London Fashion Week kicks off this Friday, and everyone who works in fashion is having a freak out about WTF to wear. But there's virtually an unspoken wardrobe for fashion week that makes the whole thing far less imaginative and creative than you might imagine - your bog-standard editor will wear the key items deemed cool in the last five minutes on Instagram and end up looking like every other editor stood in the queue for the coffee shop at Somerset House. It's really not as hard as it looks to nail the 'I'm a fashion editor' look. Trust me. There was the season where everyone wore trainers, and it was a bit awkward. Then there was the season where literally everyone wore statement necklaces. Again, awks.
I headed to H&M to try to find some updates on the usual fail-safes of the fash-crowd, because you can basically look just as good dressed head to toe in H&M as 90 per cent of the designer-clad babes fighting for frow. I'm not gonna lie and say that you and Anna Dello Russo will look like twins, but you also won't be wearing £40k's worth of gear that you will only wear once.
It's time for changing room selfies that will give you outfits that wouldn't look out of place at LFW, but you can actually wear IRL.
The All Black Fashion Editor Uniform
Dress, £34.99, Jacket, £29.99 (only available in store)
OK, so fashion editors have this weird thing where they all wear black. Which is bonkers. These are people who pride themselves on knowing the best and most interesting things in fashion, and then cba to wear actual colours. I've never understood it. Sure, it's the easiest option - if your whole wardrobe is black you can wear it all together without stressing, and it kinda makes you look serious if you wear it with bright lipstick, which is another LFW necessity. I've seen women scrabble in their tiny clutch bags with sweat drenched brows because they think they've lost their MAC Ruby Woo. But instead of going for the normal black trousers and swamping black tunic (fashion peeps love tunics, FYI) I found this awesome roll-neck clingy dress that you can shove your hair into to make it look like you've got this season's long bob without actually hacking your hair off. Plus this long, slouchy faux leather jacket (which looks convincingly real) is a cooler version of a short biker style.
The Denim Co-ord Cause Denim Is Seriously Trending
Jacket, £39.99, Skirt, £29.99, Top, £12.99 (only available in store)
Another fashion week rule - you are 10 times cooler if you wear your jacket on your shoulders without your arms in the sleeves. Again, no idea why. Spring is all about denim, denim, denim, so a blue jean co-ord is an ideal outfit for LFW, plus you can wear the two bits separately with a million other things. This boho yellow top gives a nod to the seventies trend going on right now, too. One small FYI, you will need to buy this skirt a couple of sizes bigger than you usually go for, it is cut tightly on the waist. (Says me and another Debrief editor who also had to buy it two sizes up).
READ MORE: WTF To Wear Now It's F**king Freezing But You Want To Dress In SS15 Trends
The Bright Things To Get You Street Styled
Trousers, £19.99, Top, £29.99, Parka, £29.99 (only available in store)
There's a trick to getting papped by street style photogs - wear one mega bright patterned thing on your top half, and pair with another mega bright patterned thing on your bottom half. Then throw in as many kooky, vibrant accessories as possible, and those flashes will be all yours. Another key item to wear over the top - the parka. Parkas play everything down, and this cropped, drawn-in at the waist style is ridiculously wearable. Even over crazy bright printed things.
The Sixties/Seventies Mix Up To Look Very Runway
Dress, £39.99, Jacket, £34.99 (only available in store)
You all know that the seventies are in, and here's a look that let's you reference that, without you having to wear flares, which pretty much everyone at LFW will be sporting. (Although you can if you want - we've proved it's possible.) This brown coat will go over thick jumpers and jeans on the weekends you're not hanging around waiting to make your street style debut, and the sixties-style dress will come in handy come festival and wedding season. Giving you two highly useful items outside of their seventies-tastic combo.
The Sports Look For Sunday's Shows
Polo shirt body, £29.99, Jeans, £29.99, Bomber Jacket, £29.99 (only available in store)
I'm a big fan of this polo T-shirt-effect body, that has that whole leotard clippy-gusset thing going on. It makes the tee fit a lot closer to your body, giving a sleeker look than a normal T-shirt. Cream jeans are a classy choice, they kind of have that Isabel Marant vibe, especially when paired with this embroidered back bomber jacket. If you can get yourself a fringed handbag, and some tan suede ankle boots, you will be all over the sports-come-Navajo crafts thing. Which is a good thing.
**The Fancy Fashion Party Dress **
Dress, £34.99 (only available in store)
If you find yourself going to a swishy fashion party (or a smiliar event that you think would benefit from an outfit inspired by one) then check out this boho-esque maxi dress, made a bit more modern by the random splashy print. Push up the sleeves for Mary Kate/Ashley's signature styling.
The Fashion Week Jeans That Are Totally Acceptable
Faux leather jacket, £20, Crochet Tunic, £49.99, Cropped Flares, £39.99 (only available in store)
If you're not wearing full-length denim flares, then you will want to be wearing a cut-off, cropped pair. Hacking the bottom off your jeans is a thing right now, and if you want to be ridiculously on trend then something crochet, like this dress worn as a long T-shirt, will do the trick. Throw on a leather jacket to add an extra texture into the mix (it seems that the more interesting textures you can get in one look these days = winning) and pair with a pair of bright, maybe neon trainers.
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**Follow Charlie on Twitter **@Charliebyrne406
This article originally appeared on The Debrief.