I always knew Zara was good at catching the fashion moment.
But, whilst browsing in my local Zara a few weeks ago, I was knocked out by their
terrific take on current fashions and zeitgeist know how. Out came my
digital camera to remind me what wonderful styles they had in
their store.
The shape of this check coat, see right, is everything you may be looking for in a
Balenciaga inspired short coat. I love it, it's such a dynamic
statement piece. I can only think that the reason I never tried it on was
that it was 30 degrees centigrade that day. Things don't hang around at Zara
and within a few weeks it may not be available any more. This coat is youthful, yet so classically styled it would look great on any woman.
The last time I recall hound's tooth, dog's tooth and puppy check making such an
impact on high street fashion, was in the early
1990s. Yes we have seen it since, but
not on this scale.
At Zara' I spotted this black and creamy white, large check, short jacket. Right
on trend, it has a large collar and a belt for a cinched in waist and three quarter cropped bell sleeves with deep cuffs.
Long
gloves, or visible contrast knits beneath cropped bell sleeves, are likely to
emerge as staple garments as the weather gets colder. Perhaps a long sleeve layer would do just as well.
Try a long black, yellow gold or red sleeve
peeping out from beneath a roomy sleeve. These Zara check jackets have also reinforced the
layered look.
Dorothy Perkins offer this cropped, hound's-tooth check, swing jacket, see below left. It has all the elements of the
Zara coat above and would be easy to team with slouchy trousers. The
Dorothy Perkins black and white hound's-tooth swing coat is £60 / €99 and
the black pencil skirt is £18 / €30
You could also try mixing and matching various sizes of checks in Dorothy Perkins, or
from other stores. For example, the second photo, below right, shows a coats from
Debenhams, with a skirt from Dorothy Perkins.
The Debenhams black and white, hound's tooth check, car coat,
above right works well with the finer check of the skirt. When
mixing black and white checks, the modern way is to use several scales of
check size. The
dog's tooth handbag, also from Debenhams, is very useable and could create an
interesting mix with
other garments before you fully commit yourself to checks. Details
Debenhams Model:- Red Herring dogtooth shift dress £28, John by John
Richmond dogtooth checked coat £100, J by Jasper Conran Limited Edition
dogtooth tote bag £125, dogtooth tights £6, Mood black bead necklace
£15, Collection black cut out pumps £35.
When wearing volume on top, keep the bottom half looking neat and slim.
Black slim line bottoms, pencil skirt, skinnies or tailored city shorts
would all assort well with the Dorothy Perkins swing check jacket in
particular. Just a very small amount of black
and white check teamed with plain black can be very striking.
Wallis
also have their version of the black and white check jacket shown just right.
Taking inspiration from this season’s celebration of traditional fabrics
such as dogtooth and plaid, Wallis’ signature coats and tailoring range
mixes 1960’s styling with checks and tartan. The large dogtooth
Wallis jacket right is £70 (€110).
From my range of photos you can see that every size of check variation
is available.
Very large checks can sometimes be difficult for some women to wear.
Checks can swamp and overpower, or create fattening effects on plus sizes when
incorrectly chosen. Trying on lots of different styles and fabric
textures, is the only way to find the right check for you. On
plus sizes, bulky fabric texture can fatten you up, whereas a smoother textured check
will create a finer overall effect. Very
large checks can also be too overpowering on petites.
Petites and Plus sizes can try out this smart
cropped dog's tooth jacket from Marks and Spencer, available both online and in
store. They will have stock in a wide range of sizes from petite to plus sizing.
I think this check size is very acceptable on both of the above women.
Each looks terrific and at £75 it is a stunning jacket.
The curved hemline and cropped design make for a stylish,
yet elegant appearance. The fabric mixture is 40% cotton, 34% polyester, 15%
wool, 8% viscose, 2% acrylic and 1% polyamide with a 100% polyester lining,
making it the perfect weight in winter for a centrally heated office.
Not convinced?
If you like checks and plaids, but think you don't have the presence or
figure to carry them well, try a check or plaid accessory.
Handbags
like shoes
have become the perfect way to buy into a fashion trend whatever your
size.
Major outlets in the UK such as New Look, Topshop, Oasis, Benetton,
Warehouse and Miss Selfridge, sell clothes that make fast moving fashion
sales at an affordable price
point. These companies make lots of women's clothing available across the
quality spectrum.
These clothes are purchased by those who are cost aware and only require a short
life for the apparel.
Many teens fit in this category. They have cash, but have many other needs such as buying music, magazines and mobile phone talk time. They want fashion cheaply, yet they get tired easily of a clothing fad.
Miss Selfridge is expert at achieving fast fashion looks for teens and
young women. The young can pull off cute mini skirt look, from
kilts and ra-ra skirts to bubble puffballs.
If
however you want the real designer look, then you will find the highland plaid mini skirt at Brown of
South Molton Street and Harvey Nichols select designer styles.
On
the left is the designer version of the plaid mini skirt by Alexander
McQueen at Harvey Nichols.
On the right is the rockabilly red tartan skirt version by House of Fraser.
Both have been styled with leggings or opaque tights and pointed toe
stiletto shoes.
As the rockabilly trend gets underway at
House of Fraser, highland fling meets punk rocker. The bold tartan checks and a touch of military styling,
make this
look one of fashion with attitude. Plaid mini skirts, leggings, tight
jeans and pea coats are all high on the agenda for the ultimate rock
chick wannabe.
Leggings have been used with dozens of promotional photo
shots this season and you can get several styles at chain stores
including maternity leggings.
Even though monochrome schemes are hugely popular, red is colour which gives impact in
autumn 2006. You can read more about dressing as a
'Lady in Red' on the red
fashions page. Red tartan plaids and checks are likely to be worn as
everyday wear. The Per Una range will have a short just at the knee
red tartan check skirt as autumn progresses.
Red and black as a colour mix
was a big colour statement in the
1980s and very much
associated with power dressing.
If you love the plaid skirt looks above, but know your mini skirt wearing days are over, consider
this blue plaid version from designer Paul Costelloe at John Lewis. Sold as separates, a matching jacket is available.
You'll be comfortably in fashion if you wear any of the fashion colour combinations on this page.
Fashion-Era.com looks at women's costume and fashion history and analyses the mood of an era. Changes in technology, leisure, work, cultural and moral values. Homelife and politics also
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