Ten fashion tips for the unfashionable

By Megan Lane
BBC News Online Magazine

For many, it might as well have been Mars Fashion Week for all the impact the goings-on in London will have on their own wardrobes. If it all seems alien to you too, here's a rundown of things you might need to know.

For most shoppers, the appearance of flimsy fripperies on the racks signals a chance to think about what to wear when the weather eventually warms up.

But for fashion folk, spring and summer are sooooo last year.

Their thoughts have already turned to the cooler months at year-end, thanks to the round of fashion weeks currently in full swing - designers showcased their autumn/winter collections in New York last week, London this, with Milan and Paris still to come.

While even the most dedicated follower of fashion is unlikely to sport the more outlandish offerings on show - horror mask accessories, anyone? - trend watchers have identified key themes which will be hard to avoid.

Demurely does it

1. Prim is in. Forget micro minis and midriff-baring tops, hemlines are set to plunge and cleavage-baring is out. The most fashionable neckline? The high, round collars favoured by the likes of 80s air hostesses and Lady Di before she married into royalty. Pleats and pencil skirts complete the school uniform chic. Catch the look in Julia Roberts' new film, Mona Lisa Smile, in which she teaches 50s schoolgirls that there's more to life than, er, shopping and marriage.

2. The new mood of decorum extends to fabrics too. Designers and High Street retailers alike toyed with tweed this winter, and remain determined to prove that the nubbly cloth long favoured by the maiden aunts of this world can be not only stylish, but sexy. In the best possible taste, of course.

Best foot forward

3. Don't do decorous? Then look to legwear to let your creativity run wild. Think cartoon socks paired with stilettos, and ditch those plain opaque tights for psychedelic patterns. Spats are back, as are gaiters.

4. Nor does modesty necessarily mean prim and proper. Hunters and warriors stalked the catwalks, their multi-layered urban armour pairing chunky capes, wimples and tabards with fragile gauze and chiffon. Bar the occasional "wardrobe malfunction" - that's a peek-a-boo nipple to me and you - this continued the Big Cover-Up theme.

Cover up, whatever you do

5. And what might those gaiters, tabards and wimples be made of? Why, sheepskin of course, which will continue to be the animal pelt of choice. The now ubiquitous Ugg boot will continue its march, next stop the menswear department. And you can add Marlon Brando to the list of celebs spotted wearing the cosy surfers' boots.

6. Brown is - say it with me now - the new black. New York's shows were a vision of beige, camel and biscuit. Hip designers showing in London opted for chocolate.

7. And lavender is the new pink. Fashion this summer is very 50s, all sherbet colours and swingy skirts. But come autumn, the palette becomes more subdued, making purple the shade du jour.

8. With cleavage out, waistlines are in. Jackets are nipped in, dresses belted and sleeves voluminous.

Spot the referenced decade

9. Sheepskin, big sleeves, brown... it can only mean the clock has again been wound back 30 or so years. Hit of New York was a collection described as the "haute-Woodstock luxury weekend wardrobe for the modern Carly Simon"; in London, it was a new designer showing a "disco Jacobean fantasy". And a kaftan was spotted on one catwalk. You have been warned.

10. And for men? Even badboy rappers have realised that retro sportswear and boxfresh trainers can only take you so far. 50 Cent arrived at the Brit Awards in a suit; and P Diddy's fashion label Sean John is doing brisk business in sharp striped shirts. New York's hippest boutiques expect to do big business in that staple of the Hooray Henry, the blazer.

---

Add your comments on this story, using the form below.

Yikes!! I just can't wait 'til fashion becomes so retro we're all looking like the cast of Dangerous Liaisons. Powdered wigs, bustles, internal-organ-crushing corsets. That's more like it.
Laura, Southampton, UK

Articles on fashion are so last season. And the internet is totally OVER. Marzipan is the new fromage.
Gareth Cheeseman, UK

Well that's just typical. Tiny waists and no cleavage while I'm pregnant.
Jane Dack, UK

Anything has to be better than slouch boots with pointy toes and huge buckles. My housemate told me hers made her a complete individual - like the other 20 or so others I saw this morning.
Helen, UK

These so-called fashions are far too conservative. I for one will be spending my spring season in a wetsuit and balaclava, accessorised with fluorescent yellow antlers and live piranha earrings which I will obtain fresh from the Thames.
Patric, UK

I'm not sure frumpy is the new sexy, but as someone in their 40s, it's nice to think there may be a future in smart/chic. My work wardrobe is full of neat skirts and sensible tops. Maybe I'll have to start wearing them outside the office!
Carole Flint, UK

Fantastic. My wardrobe has mainly consisted of 60s retro styles in browns and tans for years now. I love the idea that absolutely everything is fashionable these days.
Lisa, Cambridge, UK

I don't go in for the girlie look and I don't like pink. The return to a more classy, feminine look rather than 'tarty' will be well received by me.
Rachel Pearson, UK