Shiny leggings - now worn by sexy ladies as well as fashion ladies.
I finally escaped the red circles of shame (as arbitrated by my friends and peers) on Saturday by debuting a super-simple Cos knee-length black shift (29 bargainous pounds). I felt really good in it but was quite surprised it got good feedback as it is very minimalist and I thought it might be considered boring.
It’s interesting how our tastes change – blogging buddy LON often notes when we are out and about that my taste from a few years ago now seems to be the popular taste (disclaimer: of women going to the O2 on a Saturday; these are my sartorial descendants apparently), for example, bright colours and gold; the return of “ugly” prints and patterns like leopard; super-high stipper or tranny heels; a trashy 80s vibe; leggings!
Some of these are now staples: leggings aren’t a trend anymore, they are a handy piece of wardrobe underpinning that can even be worn to work and instantly adds a modicum of modesty to outfits. I find it interesting to think of what the default, most mainstream possible outfit for someone my age is, and how it’s different from three, five or ten years ago. It’s not about early-adopters or those who pop up on the myriad streetstyle websites whose mandate is to photograph very slim people wearing ugly tat.
I don’t think it’s fun either to predict trends or try to be above them, but sometimes you do get a very powerful sense of what you yourself want to be wearing next and you just can’t feel comfortable in your own skin until you sort it out. Perhaps this is just a side-effect of our consumerist approach to clothing – I’m definitely trying to find a way to evolve my wardrobe without doing a lot of spending. However, I’ve always felt emotional about clothes but not entirely because it’s part of how you relate to others. I just feel very strange when I’m not matching on the out- and inside. A major trauma of my childhood was being dictated to by my mother on the clothes front (I had a very idyllic childhood okay).
Regarding my 90s-esque shift, it felt really good to hit on an item that made me feel like myself again (but the new me!) I have Cos to thank, this mighty shop, ignoring what everyone else on the high street is doing and going its own way. I’m pretty sure the 90s will be the next decade to make a comeback a la Alexander Wang or Childhood Flames’ minimalist outfit posts:
As a zillion style advisers and mothers have said – wear the clothes, don’t let them wear you. When I reach for the gold, embellished stuff, something in my head now says “step away from the spangles”, and off to Cos I trot.
For what’s it’s worth then, if you’ve read this far, just for me, I’m off heels. I see far too many women tottering about in uncomfortable shoes with mega-heels. It’s taking the fun out of it. Ladies: take care of your spines. Also, don’t wear heels with tight clothes. Obvious, no?
S
