Times 2 - UK (2020-10-14)

the times | Wednesday October 14 2020 1GT 5

fashion

£49.99, zara.com

£139, kurtgeiger.com

£80, dunelondon.com

£140, boden.co.uk

faux. A cropped coat

will look great with

jeans: try Whistles’

creamy beige (£179,

whistles.com) or Boden’s

Elsted in red oak (£160,

boden.co.uk), named after

the autumnal leaves of that

tree. Hush’s knee-length

Ella coat in silvery charcoal

(£179) is a brilliant

alternative to black, and

glam enough to wear over

party dresses (here’s

hoping). Not that you

need to go neutral. You

might not spot a Care

Bear lookalike in the

Rockies, but Boden’s

Elsted also comes in

deep forest green,

and the rich teal below-the-knee

Kenilworth coat (£210) will brighten

up grey winter days — and dark

winter wardrobes — a treat. Stick to

one bright colour to stay out of

Fraggle Rock territory.

If you’re looking to invest,

a shearling teddy coat will look

good for decades to come,

and prove unbeatably

warm. Massimo Dutti’s

hip-length double-faced

deep beige sheepskin

(£999, massimodutti.com)

is a classic, and

its bomber jacket

(£799) in military

brown-green

sheepskin even has

a hood if you really

feel the cold. The

White Company’s

knee-length coat

in beautiful navy

merino sheepskin (£995,

thewhitecompany.com) has

a good weight to it, and

a neat stand collar that

will keep the wind off. And

at Baukjen, the collarless

shearling coat (£999,

baukjen.com), in greige

(grey/beige) or redwood,

is an ode to great fabric

and a simple, elegant cut.

Once the weather turns,

everything that you wear

underneath your coat becomes

secondary: this is the main

event. So best make it one so

chic — and warm and soft —

that coat weather becomes

something to celebrate...

with a mulled wine, perhaps.

Instagram: @charliegowans

winter is a teddy coat Razzle-dazzle

without the pain

I

n normal times it would be about

now that we could start talking

about drinks parties. It’s mid-

October, after all: plenty dark and

cold enough to warrant cheer

spreading. Goodness knows we need

it. The problem is, we don’t know what

2020’s winter socialising looks like —

not least because it might be postcode-

dependent. Will it be swift pints in the

pub put into plastic glasses at 10pm?

Boutique gatherings of six for cocktails

in our kitchens? Or a tipple and baked

Camembert for just one or two?

None of this inspires excitement in

the wardrobe department. I am here to

argue otherwise. Or not. I’m saying,

actually, that you can wear whatever

the hell you want on any occasion

— with the right pair of shoes. You

just need a pair of wow flats.

Cinderella didn’t let a curfew stop

her from wearing great shoes, so why

should you? Lockdown may have killed

off high heels, but it left the best bits of

good-time kicks intact. Velvet, suede,

glitter and metallics are back this

season; they just come on a flat sole.

It couldn’t be better news for those

of us who have become attached to

our slippers. Anything a smidgin more

supportive feels like an intrusion on

one’s arch. But wow flats will feel as

good at home as on the pavement,

especially if you prefer to walk home.

They are about more than comfort,

though. They are about feeling great.

And how could you not in Camilla

Elphick’s Alicia slingbacks, which are

covered in silver glitter or metallic

emerald leather with a pointed capped

toe and oversized pearl buckle (£165,

camillaelphick.com). Running to a size

42, they are at the top of my wishlist.

Equally jolly is Boden’s offering. Its

navy suede Amy flats are covered in

boiled-sweet gems with a Mary-Jane

strap (£140, boden.co.uk). Kurt Geiger’s

Princely flat mules come in turquoise

metallic snakeskin or pink glitter with

a crystal strap (£139, kurtgeiger.com).

At Dune the spearmint croc Carmen

slingbacks have pearl-encrusted heels

(£80, dunelondon.com). More is more!

And it gets better. There are actual

slippers, the smoking kind, from

Zara, Russell & Bromley and Penelope

Chilvers. At the latter, they come in

plush velvet (which you’d never risk

stepping out of the house in anyway)

in navy with gold palm-tree

embroidery or maroon, navy and

vanilla abstract patchwork (both £259,

penelopechilvers.com). Russell &

Bromley’s are metallic gold snakeskin

(£225) and Zara’s have a zebra

print perfect for the party animal

within (£49.99).

If you want something more low-

key but no less impactful, try the

editor-favourite brand Essen the

Label’s square-toed leather ballet flats

in silver (£156, essenthelabel.com).

The brand will only make as many as

are ordered, which reduces waste.

You can wear your wow flats with

anything — minis, midis, jeans or your

dressing gown; on the school run, to

the office or to get the Waitrose order.

Just don’t try to tell me you don’t feel

a bit more fabulous when you do.

Hannah Rogers

£259,

penelopechilvers.com

£165,

camillaelphick.com

£225,

russellandbromley.com

k

Berlin

Fashion Week

£

boden.co.uk

Milan Fashion

We ek

A shearling teddy

coat will look

good for decades

to come

£

hush-uk.com