Are you stylish or trendy?

“The thing that made her stand out was what we call ‘style’”  McCall’s magazine commenting on the style icon, Grace Kelly

Is there a woman today who wouldn’t wish to be considered ‘stylish’ rather than ‘fashionable’? Well, truth is that there are quite a few and they idolize ‘celebs’ who are slaves to their stylists. However, there are a number of us who seek style over and above trends; we would favour the Grace Kellys, Audrey Hepburns and Jackie Onassises of our day over the Victoria Beckhams,  Cheryl Coles, SJPs. When it comes to innate style and elegance, our true style icons differ hugely from the ‘celebs’ that grace our glossies. It is one thing to be a hanger and a clothes-horse for great clothes, it is quite another to select clothes judiciously for all the right reasons and then to wear them graciously.

What is it that differentiates the iconic style of Kelly from the so-called ‘celebs’ and trend-setters who appear on the covers of fashion magazines today? Besides the obvious changes in fashion and trends, there is the question of style and its many qualities: modesty, subtlety, propriety of the outfit for the occasion, getting noticed for the right reasons – i.e. how to wear an outfit to express who you are rather than to speak about the outfit. As Grace Kelly once said, 'I think it is important to see the person first and the clothes afterwards'.

So who can we look to today? Well, last week the fashion world was enthralled by one woman. No, not the fashion world of fashion-junkies - who get high on throw-away fashion and transient trends - but the true savvy style sleuths who know what’s hot and what’s not. They were entranced and inspired by a woman who has inadvertently been crowned the queen of fashion within a matter of days. And she is royal in more than a sartorial sense.

“Fashion fades, style is eternal” Coco Chanel

Sheika Mozah, second wife of the Emir of Qatar is the epitome of royal.  During her state visit this week, Julian Macdonald praised her style saying “not since Jackie O has any first lady has such global resonance in terms of fashion.” So, you might ask ‘What’s the key ingredient?’ Well, besides the fact that she was wearing Couture pieces by Dior, Armani and Jean Paul Gautier and therefore unlikely to inspire the average woman on the street to seek these elitist brands, she oozed what fashion experts will call ‘timeless style’. What is more, in a feat of true wardrobe wizardry to be admired and feared in equal measure the stylish sheika does not even employ a stylist! Frightening!

 Let’s not get carried away and forget that most of us cannot financially afford to leave our high-street comfort zones, but let us remember  the qualities we are searching for  that say ‘quality and style’ rather than a whimsical ‘let’s tick this fashion box for a hot trend under £20’.  Smaller independent boutiques are sure to know exactly what this ‘timeless style’ is and you are most likely to find incarnations of this iconic look there.....and at a fraction of the price.

If there is one savvy style secret to be shared which will stand the test of time it is this ladies: look for style-led fashion rather than trend-led fashion. As cryptic as that might sound, if you can decipher that code you are on course to follow Sheika Mozah and her predecessors on the road to style royalty.

Jeggings, Jeans and body-type.....

"I wish I had invented blue jeans. They have expression, modesty, sex-appeal, simplicity. All I hope for in my clothes." Yves Saint Laurent (French fashion designer b.1940)

Of course, we are no longer restricted to blue jeans alone, although they do remain the iconic choice for the classic, non-faddish look. But what about the cut?

If you pay fleeting attention to fashion at any level you will have noticed that ‘skinny jeans’ are very, very hot and have moved from novelty style to wardrobe staple for most of us. Plus they don’t look set to be going anywhere soon. Why is that? The name itself does not lend itself to inclusiveness in the frequently body-fascist world of fashion. It’s an unfortunate misnomer to be true and, although the name is clearly here to stay, a random sample of ‘skinny’ jean-wearers will reveal that the body-type required for the style is not nearly as restricted as the name suggests. The reason they are popular is that they are generally flattering (if worn correctly) and incredibly versatile, while also retaining the signature ‘classic’ appeal of the jean. Footwear, a perennial problem with the bootcut and straightcut, embraces boots and flats alike since a ruched ankle (as a result of wearing flats with a long-leg ‘skinny’ jean) is bang on trend – something which cannot be said of the bootcut. With your straighcut or bootcut you need one pair for heels and one pair for flats. Oh – the inescapable bane of footwear with jeans!! Tuck your ‘skinny’ jeans into a pair of boots and you have a tidy and strong look; while wear them with flats and you’ve turned sloaney, casual jean-wearer....while appearing effortless of course!

One word of warning is the length of your top. Keep it at least mid-buttock but no shorter, even if you the cutest ‘peachy’ behind!  The ‘skinny’ lends itself ingeniously to all manner of sloppy, over-sized, tailored tops, jackets and sweaters but its very nature of being fitted requires a polar-opposite on the top half. Ying-yang....balance things out or else you risk the sausage effect...even if you’re petite!

So, who’s wearing them and which ones do you want?

There is truly a ‘skinny’ jean for all ages and virtually all body-shapes. The two variables are the fabric (sorry – did I mention that ‘jeans’ does not necessarily mean denim???) and what you wear them with. As above, keep the top half loose, even more so if you’re not a small frame. Investigate the brands and the fabrics..... and the ‘jeggings’.

‘Jeggings’ is where the ‘skinny’ jean of the 80s has been revamped and refined for the twenty-first century – Hallelujah! Can you hear a non-stretch ‘skinny’-wearer raving about how “these jeans are just soooooo comfortable....I just liiiiive in them aaaalllll the time”? Tight denim stitched tightly around your thighs, crotch and waist....all day? Comfortable? Desirable? Commercial? Would you turn down a free upgrade to Business Class and the reclining seat/bed for a 10 hour flight? Of course not. Quite!

Cue for the ‘jeggings’ and stretch-‘skinny’ jeans to enter.  Not Your Daughter’s Jeans (NYDJ) – the brand to sweep across the USA and now storm Europe and the UK – have nailed this one. And no, before you ask, I will not patronise the concept of ‘jeggings’ nor the different shapes of women to claim that NYDJ ‘jeggings’ are for ‘real women with women curves’ to the exclusion of all you ‘non-real, curveless gals’.  This would suggest they are the Brigitte Jones  pants of the jeans world...which could not be further from the truth. Whether you have a diminutive size 6 frame or a voluptuous 16, you can pull these off and enjoy them. Rather cunningly, the brand’s signature concept is the no-holds-barred ‘Lift Tuck Technology' which flattens and shrinks you by one dress size and does for a girl or woman’s confidence what Viagra does for a bloke. I am guessing. Genius!

NYDJ 'Jeggings'

 

Now, lastly one rant and caveat. On three online chat forums I have read the following posts: “I am size 12. Can I wear skinny jeans?”; “I say anything over a size 12 looks ridiculous”; “truth is skinny jeans are for skinny people.” WRONG, WRONG, WRONG. It’s unfortunate that the style has been branded with this adjective but it’s simply to differentiate them from flared, bootcut, straightcut etc. Some people just wouldn’t wear jeans or leggings anyway as they don’t suit them and it’s important to respect what you look do good in and not follow a fashion for fashion’s sake. Having said that, good fashion advice – more often available from independent retailers – and the right choices can find a style to suit most shapes. NYDJ feature the ‘Lift Tuck Technology’ in all their styles and so even if the ‘jeggings’ are not for you, perhaps the corduroy jeans, straightcut or bootcut are?

In reply to those ridiculous posts above, I would like to say that I am currently a size 12 in most jeans and pulled on a pair of NYDJ ‘jeggings’ last week. As a religious bootcut wearer until then, I offer new converts to ‘jeggings’ and ‘skinnies’ the following advice: forget the fashion fascist  comments on 'skinny' jeans or 'jeggings' and simply pull them on to carry them off. You will be surprised and liberated by how great you look and feel.

Welcome Autumn Winter 2010!

‘No spring, nor summer beauty hath such grace,

As I have seen in one autumnal face.’ [John Donne, Elegies, ‘The Autumnal’, c.1600]

Welcome Winter Fashion!

It’s raining, gales are blowing...leaves are gathering in the doorway.....the heating is on..... HURRAH! Time for proper clothes ...... time for Autumn Winter fashion! I challenge any bonafide fashion-lover to not consider Autumn/Winter (A/W) as being infinitely preferable to the Spring/Summer (S/S). In short, it’s so much more tactile, substantial and charismatic..... AW has ‘balls’. You only need to look at the covers of the glossies, especially Vogue, to see that the arrival of the AW collections makes this season the industry’s ‘favourite’. Of course, the precise start of AW depends on who you are talking to. Fashionistas will tell you it in begins in August, while astrologists will maintain that winter officially begins at the time of winter solstice on November 1^st. Personally, I became rather excited about A/W ’10 in February! It was that cadet style closing of London Fashion Week in February by Burberry in their aviator shearling-lined jackets – the luxury brand expert at keeping us dry – that had me biding my time through the summer for the season worth waiting for. I officially announce that my summer clothes are going in the loft as of.....after writing this. We may yet have an blip of Indian summer – I’m no weather forecaster – but the opportunity to indulge in A/W 2010’s offerings is simply too good to delay any longer.

I find the evolution from designer wear to the high street especially incredible in terms of the price of the best fare in the market. Take the case of the aforementioned shearling aviator – ubiquitous and faultless as a quality emblem of style. But from £1,895 a pop – there are few of us mere mortals who will have one on our backs I am guessing. Now look at the price whittle down from £750 or £1,140  at Acne; £350 at Reiss; £150 at Oasis and...... predictably, though not advisedly, £30 at Matalan . That’s the first sign of a style that won’t be jumping on the Fashion express out of our lives as the next season arrives, which is lucky since this is a piece which will - like a good wine and unlike our own looks sadly - definitely improve with age. It’s got to have staying power and longevity as a look if it’s been interpreted in so many ways, so diversely and yet has not been bastardised too, too much by the high street (okay, except a few predictable cases...see above). The leather jackets are equally delicious this season. The waterfall collars ooze elegance and the belted versions throw a few punches too – definitely giving us girls and ladies the status we deserve out there in the challenging climate of.... [fill in your own daily gripe]. Kello have done a great affordable line in these although the stockists are few and far between. I would warn against be tempted by the leather or shearling being touted too far down the fashion chain economically. Quality of leather and cut are the watchwords here and are the essential core of the style (without them you’d have a cipher of the real thing; a concentrate rather than freshly squeezed juice if you will) – such beauties are susceptible to the curse of the dark side of democratic fashion. I bought a leather blazer from a popular ‘fast fashion’ high street store a few years ago.....and it’s now as stiff and dry as, well a piece of cheap leather. I have a conscience about this now and feel pretty bad on several levels – the cow, the people who probably made it in less-than-comfortable conditions no doubt.... The leather you will see in most stores today in soft and supple and a timeless piece can be picked up for under £150-200. You needn’t remortgage your house to find two grand for the Burberry Prorsum number. Yes, this season’s fashion is bursting with examples of timeless style. Truly timeless. I have nabbed my mother’s sheepskin military double-breasted full-length coat. She had it made in London in 1970 and it knocks the cashmere socks of anything I’m likely to see this season..... and anything I’m likely to be able to afford! Ever! Fortunately, it no-longer fits her..... in the words of Robbie and Gary.... “what a shame”!