The Times fashion team lays down the law on the season’s latest trends, from bare legs to hair colour and coat lengths:
Avoid angora It is poor man’s cashmere. Also, it leaves fluff on the inside of your Balmain-inspired pointy shouldered blazer and gets stuck in your nose.
Bare those legs It may seem a mite counter-intuitive, but for true fashion warriors now is the time to start anticipating spring/summer 2010 — and bare legs comes with the territory. Unsheathed gams are ten-a-penny midsummer, but hit a midwinter party fashion-forward (and sans tights) and you’ll be the one making maximum impact. So be bold in the cold.
Can the tan Alas, it’s time to ban the tan Forsake the Tango-ed rabble Once burnished winter skin said jet set, Mustique, Mick, oh yes, and Margaret (as in the Princess, not Drabble). Now it just screams Jordan.
Dye your hair blonde While everyone else is busy stuffing their hair into hats and shuffling around under a grey sky, there is something wonderfully defiant about dyeing your hair an utterly frivolous shade of blonde. Besides, there is no better time of year to achieve that perfect golden shade: no sun to interfere with your highlights, no swimming pool to turn them green. Looks excellent with red.
Equilibrium is the key to harmonious hems If you think that a coat is a tool for warmth protection, you are missing the point. A coat is the closest fashion comes to architecture, and for that reason, there should be no toying with its clean, balanced lines. Richard Rogers would never finish his latest injection into the sky with a billowy awning — neither should you let you skirt dangle too far below your coat hem. Under-hang must reach no more than five — nicely tailored — centimetres.
Fight the frump The sloppy cardigan is the wet fish of fashion: it’s able to reduce perfectly fashionable dresses to sartorial slush. Two words: dump it. Three more words: buy a blazer.
Glove Rage: Oil? Land? Religion? To be honest, we can’t get that worked up. But losing a glove, not being able to fit your slinky new elbow-length Italian beauties under your elasticated sleeves or over your bulky new elbow-sized cocktail ring and bangles — now those are genuine people’s problems. And they’re happening ON A DAILY BASIS. End the grief cycle by buying two matching pairs, donating the digit jewellery to Frieze’s next Sculpture in the Park project and investing in brooches instead.
Heels Boots, schmoots In Yakutia, Siberia (the coldest place on Earth, come winter) they build their houses on stilts to minimise contact with the permafrost. Heels do precisely the same for your feet. And you are allowed to wear socks.
Invest in a whooshy thing Incredibly, this command has yet to make it on to the cover of Vogue. Don’t be fooled, though. The Whooshy Thing, this season’s sleeper hit — capes, cloaks, huge chunks of knitwear that no one, least of all the Polish sales assistant in River Island, has yet worked out how to wear — lacks a certain hanger appeal. This is good news, since with any luck they’ll all end up in the sales and you can unleash your inner origamist, layering, draping and sneaking in the odd safety pin to your heart’s content. You’ll be warm, chic and slouchy. In a good way. And everyone will think that you’ve been to Rick Owens.
Juggle seasons Controversially, the powers that be (us) have decreed that as of this moment, you can wear next season’s trends now. Why should Gwyneth and co get to flog them to death while you patiently play by the rules and wait til spring? It’s not as if you don’t already know what’s going to be massive in 2010. So work those patterns and nude shades. If we all stand shoulder-to-shoulder on this, we could cover 2015 by the end of next year.
Knot your scarf From the French twist to the slip knot, dedicated scarf-wearers should repel the snood-pseuds by experimenting with tying techniques this winter. Long, chunky scarves (cashmere, please) are particularly versatile.
Let your toenails breathe Winter is the one time when you can afford to skip the nail polish (although not the pedicure, unless you want to emerge in spring with feet resembling those of an armadillo). Seeing your toenails without their customary coating of varnish may come as a shock at first (there is always a certain unpleasant greyness to the nail), but it will do them good to get some air. Cut them short, give them a buff and treat with a little almond oil.
Make like Madonna and wear a hat If your hair is short, stick to a style that you can wear on the back of your head and still show some fringe. Accessorize has a huge selection of berets to choose from, starting at £10. Long, straight hair needs a hat that isn’t too tight to avoid the nasty “hat line” around the hair. A trilby is a stylish option, or a deerstalker in a dark colour looks fabulous with longer hair and is the ultimate in warmth. Try men’s departments for simple colours and styles.
Needles at the ready A new Womens Institute-friendly generation has seized on knitting as a form of therapy. Casting on allows them to cast off 21st-century pressure to have it all, and channel instead the pre-feminist delights of “simple” hausfrau life. Pah, to that: we can have it all — and that includes knitting, just for the sake of making beautiful things.
Outerwear as outerwear Would you choose a blanket over a duvet? No. So why suffer in old-fashioned overcoats when the bad weather sets in, then? There is nothing wrong with something thick and Michelin Man-esque. Thanks to Moncler, the glossy European down jacket experts, long, puffy outerwear has broken free of après ski.
Purple reigns It is unfair to categorise purple as just one colour when there are so many options — mauve, violet, electric, plum — a shade to suit everyone. It looks great with almost any other colour, too; greys and blacks for the office, other shades of purple for a tonal look, or clashed with yellow or orange for a bold statement.
Queue to get a pot of Chanel’s hot winter nail varnish shade — which is, somewhat mysteriously, green. Jade and Jade Rose have been the surprise hits of the season, causing unseemly dashes in department stores among fashionistas keen to get their hands on this hot catwalk trend. Currently sold out, Chanel is expecting a new batch before Christmas.
Rock red Because it’s sultry. And Miuccia Prada used it as her only accent to an otherwise brown winter collection — we aren’t going to argue with her powers. If nothing else, find your perfect red nail varnish.
Sunglasses Who says shades feel out of place without a bikini? Not us. The right (read: biggest) sunglasses add a shiny slick of attitude to woolly things.
Tights: the thicker, the better Unless you’re looking to shock and awe (see point 2), tights are an inevitable part of your winter wardrobe. Best in opaque — preferably woolly — black.
Unleash your calves There is a certain breed of corporate woman who thinks it is OK to wear knee-high pointy boots with knee-length pencil skirts. She is wrong. That offending slice of goose-bumped skin left shivering in the middle should be proof enough. The proportions are all wrong, too: a clunky boot with a slim skirt gives way too much emphasis to your calves. Do your legs a favour — keep long boots for the weekend.
Venerate your eyebrows Winter faces tend to look dull and tired at the best of times. Add a few late nights and rather too many glasses of cava, and the eye area may find itself in need of a serious boost. Nothing opens up the expression as much as a well-shaped eyebrow. Threading, waxing or plucking, it’s up to you, but threading produces a clean, precise line and is relatively painless. Take a couple of paracetamol before you go.
Work a snood Snoods are an issue that still divides the fashion team. Happily, this entry is being written by a pro-snood-er. Similar to walking around with a warm hug around your shoulders, frankly, what’s not to like?
X = ZY2 A complex equation that we’ve devised to figure out when it is cold enough to wear thermal vests. Yes, we know, they sound about as sexy as cold sores, but if you really can’t say “thermal” and “vests” in the same sentence, listen to Uniqlo. The Japanese outfitter calls them Heat Tech, which sounds impressive, but does exactly the same job. Goodbye woolly layers.
Yes, you can have surgery January: a month for monkish withdrawal, sober contemplation of the year ahead, and detoxification. That’s the line to trot out when in fact you’re at home watching Loose Women and changing the dressing on your abdominoplasty scars.
Zoom in on ankles: this is simple. Socks and ballet pumps are not OK. Socks slouched above ankle boots are sublime. You choose.
