Choose Style

I'm wondering if fashion is about to implode? In the sense that too many trends and so many looks means a bit of strict direction is required. I loved it when yesterday one young person on my MA course (being the mature student - I'm still youngish though!!) who I was chatting to during our 10 minute break commented that fashion no longer existed in the decade span that it used to and it was so fast paced and irrelevant you could put something on and step out of the door and be fashionable by complete chance! We scanned our very full lecture room and noted no one apart from 3 shows of tartan/plaid out of 50 were wearing anything similar or even looked similar.


I'm not saying that a fashion used to last 10 years but styles and cuts did last a lot longer than they do now. Admittedly our random research was based on a group of women in London and more specifically the London College of Fashion and it might not have been the same result in an office for example. But diversity and pace has been a massive driver of fashion for clothes, interiors even restaurants for the heyday of our recent consumer boom.


Now we are entering a period of zero maybe even negative growth (we are still not officially in a recession despite media doom mongers as two successive quarters of negative growth must be recorded!) will this bust mentality slow down fashion. Next A/W 09 collections will be a key indicator of what is to come. Luxury brands are currently weathering the approaching storm and even the High Street is not a complete loss, note John Lewis revealed a downturn in all areas but women's shoes!


This is the time to attempt to define your style to make good purchases when you can and to maximise your wardrobe. There are a number of ways to do this, one favourite is the mood board where you pin items you love and this reflects your taste back to you and helps define a look. Another way is to emulate, for example Audrey Hepburn, an obvious one I know but still relevant today. There is no wrong or right way to define you nor is there a style that is better than another.



I limit where I shop based on price, quality and style. Lets put it this way Chanel isn't on my list currently! I have places that reveal little gems and this year Kew still features on it - okay it might be just two items but no one else is wearing them unlike Topshop, so that reveals I tend to like items that are not must haves or mainstream fashion pieces. I'll always have a bit of a tomboy edge to what I wear but that doesn't mean I dress in a masculine way. I'm just not a neat freak or particularly of the Grace Kelly sophisticated mode.



My current style admiration goes to Cheryl Cole and I'm not alone in this but she has honed a style of her own which has a 60s edge to it, almost Mowtownish or other glitzy stars of that era but a very modern interpretation. Define your own style now and you'll see out the next few years with ease.