The Daily Telegraph - Saturday - The Telegraph Magazine
The wardrobe whisperer
Our experts help one mum look her best at the school gates
QI’m a 40-yearsyoung mum of two children under the age of five. I haven’t bought any clothes for years and am desperate for an update – I’m still in skinny jeans, which tells you the last time I spent any money on myself. I used to love fashion, but sadly just don’t have time for it any more. I want a few key pieces that will get me up to date before my eldest starts school, so I can hold my own at the gates. Please help.
A— Stephanie
Dear Stephanie, September’s back-to-school preparedness has forever been mimicked in the fashion world. Simply put, it’s a new season and new trends stock the shops.
That makes it an ideal time for you to refresh your look, just as you’re kitting out the kids with backpacks, pencil cases, un-scuffed shoes and the like. The high-street collections are arriving en masse and are filled with new ideas to try – saturated-colour separates, rich embellishments and statement knits, to name a few.
One of my favourite newseason trends, which will be particularly easy to wear on the school run, is a pair of wide-leg, ankle-grazing trousers. There will inevitably be a gaggle of mums wearing florals at the school gates again this September, so I think a great way to ‘hold your own’ among them will be by making yourself the person wearing something – anything – but.
This is also the right shape to move you on from those skinny jeans, if you’re keen to switch up your silhouette. Marks & Spencer has a super-soft khaki pair, which would look great worn with a longline ochre or terracotta top. Oliver Bonas also has a pair of cropped, high-waisted wide-leg trousers in a pale-blue, almost denim-like corduroy – tuck in a striped T-shirt and add trainers in September, then wear with a long-sleeved blouse and ankle boots when it gets colder. The best bit about this trouser shape is the illusion of a nipped-in waist that it offers, however you style it.
Have you thought about your own back-to-school bag? If you chose to buy only one thing on this page, I think that a polished new crossbody bag would elevate anything you wear it with. Charles & Keith’s Charlot, in a glossy navy finish, looks particularly expensive despite its £69 price tag.
For a final sprinkle of glamour, I’d suggest investing in one timeless jewellery item from an indisputably fashion brand. Isabel Marant, Shrimps and Simone Rocha all make fun costume pieces for around £150 – and these designer names will carry cachet in the playground when another stylish parent inevitably stops you to ask where your earrings are from.