Trend saturation

As much as I’m loving the majority of this season’s fashion trends, it gets a bit much when I’m on my way to work and walk past three women in fluffy gilets, a handful of shearling-trim ankle boots and a swathe of aviator jackets, and every other person seems to be sporting a camel something or other. It’s enough to make you sick of the sight of AW10 already, and it’s only just begun!

Not that I’m saying I don’t like these trends – this season’s fashion forecast works so well with the chilly weather, that anything fluffy or shearling-lined seems not just damn well appropriate, but practically obligatory.

Nor am I saying that I don’t advocate following fashion (hello? I just bought a camel cape for heaven's sake), it’s just that I sometimes get a bit bored when I see so many clones all about me. I’ve often walked away from something I really love in a clothes shop, purely because I know loads of other people will love it too, and then we’ll all be walking around looking like identikit versions of each other. Sometimes I’ll ‘give a nod’ to a trend rather than going the whole hog – for instance carrying a shearling-trim bag rather than going for the aviator jacket (seriously, when you work on women’s fashion magazines, you have to really think about what you’re wearing so as not to enter the office wearing exactly the same as every other woman in there).

What I'm saying is, if people are going to dip their toe into a major, popular trend of the season, I think they need to be careful how they wear it so as not to totally lose all sense of individuality. That’s the thing about fashion, really – you don’t have to be stylish to be a follower of fashion. Style is about taking something – fashion-forward or not – and putting your own stamp on it, wearing it your way. Yes, buy one of the latest directional pieces, but give it a spin, wear it differently to how it’s worn in all the magazines, or customise it somehow. For instance, belt your faux-fur gilet with a bright print silk scarf rather than the skinny belt it came with; team your camel coat with hot pink gloves or a slick of red lippy; try belting your aviator jacket for a different silhouette. And then, as the X Factor judges are fond of repeating proudly to their wannabes, ‘You’ve made it your own’. 

 The designers who kicked it all off…

Burberry Prorsum's shearling-lined aviator

D&G's faux fur

Camel at Michael Kors

Photos: Vogue.com