This season's ladylike trend comes with a twist – call it the lady who lounges, not the lady who lunches. The look features boucle jackets with low-waisted jeans, silk blouses with masculine trousers, and pencil skirts with wellies.
The appeal of ladylike dressing lies in the fantasy of ease, of life lived off the clock, according to fashion commentator Jess Cartner-Morley. While it might feel odd to cosplay as women of lunches and leisure, the clothes are undeniably cute. A boucle jacket can make you feel as if the Eiffel Tower might come into view around the next corner, even though you are in the wrong country.
The Lady Who Lounges Aesthetic
The lady who lounges has the jacket, the heels, and maybe even the pearls, but she wears jeans and is definitely not in a pussy bow. Same DNA, different agenda. This version of ladylike style has an air of gentle charm and courtesy that can take the edge off a tough day.
Matthieu Blazy's Chanel is the mother ship for this mood, where much of the visual language of ladylike comes from: the neat little jacket, the chain bag, the two-tone shoe, and the pearls. Blazy has been ruffling Coco's bob, throwing masculine tailoring in against the house's more buttoned-up instincts, and redoing bags with a crumpled, lived-in slouch. This is Coco getting dressed from a boyfriend's wardrobe rather than a boutique.
How to Wear the Trend
There were clues at Miu Miu's autumn show, too, which Miuccia Prada described in terms of 'gentleness' and 'romance', where pencil skirts were worn with wellies, and bow-trimmed minidresses with walking boots. This is ladylike with its shoes kicked off.
The look probably starts with a textured jacket and jeans. The jacket should sit on your shoulders rather than pin them into position. The jeans have an ease to them – a lower waist, rather than mom jeans, helps knock the primness out of the jacket. Underneath, try a crisp shirt or a plain white vest. Or swap jeans for a pencil skirt, but wear a big jumper rather than a neat cardigan. A silk blouse wants a masculine trouser; a brooch wants a battered old coat.
You need something in your outfit that turns up with its elbows on the table. A look where every element is saying the same thing feels robotic and cookie-cutter. Personal style has the odd raw edge. Don't underestimate the power of hair and makeup – or rather, the power of a little less hair and makeup than the clothes seem to expect. Slept-in hair or a bare-ish face are a useful counterpoint to pearls and tweed.
Accessories and Attitude
Trends are a buffet rather than a tasting menu these days. If a fancy pair of jewel-coloured leather gloves make you feel fabulous, go for it; if they make you feel as though you should be waving from a carriage, steer clear. Ladylike accessories work best when they look as if they wandered into the wrong outfit, so pin a brooch to denim or wear a silk scarf with a sweatshirt. This isn't about making casual clothes smarter or fancy clothes more laid-back exactly, but more about making the outfit hard to pigeonhole.
The old ladylike trend felt like performing a life you didn't have. This one lets you live your real life, only in such a nice jacket that people will wonder where you are going for dinner. Have the boucle. Have the pearls. Have the sancerre, should the opportunity arise. Then put those kitten heels back on and get back to business.
