Retail Therapist The grown-up guide to wearing bodycon
If you’d told me this time last year that I’d be getting excited about the return of the bodycon trend, I wouldn’t have believed you. Not just because I had five-month-old twins at the time and my body was still in recovery mode, but also because I’ve always – even pre-babies – been more drawn to a loose-fitting, androgynous aesthetic.
Fashion has a funny way of convincing you to fall for things you’d once dismissed as a little tacky, though (see: the Y2K revival and the über-girly “princesscore” look). Now, a 10-year-old Missoni stretch knit mini skirt has re-entered my regular wardrobe rotation, and my online shopping baskets are full of stretch-jersey dresses I’d have balked at in the past.
The past two years of lockdowns are partially to blame. So is Victoria Beckham. When I interviewed her last month, she told me she was done with hiding under baggy clothes. “I’m sick of comfort dressing – I want to celebrate being a woman,” she said, adding that she’s launching a line of stretch-knit dresses this spring. “Whether you are a size six, or the complete other end of the scale… they make every woman look curvy and really feminine.”
I can identify with that perspective. I’m still relishing the chance to dress up again and reminding myself that I do have a body underneath the sweatshirt and joggers I wear at home. Of course, I’m not about to go to work in the kind of bodycon you see on residents of the Love Island villa. I’m talking about a more grown-up take on the look, from designers who are intelligent about creating clothes for “normal” women, whether it’s Norma Kamali’s clever ruching or Self-Portrait’s streamlining ribbed knit dresses. So, allow me to introduce you to the entry-level iteration: the sweater dress. It’s gloriously cosy and it’s hard to feel overexposed in a merino knit maxi like the one I’m wearing here by Raey. The fact that it’s also joined the bodycon bandwagon is the surest evidence yet that the look is about to go mainstream. This time, though, it’s for everybody.