The Times - UK (2022-04-13)

6 Wednesday April 13 2022 | the times

fashion

From left: Caroline de

Maigret, Therese

Hellstrom, Emily

Ratajkowski and

Gitta Banko

heels. Nothing too high or tottering,

but leave the trainers for the kids.

Tiny handbags

I know, I know: grown women don’t

carry small bags — except, during

2020, some grown women realised

they might not need a handbag at all

(especially true if you’re wearing cargo

pants). There’s still a place for smart

and chunky shoulder bags, but now is

a good time to downsize so you don’t

find yourself full of rage on an

unexpectedly warm day. The resale

app Depop says that its most searched

styles are small, armpit-hugging

Nineties classics such as Fendi’s

Baguette and Prada’s nylon Hobo, so

it’s worth rummaging in the eaves to

see if you have anything similar. Far be

it from me to suggest that a large bag

can be ageing; it’s more that a small

bag will give new life to your

usual look — when the

sun is shining, at

least. Shelve your

boxy cross-body

for now, too, if

you can bear

it; the most

spring-like

styles are

rectangular

shoulder-

holders.

Khaki

jackets

You’d be

forgiven — and

correct — for

thinking that these

never went way; I

wore mine well into an

unusually balmy November

last year. Nevertheless, now is the time

to spruce yours up a bit for its next

outing by — don’t laugh — ironing or

steaming it (or asking your dry cleaner

to). I hate to add to your to-do list, but

I’ve found that my much-loved and

well-worn khaki tends to get a bit,

well, saggy because I fill the pockets,

hang it on the backs of chairs, throw it

into weekend bags and expect it to

bounce back. Mine always looks far

better and more structured again

after a bit of attention. If yours is a

shirt-like shape, belting it at the waist

with a brown leather or woven belt

will make for a bit of new-season

interest too.

Baseball caps

The fashion set don’t do sun any more.

Well, they do, but only in glamorous

locations and never on their faces.

This development has in recent years

made for a lot of beautiful straw

bonnets and sun hats under which it

has become acceptable to shelter on

sunny days in the manner of a Jane

Austen character at a picnic. This was

all well and good when we were

wearing floral dresses and prairie

blouses, but will they work quite so

well with our post-pandemic cargo

pants? I suspect not. Enter instead the

baseball cap, once worn only by

American tourists, but now slapped

on by street stylers and front-row

types alike for a dash of urban sun

protection. You almost certainly have

one with an authentically pre-worn

bent peak lying about somewhere

already. If it has an esoteric logo

on it, so much the better; slogan caps

are in (not MAGA ones, though).

Don’t worry about it being too casual

to wear with smart jackets or coats —

this is precisely the look you’re after.

Twitter: @harrywalker1

Far be it from

me to suggest

that a large bag

can be ageing

Spring trends:

you’ve got

them already

Good news, you may not need to go shopping

for the new season, says Harriet Walker

I

am as nervous about jinxing it as

the next person, but the forecast

is looking up — and with it

comes not just the usual

optimism and sense of renewal

but also a niggling sense of

wardrobe panic. Time for a

refresh, something new; you

don’t seem to own anything that suits

you any more. Except this year, you

almost certainly do.

The changing of seasons used to

mean a raft of new trends so comically

different to what had gone before that

you really did feel out of step unless

you had smuggled a number of high

street carrier bags upstairs before your

partner could tally their contents.

Those days are long gone — and

hurrah, because the budget, storage

space and planet can’t support the

habit any longer. Now we live in a

time of seasonless transitional

perma-trends suited to

unpredictable weather and

looking nice/feeling

comfortable while doing

slightly dull things —

again, hurrah!

How to inject a bit of

newness then? Gen Z have

educated us all: digging in

the archives (mum’s

wardrobe) and exhuming a

few retro pieces will give the

present roster a different

“vibe”. The recipe for looking

current involves seasoning

the slowly simmering pieces

in your wardrobe — floral

mididresses, cropped

trousers, white blouses, high-

waisted denim — with a hit

of something you already

own but haven’t seen for a

while or have never quite

known what to do with, just

like the preserved lemons at

the back of your cupboard.

Here are the spring trends

you already own.

Cargo pants

Have young hipsters

embraced cargo pants

simply because 20 years

have elapsed since they were

last cool, or did they realise

during lockdown how handy

it was to have 19 pockets?

Either way, they’re back.

Before you grimace, there is

a way to wear them that will

account for taste and long-

in-the-toothedness. Those

coming to cargo pants for

the first time are styling

them à la Swampy, in full

grebo fancy dress with

bucket hats, crochet

cardigans and very small

sunglasses. Might I politely

suggest that anyone

resurfacing a pair should

treat cargo pants more like

tailored trousers? Try yours

with a blazer or pretty

blouse and avoid anything

too sporty for fear of unflattering All

Saints comparisons. When it comes to

footwear — and this might feel

anathema — you’ll definitely need

Cargo pants

Baseball cap

Khaki jacket

U

U

Tiny handbag

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