Elle UK – September 2019

Keepit

CLASSIC:

£225,

JOSEPH

ELLE.COM/UK September 2O19

Photography: Jason Lloyd - Evans, Imaxtree, Gett y Images.

88

“BENEATHthe

BOURGEOIS

WOMAN’S

STARCHED

BLOUSEBEATS

A HEART–and

A LIBIDO ”

NEUTRAL

GROUND

Head-to-toe

tonalshadeskeep

thelookrefined

PRIM SUSPECTS

Below (L-R): Tamu

McPherson, Sloane

style in Paris and

Princess Diana

ELLEMood Board

Do DEN ,,

£890, I

Don’t let the discreet nature of the style fool you. From the very beginning,

culottes – the lynchpin of the bourgeois wardrobe – required a certain

amount of daring. Victorian-era women wore them in order to ride horses

and bicycles, forms of exercise that were sexual taboos. When Elsa

Schiaparelli was photographed in them during a 1931 trip to London,

the move made headlines, rankling the fashion press. Men hated

them, and their associations with feminists, sportswomen and lesbians.

Today, the conversation around culottes is much less about feminism

and much more about fashion’s ability to spark desire and establish

a new moment, just when we need it most.

‘What these designers understand about the bourgeois woman is

the same thing director Luis Buñuel knew: beneath her starched blouse

beats a heart – and a libido. Think of Catherine Deneuve’s housewife-

turned-hooker in Belle de Jour. Sometimes repression is more interesting

than putting it all out there,’ says US ELLE’s fashion features director,

Véronique Hyland. A woman who studied in Paris and now chronicles

the city’s fashion goings-on from New York, Hyland

understands the concept very well. ‘For so long, we’ve

idolised Facetuned Instagram teens and off-duty

models; the course correction is dressing up, looking

like an adult and incorporating a little mystery.’

Tamu McPherson, one of Milan’s most recognisable

influencers, keeps several pairs in her closet and

recommends looking to Prada, Miu Miu and Valentino.

‘I like to wear them with blazers, or with tops tucked in,’

she says. ‘And I used to wear them in the Céline way,

with bomber jackets, to work in the early 2OOOs.’

The increasingly popular take is an update on

the trouser suit. But von der Goltz warns to be mindful

of length. ‘If you’ve got long legs, wear with a heeled slouch boot.

And, for the shorter among us, style back with an open-toe platform

for the ultimate nod to the French bourgeois style.’

Fabric and fit are key. ‘Make sure they are low-slung and not too

clingy. Leather and vegan leather are easier than some heavier fabrics,’

advises Poppy Lomax, womenswear buying manager at Selfridges.

And resist the temptation to dress them up too much. Lomax styles them

with ‘a crisp white shirt and a heel for evening’. At the same time, avoid

dressing them too far down. Trainers don’t always work here. Try a grey

marl sweatshirt elevated with tall leather boots instead. In fact, make

knee-high boots your styling tool of choice. There’s a reason why Hedi

showed them with practically every look at Celine: they lengthen the

leg, eliminating any risk of appearing blocky. Most importantly, they’re

what takes a pair of culottes from being prim — dowdy skorts, if you will

— to tough, chic and Parisienne cool. Who can deny the appeal in that?

Celine by Hedi Slimane

Try TWEED: £830, CELINE

BY HEDI SLIMANE

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