Here's What Everyone's Wearing At Fashion Week
Finding IRL inspiration and what to do with it…
Ok, this title might be a bit of a stretch because I attended ONE London Fashion Week presentation, but it left me feeling such a way that I was furiously filling my notes app with my observations on the train home. Something I’ve never done before!!! The fashion crowd got my creative juices FLOWING. In a world of Pinterest boards and Instagram saves I know we’re always being told to look up and around us for inspiration, but when we do, how can we process it and spit it out in a way that’s channelled into our personal style? I have some ideas.
WHAT I WROTE IN MY NOTES APP
A neutral palette. This might have been to do with the presentation I saw - Completed Works AW24, a sculptural jewellery and ceramics brand - it attracted a chic and for the most part, a crowd dressed entirely in neutrals. Even I looked out of place in my head-to-toe denim look! Most wore a palette of browns (a lot of browns!), black, navy and greys. High in the coat rotation were oversized blazers, leather trenches and some of the most gorgeous leopard print coats I’ve seen that I’m guessing were all vintage or at least not current buys because I am very clued up on the leopard print coat market - it’s a search I make online most days!!
SO many flats. I was in the minority in my heeled boots. Most were in flats and from a practical standpoint I get it. Think ballet pumps, loafers, Mary-Janes and mesh flats by the bucketload. I had two London days this week where I wore my Toteme Mid Heel Boots* and I have to say that after doing two 15k step days on repeat I was excited to take them off when I got home and these are the most comfortable heeled boots I own! Flats are just PRACTICAL and it’s a trend that I’m here for.
EVERYONE HAS THE KHAITE BELT*!!! That is all. No notes, just a lot of KHAITE belts. I think it’s a nice belt, especially if you’re looking to add an edge to your wardrobe, but I thought my Anderson belts* were pricey enough! £500 for a belt is a no from me.
Buns are IN. Another practical trend! We love see it. Hair was unstyled, relaxed and mostly gathered into a loose bun. The look was just chill. Barely any makeup - texture, pores, blemishes - NO ONE CARES! I actually woke up like this.
Pops of red. Unsurprisingly when colour was used, it was mostly red. I spotted a few socks with loafers which is something I personally love (the Le Bon Shoppe Her Socks are my top pick). I also bumped into Polly for the first time and she was doing the whole ‘red jumper over the shoulders’ thing which looked fab paired with her oversized leather jacket.
TWO OUTFIT FORMULAS THAT I LOVED:
Straight-leg jeans + buttoned-up trench coat + ballet flats + hair in a bun + BIG chandelier earrings. Ooooooh this was a look, and one I might try for my next day of meetings in London.
White t-shirt + brown oversized leather jacket + black wide-leg jeans + black heeled boots + chunky belt + burgundy small bag (as seen on Francesca!). Loved this on Francesca and it felt like a formula that could work for me for a whole range of occasions.
WHAT TO DO NEXT…
Firstly I love a notes app thought dump. It might not be the most coherent way to get your thoughts out, but it’s easy to reference and work from. Plus it’s convenient.
Work through it. Maybe you turn it into a substack newsletter? TA-DAH! Or maybe you make it into a visual moodboard? Or you take an outfit formula that you liked and try to recreate it, or add it to your digital wardrobe to try soon? Or pop the main takeaways of things you loved (or didn’t) and begin to collate those findings in a new document so next time you’re feeling stuck style-wise you have the draft of your mission statement half-written. Or maybe you realise they were just things you saw that made you feel a certain way but you’re an admirer and not an adopter.
If doing this exercise gives you the itch to buy something new, I cannot stress how adding the item to some kind of wishlist is such a great way to operate. That ‘cooling-off’ period is key and I’d say that most of the time the piece is deleted from my list within a week or two. Sometimes it’s just the act of adding it on there that scratches it for me.
And finally, if you see someone and think they look wonderful then tell them. You’ll probably make their day. I saw someone on the tube in a bright fuchsia coat with a gorgeous tan bag and I’m gutted that I didn’t have the oomph to tell them how bloody fab they looked. I’m still thinking about that stunner of a coat now!
In this instance, I think it was just fun to see the fashion set IRL. To see the High Sport pants in the flesh!! I feel like smaller observations might drip through into my daily style choices, like not feeling the need to go so styled with my hair or opting for a flat when I always feel the need to wear a heeled boot to London. Those comfort choices spoke to me. But there was one thing that gave me a full body ‘YES’ reaction and that was the multiple leopard print coats that I spotted. If you’ve been a consumer of my content for a while you might remember my Whistles Faux Fur Coat days - what a time!!! Sadly post-pregnancy it felt a little snug and the boxy-wide fit no longer felt like me. So I sold it and found a Y2K Karen Millen number on Vinted which is perfect, aside from one thing. It doesn’t fit. The pit-to-pit measurement is too small and although I tried to kid myself, I’m unable to layer underneath it or give someone a hug without risk of a full-length split. So it’s currently sat on my ‘to sell’ pile and there’s a leopard print-shaped hole in my wardrobe. Seeing so many styles out in the wild just reiterated to me how much I love them, so I’m back on the hunt. It’s been added to my wishlist and I’m back on my daily Vinted scroll. I’ll let you know if it becomes my one and only February purchase.
My Weekly Wardrobe Diary should be with you later on tonight/early doors tomorrow morning, but I thought I’d drop in with this one whilst it was hot off my notes app! If you fancy some more of yours truly I’ve just uploaded a YouTube video all about digitalising your wardrobe if that’s your bag. Hope you’ve had a good week and if you like these sorts of posts and haven’t subscribed yet then please do - you’ll get everything direct to your inbox then!
Anna x
Great post! Let me know when you’re thinking of selling that Karen Millen coat 😆
Great brain dump Anna, you made me lol with your comment at the start about leopard print coats! I m getting more used to the idea and practice of “admiring and knowing it’s not for me.” I think that takes a confidence in self and sense of style that can take a while to achieve. I think it also comes and goes as one’s sense of self / style changes too.