clothes that count

(Originally written Nov 2008 for Ameera Magazine)

Ever wondered how some people manage to look so good, all the time? Lucy Cox suggests there may be something more concrete and calculated to their handle on style…

"I think a lot about what I am going to wear; I think at night before I go to bed, and then I think again in the morning. I kind of check myself; how I feel; where I'm at; what I want to represent; what I'm into; what I feel like wearing” – Anita Pallenberg

I love writing and I love fashion, and what drives me when playing with both is the elusive mot juste, or in a fashion sense I suppose we could call it l’apparel juste, the perfect way of expressing yourself in a specific time and occasion, through your outfit. As suggested by 70s rock chick Pallenberg, who is one of my style icons absolutment, this can become quite a (healthy) obsession; the trick is that you wouldn’t know it to look at her. Modern day equivalents include those downright stylish Olsen twins, who, whether hanging out with friends or rocking up to red carpet events with Mr K Lagerfeld himself, they always look right. It’s an innate sense of what looks good which goes beyond the fact that they can just afford to drape themselves in all the latest designer clothes, there’s a sense that they really know what they’re doing.

Now I would like to put forward a theory which may seem a bit radical when housed in the ideas that fashion is creative, arty and therefore not governed by formula and structures, but I’m going to put it out there; I think the art of good dressing is somewhat mathematic. It does, however, go way beyond the age old ‘exposure of legs + exposure of cleavage = a style and moral boo boo’, or ‘flats by day, heels by night’. It is a detailed play with proportion, texture, colour and prints which we all instinctively have our own ideas about and which produces our own individual sense of style. Let’s use a simple example to start: a clutch bag and heels with jeans and a t-shirt takes 2 parts evening wear and 2 parts casual wear which = perfect smart casual dressing. Throw a structured blazer over the top to increase formality, or add a leather biker jacket to keep it more casual. If we return to the Olsen’s with this is in mind, their great style seems more tangible: a skinny proportioned all black outfit spiced up with amazing skyscraper statement shoes; a floor length silk gown worn with messy ‘beach hair’ and piss-take knuckle dusting bling rings to puncture any generic formality; tiny frayed denim shorts with a tailored school boy blazer, an oversized shabby jumper accessorised with the glamour of a classic quilted Chanel bag. They know where they want the focus on their outfit to be, they know that texture is as important as colour, and they bridge that all too often awkward gap when you are going from grungey teen to glamorous woman- they just do the maths and bring in equal elements from both camps. Those girls got clothing chemistry. Another perfect exponent for you fashion maths pupils to look back over with renewed attention would be Sex and the City stylist Patricia Field. She has taught us wisdom such as a studded belt makes a floral dress look edgy, and a slouchy ‘boyfriend’ knitted hoodie is a perfectly acceptable cover up for a huge hooped skirt prom dress- should you ever find yourself in a situation which requires such an epic gown like that. The mixture of masculine and feminine shapes and pieces is one of Field’s tricks- remember when Carrie wore Big’s white shirt, belted and with heels? All the elements at play made for a fabulous, seemingly unintentional fashion moment. A flash of lacy bra under a men’s shirt should do the trick for you.

If you ordinarily play it safe this can be a daunting prospect, so how can we emulate this in the ‘real world’? I would say start small- wear your diamante chandelier earrings with a loose, off the shoulder marl grey tee, or try a pencil skirt with a baggy motif vest or aged band t-shirt. The diamante in the first works unexpectedly with the sportswear element of the grey t-shirt, the bagginess of the vest looks relaxed against the strict constraints of a pencil skirt. Learning how to successfully clash prints and textures may take a while to master. You may want to look for pieces which already do this for you; the marriage of navy and black in a collection by Lanvin a couple of seasons ago was less daunting because the colours were used together on the same garment. A clash of the tartans is perhaps the most contemporary method to try, see D&G and Preen for inspiration. For the faint hearted I would suggest sticking to the same colour base, say red, and just wearing two tartan items at a time- a clashing tartan skirt and scarf combo look great, or a duller tartan jacket with a brighter tartan scarf. Clashing is pivotal to breaking up the dull, uninspiring ‘matchy-matchiness’ which suggests someone is uptight and unplayful when it comes to their appearance, and it looks aging on a savvy young woman. Piling on textures can look really stunning, if you stick to black but throw together pieces in lace, reptile and pvc you’ll be on to a winner.

Hair and make-up must not be forgotten, they can inject so much shape and colour in to an outfit. If you want to go for a period or quite ‘vintage’ look with your clothes, do not follow that through to your hair and make-up (unless you’re going to a fancy dress party). Strapless prom dresses look best with messy ponytails and tamer make-up- your dress is the focus after all. All black outfits ‘pop’ when paired with girly barrel curls or a flash of red lippy.

With this new approach in mind you will probably find you become a different shopper altogether. Whereas before you may not have dared to buy those high-heeled hiking boots or that leopard print shrug jacket- you suspect you might love them but they’re not even your style- now you can run them through your inner calculator and re-think how you can make them work, how they can make sense in your wardrobe. Like trump cards, every item in your wardrobe has its own values, and just like Top Trumps, fashion maths is a very fun game you can learn to play.