered highly stylish.
Of COURSE, there are some tonal dressing tricks to bear in mind for an added bit of grown-up polish. When you’re keeping your colour palette tonal, textures are suddenly very important.
I have been inspired by Uterque’s love affair with electric blue and will be wearing its ribbed sweater (£69,
uterque.com) paired with flared trousers (now £39.90, uterque.
com). The different textures break up that solid colour column and give definition.
Purists may opt to finish this look with navy footwear, but I prefer a splash of crimson to break up all that blue. Try a pair of red leather ankle boots (£95, sosandar.com).
Which brings me on to my next point. Choose accessories well and they can really make your tonal outfit sing. I noticed a great look in H&M — crisp white boots (take a peek at the white ankle boots for £130 at
dunelondon.com) peeping out of red suit trousers (try a wideleg style, now £17.40, laredoute.
co.uk) worn with a red woolblend coat (£69.99, hm.com).
Not only do the shoes subtly break up the look, but they somehow make the vibrant red pop even more.
Similarly, I’d wear a bright orange knit jumper (£39.99,
hm.com) with Hobbs’s orange trousers (now £75, hobbs.
co.uk), then add a splash of red with J Crew’s Signet circle bag (£138, jcrew.com) worn across the body.
Don’t be alarmed: there’s no rule that says tonal dressing is necessarily ‘loud’. In fact, putting together tonal neutrals — creams, beiges and greys in particular — tends to make everything in the outfit look more expensive.
Tonal dressing will also breathe new life into clothes that have been languishing in your wardrobe, providing a link between seemingly disparate pieces.
Discovered an olive top and an avocado scarf in a bottom drawer? No problem. Wear them both. At the same time. With khaki trousers. That’s tonal perfection.