High glamour and ladylike sophistication hark back to 1940s style, writes fashion editor Deirdre McQuillan, and M&S has all the essentials.
Dressing for the city is a statement about self-presentation. Most of us rely on suits, the conventional business option in reliable black or navy usually worn in the urban manner with defiantly high heels and commanding attitudes. But there comes a time when other, more modern options seem desirable alternatives, like a high-waisted skirt, a textured jacket and maybe a blouse of light printed chiffon rather than the crisp white shirt. Maybe the new architecture all around spurs the change.
Fashion continues to ransack other decades for ideas with the current force being the 1940s, a time when women also retreated into styles of the past. The tailored daytime mode then focused on a tight waist, square padded shoulders and a straight narrow skirt, while at night, Hollywood influenced the feminine ideal of a sophisticated temptress. Regiments of strict fitted suits may not be today's armour for work, but some current trends are termed "wartime chic" without a hint of irony.
In Marks & Spencer's line-up for winter there are similar impulses for looks that celebrate high glamour and luxury dressing, alongside ladylike style and sophistication freshly redrawn from the past. New directions mean an animal print swing coat with a Prince of Wales matelot button skirt and a bright yellow polo neck. Putting a chevron stripe Missoni-style coat with a damson print dress where shades coordinate but textures contrast is a question of adroit styling.
Katherine Hepburn strides again in the new wide-leg trouser, this time topped with an all-in-one navy tunic with chiffon insets or a tank top softened with georgette sleeves. Less sporty but thoroughly 2007 are shorts with tights under chunky striped knits cinched with a plaited belt. Leather gloves and berets, along with waved hair, add the studied details.
PS. Don't discard your coat hangers. Marks & Spencer have announced a coat hanger amnesty in their Liffey Valley outlet. Having calculated that 91 tons of hangers go to landfill every year, they are encouraging customers to bring back all their hangers - and not just those from M&S - for recycling. To date they have recycled more than one billion.