Heels, blazers, silk skirts — the return of fabulous fashion

Picture this for a breakfast-time ensemble: a silver leather blazer; a sheer white organza pencil skirt (yes, big pants visible); some silver heels from Toteme, one of the fashion pack’s favourite brands; plus, finally, the kind of jewellery that, if it weren’t for the fact it was surely (surely?) faux, used to make The Pink Panther’s Phantom get out of bed in the morning. That was what I clocked in New York last week, and there have been similar Carrie Bradshaw-style manoeuvres in London this week.

It was always going to happen. Fashion is cyclical. Precisely because something was wrong it becomes right. What goes around comes around, and all that. Partly this is industry generated. The idea of the biannual switcheroo on which the month of shows is founded stems from a demand by Louis XIV in the 17th century that his courtiers change their silks annually. This was to support the French silk weavers. Now it supports the bottom line of everyone from Boden to Balenciaga.

It’s not only about that, however. It’s about us, too, or some of us. I certainly feel the ebb and flow in my relationship with my wardrobe. Sometimes I want to look and feel casual, sometimes I don’t, just as I might want to look more feminine or more masculine, and assorted other dichotomies.

That’s a continuing dance for me. Yet now there is also the broader mood music of what’s going on not just in fashion but in the world that is fuelling the dress-up trend. I can certainly understand why — at this at best confusing, at worst precipitous moment in time — many of us want to dress to cheer ourselves up, maybe even to stick our fingers in our ears. If we are on a sinking ship we may as well be dancing.

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But there’s rationality in play too. Bear in mind how empowering it can feel to make an effort; to bring your A game; to dress to impress. And who doesn’t need a little bit of empowerment right now? To dress as if you are something — someone — can underline to other people that this is precisely what you are. There is a reason Kamala Harris isn’t on the campaign trail in track pants; why armies go on parade in what equates to the sharpest suiting ever with a side order of an Elizabeth Taylor’s worth of bling.

Ines de Ramon and Brad Pitt at New York Fashion Week

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If the idea of dressing up makes you turn pale, it’s worth considering the wise words of industry professional Kay Barron, the author of a new book called, helpfully, How to Wear Everything (£16.99, Penguin).

“A little goes a long way,” she says. “Someone once said to me that she always thinks of me as someone who ‘dresses up’, but actually I think that just means that I wear heels a lot. Adding a heel to jeans, a shirt and a blazer will instantly make you look more dressed up. The same applies to earrings. Adding earrings to a grey jumper will make you look like you’ve made an effort.”

So that’s good news. That dressing up doesn’t have to mean going the full Sex and the City. It can also simply equate to some added polish. Apart from heels or jewellery, fabrics such as silk, leather and suede will change things up. (To guarantee you get your money’s worth, buy versions of items you already live in.) A great blazer can do a lot of the heavy lifting too. Ditto anything sculpted rather than slouchy.

There’s even a comparatively real-world way to channel that sheer trend that has been everywhere on the front row, with Marks & Spencer’s black organza midi column skirt, which thankfully has a modesty-preserving mini underskirt (£55, only available in sizes 14-18, marksandspencer.com). For other fanciful flourishes, I like Boden, Essentiel Antwerp, Jigsaw, Kitri and Wyse.

Sarah Jessica Parker in Sex and the City, 1998

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I live in an earlier iteration of Kitri’s navy feather-trimmed trousers, keeping my top half low-key with a plain knit or blazer (£60 from £165, only available in some sizes, kitristudio.com) and have my eye on Hush’s gold or silver pleated maxiskirt, which I would style similarly (£95, hush-uk.com). Wyse’s faux leather skirt in assorted metallics and patents — including a shiny Barbie-adjacent pink that it’s impossible not to smile over — is another beaut (£225, wyselondon.com). As for Reiss Atelier’s new collection, available from next month, that’s a grown-up dressing-up box par excellence.

Barron avers that just “one great go-to outfit is enough, be that a trouser and top combo or a dress that makes you feel sensational. You only need one. Wear it on repeat. No one cares or remembers if you have worn them before.” Wise words.

She also suggests that you never go shopping for said outfit when you need it. Really? “Yes! It’s like going food shopping when you are hungry. You will panic shop and buy something inappropriate and unsatisfying. Instead look for it when you feel good about yourself and you have the luxury of time.”

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As for those gamechanger accessories Barron talks about, my hunting grounds for earrings at a higher price point are the British brands Completed Works (like its pearl and recycled gold vermeil drops, £255, completedworks.com) and Missoma (its two-colour chunky hoops, £159, missoma.com). On a budget, Mango delivers every time (its maxi link style is £17.99, mango.com). Somewhere in between price-wise is Jigsaw (its molten stud earrings, available in gold or silver, are £35, jigsaw-online.com).

Your footwear doesn’t have to be heels — though maybe, and don’t shoot the messenger here, you may want to consider getting back into a pair. What your shoes do have to be are properly banging. “Shoes are key to dressing up,” Barron says. “You need a pair that is glorious but comfortable, as nothing will make you want to go home faster than sore feet.”

LK Bennett boots, £399; Boden loafers, £130; Completed Works earrings, £255

For a heel that looks like a proper heel, and indeed feels like one in the right way (emboldening rather than hobbling), I recommend a 55mm, but in truth even just a kitten feels like something these days.

Arket’s 50mm khaki mules tick the box perfectly if yours is a more stealth approach to dress up (£189, arket.com). Ditto the assorted delicious offerings at the aforementioned Toteme, if you are up for a proper investment, to wit its 55mm wedge-heeled pump in black, white or silver (£590, toteme.com), or less lofty wedge slingback (£480).

Aeyde’s Izzy, available in three different neutrals, is a tad more tottery at 65mm, but has a high enough vamp to attach it to your foot, which makes walking easier (£290 plus import duties, aeyde.com). Mary-janes, boots or shoe-boots are a nice choice for the same reason. LK Bennett’s 50mm jade ankle boots would add a dress-up flourish to a classic trouser suit (£399, lkbennett.com).

For something yet more look at me — but with a user-friendly 55mm block heel — how about Kurt Geiger’s silver double-strap Adelaide (£119, kurtgeiger.com)? Boden’s array of 65mm chunky loafers — which include gold leather and fuchsia suede options — are crackers (£130, boden.co.uk). And for a different kind of lift, Esska and Penelope Chilvers offer lovely platforms that give you extra inches — and glamour — but that are walkable in. Because dressing up doesn’t have to get you down. Quite the reverse.
@annagmurphy