This week we offer inspiration to put a spring in your step in time for that extra hour of daylight on Sunday 29th
Gingham
If prints had personality traits, gingham would be an eternal optimist. Fresh, clean and innocent, the innocuous check has been all over the runway for spring summer 2015, from gingham gowns at Oscar de la Renta to co-ordinates at Michael Kors to sophisticated wrap dresses at Diane von Furstenberg.
Gingham is all-age appropriate – wear these check trousers with a white shirt for a crisp look at work, or pair with a matching bralette for an all-over print explosion. While black and white is the most popular look on the high street, it can also be worn in baby blues and dusky pinks for a more girlish attitude.
All denim everything
Think outside the jean-shaped box – if it’s denim, it’s probably worth wearing. The humble, hard-wearing fabric’s versatility goes beyond trousers: denim jackets, dresses, skirts, jumpsuits, shirts and even T-shirts are going to be big this spring.
Luxury houses are taking note, including Burberry and Louis Vuitton. For the first time, even Italian fashion giant Fendi included denim in its spring/summer collections.
At a lower price point, Alexa Chung wowed with her denim collection of ‘70’s tinged denim pieces for AG Jeans. But at heart, denim is an egalitarian fabric – anyone can indulge, from high fashion to high street.
Shirt dresses
As the climate varies from freezing to moderate to the very slight possibility of warmth, it becomes harder and harder to tailor a working wardrobe. Rising temperatures mean shedding layers, and in an office environment, it can be very difficult to negotiate a strict dress code.
Enter the shirt dress. Light and airy, it can be buttoned up or down, gathered in or billowed out. The smart tailoring makes it versatile for after-work drinks and events as well as the nine to five grind, and it looks good with any shoe, even trainers.
Old school trainers
Speaking of trainers, the humble athletic shoe is fast becoming fashionable outside of a sporting context. Those in creative industries, or who are constantly on the go, are rediscovering the sleek allure of the durable retro trainer.
Converse are a little oversubscribed, but still a classic (especially when battered and grubby).
Nike’s Blazer shoe is an update of the original 1970s basketball runner, with a premium suede upper and a comfy cushioned sole. The Adidas OG Gazelle has remained virtually unchanged since it was first issued in 1968 – with the exception of a new support rib for better arch support. Proof that orthopaedics can be sexy.
Midi skirts
To list every designer and store that stocks midi-skirts would be an exercise in futility, so let’s just say that midi skirts are everywhere and leave it at that. Whether pencil or pleated, this hemline is here to stay. When it comes to skirts, it’s all about the knee.
Once it hits above, on or under the human body’s most underrated joint, anything can happen. The choices are endless – virtually any colour, any material and any shape. A midi is a goody, and will see you from this spring to the next, so don’t expect it to be written out of the fashion lexicon any time soon.
Formal flats
Heels are high maintenance at the best of times, and life as we know it has suddenly become much busier. Gone are the heels, in their place is a litany of smart, sensible, flat shoes that are perfect for tromping tidily around town.
Sensible doesn’t have to mean boring, however. See Simone Rocha’s mad flower print Perspex-heeled brogues for a masterclass in bonkers, genius design.
Metallics and high shine
For those questioning if fashion has forgotten its flair for the dramatic – with it’s recent yen for sensible shapes and flat footwear – metallics are the answer. Shiny, sheeny fabrics are high impact and eye-catching but, in the spirit of fashion’s new easy going attitude, much easier to wear than one might expect.
Gold and silver work for warm and cool toned skin respectively, but bronzes suit almost everyone.
