Over 40, there are certain things – such as engaging in teen speak, twerking, Snapchat and snogging – which you simply shouldn’t do.
In style terms, I would include cropped tops, high-waisted trousers and giant disco-ball earrings (thank you, Prada).
But you still want to stay on trend and not fade away like a photo on the mantelpiece.
The key, I’ve found, is to choose wisely and tread softly, being aware of changes in fashion without being enslaved to them.
So, how to go about it without looking as if you’re wearing your new clothes for a bet? Here are the top trends for spring 2016 and how best to handle them at a certain age . . .
1. BRIGHT CORALS
Coral can be a tricky colour to wear as it can wash you out. It’s more successful when worn in moderation
More foe than friend to many, coral is a colour that should come with a big sticker that says ‘peril’. It can suck the very soul out of your cheeks and make even a bonny complexion come over all consumptive – a real concern if you’re going for the vintage Victoriana trend in the same outfit.
Coral, which happens to be very much the colour du jour, is more successful on darker skins or worn in moderation.
Emporio Armani, Fendi, Missoni and others are trying to get you to go salmon from top to toe, which is a bit like getting your best friend to drink all the tequila. Fun while it lasts, perhaps, but bound to end in trouble.
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Orange-pinks – the ones that run the gamut from Elastoplast to trout – are notoriously tricky, unless you are Yves Saint Laurent.
What you should wear: A little goes a long way, so nod to the trend with a detail – Next is doing this particularly well with everything from coral details on necklaces to coral backgrounds on prints.
For a pretty blush-kissed vintage top, £42, go to Warehouse. Peachy.
2. METALLICS MADE EASY
For an easy way to wear metallics, pair the shininess with black or white to bring the temperature down
Designers always have a thing for shine – probably because it makes for a good catwalk shot, what with all those flashbulbs popping – and this spring is no different.
The choice from the big label fashion houses is vast and spectacular, from Loewe’s mirror-shatter sequin pants (stunning, but you wouldn’t want to do a lot of sitting down in them) to Victoria Beckham’s soft platinum shift on shoestring straps.
What you should wear: Wear a little bit of metallic with black or white to bring the temperature down a notch.
Don’t add too much in the way of accessories, and certainly don’t be tempted to add silver eyeliner – it’s easy to get carried away and go all Tin Man.
Zara’s Accordion metallic pleat skirt, £25.99, would be a great starting point. Try it with a simple white T-shirt to get a balance of glitz and restraint.
Go for low-key liquid lustre over high shine, which will inevitably make you look like a saucepan. Try bronze or pewter rather than the more obvious gold and silver – for example, Topshop’s metallic pleat midi skirt from their Tall range, £55.
Then again, silver shoes are surprisingly useful at waking up any outfit. Russell Bromley and Clarks have the best High Street selection.
3. THE NEW SEE-THROUGH
See-through can be a hard trend to pull off if you’re not built like a silver birch twig – it requires consideration
It’s peekaboo time – at least if you’re 21 and built like a silver birch twig. For the rest of us, the transparency trend requires careful consideration.
Miu Miu’s chiffon ruffle skirt shows your pants, while the fishnet tops at Vuitton will show off your admirable abs (if you’ve got some). There was plenty of see-through chiffon at YSL, of course, but no surprises there. It’s a classic from the house – Yves started it back in 1966, after all. Back then it was risqué. Right now, for a 40-plus woman? Just plain risky.
What you should wear: Layer sheer fabrics to achieve enough opacity to leave the house. Next has got this romantic approach just right with its ditsy print blouse, £30, or try French Connection’s lace/crochet mix dress, £165, to get just a hint of reveal/conceal.
Keep mesh reserved for trim – a collar, cuff or hem.
4. NOD TO THE PAST
If you’ve ever wanted to dress like a Victorian flower seller, now’s the time – it’s finally fashionable
If you’ve always wanted to dress like a 17th century Huguenot weaver or a Victorian flower seller, then your time has come! High necklines, those pesky puff sleeves, bib fronts . . . they’re all on the agenda for spring.
As are ruffles and acres of lace – frequently in the same ensemble. From Chloe’s silky petticoats to Phillip Lim’ s high-necke d blouses and Gucci’s tea dresses, vintage is the name of the game. Do be aware, however, that heirloom dressing can make you look like . . . well, like an heirloom.
What you should wear: Choose dusty, antique colours , have an assignation with pintucks or a waltz with lovely olden-day lace. HM seem to be doing vintage best – particularly their collection of Seventies-inspired prints and vintage-style lace designs while Dorothy Perkins offers a more subtle nod to the past with this dress, £75.
But do soup these up with a 21st-century attitude – jeans, ankle boots, whatever – so that you don’t go all Eliza Doolittle on us.
5. MODERN TIE-DYE
Tie-dye is an unexpected trend to have turned up, but done in a simple and classy way it can be very fetching
In a curious turn-up for the books, tie-dye is set to be a key print for spring. Tie-dye prints on skirts and sweaters from Pucci’s spring/summer collection looked like bacteria in a Petri dish (weird, but surprisingly pretty).
Narciso Rodriguez got it right with a simple silk shift with a searing halo of tie-dye running across it in burning orange.
What you should wear: Avoid any tie-dye that looks as if it might have been bought in Camden Market. Shun blaring primary colours and go for subtle earthy tones and swirling neutrals.
Oliver Bonas gives a subtle nod to tie-dye in the form of a wear-everywhere summer scarf, £24, while the Velvet Desre linen tie-dye top (above, £100, John Lewis) is on trend without being too dippy hippy.
Keep the line simple and never wear with espadrilles.
6. DECKCHAIR STRIPES
Brash, broad, deckchair-like stripes are just the thing to wear this spring – they’ve been called ‘super stripes’
I’ve always thought of deckchairs as dangerous things – and, as in life, so in fashion. This spring’s stripes aren’t the quiet, hushed kind that you only notice once you’re up close and personal.
They’re brash and broad, like Zebra crossings – ‘super stripes’ someone has called them.
Dior’s vertical red-and-black striped day dress is a case in point. It could easily look as if you’re wearing a football shirt.
Stella McCartney mixes up the stripes – yellow/white, red/white, diagonal, vertical and every which way in between (not an option if you’re prone to migraines), while the Dolce Gabbana pyjama-stripe djellaba has a whiff of the souk about it.
What you should wear: Make your stripes bold and broad, but choose a top or bottoms, not both. Zara’s wide-striped shirt, £22.99, is perfect. River Island’s cropped trousers, £38, are a bolder take on the trend, but if you’re nervous about stripes, then look to LK Bennett’s faded grey stripe coat, £350.
7. ROMANTIC RUFFLES
Fashion is having a frilly moment. While this can be tricky to wear – it can look a bit Miss Havisham – if you minimise the ripple effect so it’s merely a suggestion, the effect will be beautiful
Fashion is clearly having a frilly moment. Jaffa orange tiered evening dresses, multi-ruffle plunge-front gowns and peplums a-go-go . . . all of which make it very easy to look as if you’ve ventured out wearing a valance.
Sarah Burton at Alexander McQueen went for a full-ripple, all-ruffle floor-length dress – very Miss Havisham, which is a brave call if you’re actually languishing in her age bracket. Gucci’s delicate ruffle shirts are a better inspirational starting point.
What you should wear: There’s a real risk that you’ll go a bit loo-roll holder if you embrace the trend for ‘mega ruffles’ too enthusiastically. Instead, minimise the ripple effect so it’s just a suggestion, not a fandango in the face.
On the frill front, small is beautiful. Try Oasis’s wavy-sleeved jumper (now only £12) or Karen Millen’s red lace dress, £199. But keep it low-key and never accessorise with a red rose jammed between your teeth. Olé!
8. SPORTY BUT NICE
A Nineties revival is in progress right now, with ‘leisure luxe’ coming up large. Sporty vests and joggers are big
A glance at spring’s catwalks reveals that a Nineties revival is underway. We’re talking sporty vests, tracksuits, joggers, bombers. A fashion writer might call it ‘leisure luxe’. Take a steer from Alexander Wang’s giant hoodie, which looks as if it belongs to someone who works out at a boxing gym.
Elsewhere, there’s Gucci’s emerald green satin bomber or Balenciaga’s parachute silk outsize cargo pants. Then there’s the Bottega Veneta animal print tracksuit. You can if you want. But I wouldn’t.
What you should wear: Slimline joggers are back on the agenda – Jigsaw does some of the best. Or perhaps, develop a yen for bomber jackets. If Mary Berry can wear one, so can you (she gets hers at Zara). MS have a pretty floral one, £49.50, and there’s a surprisingly elegant pink version at Mango, £59.99.
9. GROWN-UP DENIM
Denim is currently very fashionable, but only if it’s grown-up. Think distressed, triple and stonewash denim
The spring catwalks were awash with denim. Distressed denim, double denim, triple denim (jeans, shirt, jacket), stonewash denim, XXXLsized denim that looked as if it had bust out of prison.
Chanel gave us a puff-sleeve denim dress; Chloe an over-sized shirt and vast matching palazzo pants. In denim! It would be like wearing a marquee. Just think if it rained, you’d have to be brought home in a truck.
What you should wear: There’s a reason we’ve been stuck on skinny jeans for a decade, despite the style press trying its best to tear us away: the silhouette works. But this spring, go pale, go distressed, go for a looser shape. The High Street has plenty of options, but favourites include a plain boxy top from Next, £30, and Mih’s divine but pricer dress (now down to £74 at Net-a-Porter). One word of warning: leave triple denim to the professionals.
10. SLEEVES – THE BIGGER THE BETTER
Sleeves are massive this season, both figuratively and literally. Puff sleeves and billowing sleeves
Sleeves are massive this season. This is exactly the kind of pronouncement that used to get my goat when I inhabited the fashion circuit. But it happens to be true, as evidenced by the enormous puffy shoulders at J. W. Anderson, among many others.
You might plump for Phoebe Philo’s puff-sleeve dress at Celine – very Dickensian, in a BBC way – or Fendi’s Victoriana shirt with sleeves roomy enough to house a family of hamsters.
What you should wear: Aim for a bit of wit rather than full-blown costume drama. Uterque’s blue and white mannish shirt with voluminous sleeves, £70, should do the trick.
Or go for a retro shirt with a ruffle neck. Get yours from River Island, £35, or Warehouse, £45.
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