Global warming may have exacerbated the problem, but the retail calendar is out of whack. It’s August and winter’s coats have just landed in store, along with the rest of the new season’s trends.
I don’t know about you, but I am done with my summer clothes. The heat wave allowed me to live out my cotton clad and wafty linen dreams, but then it came to an abrupt end and I’ve had no clue how to dress since.
We’re in limbo. The leaves have yet to turn, which means it’s still summer, but the sun has gone, so what season are we in? And despite the miserable weather today, it looks like it's going to get hot again before the end of the week, making the whole thing even more confusing.
And, now, as I mentioned, to double down on the conundrum, the newest, most alluring clothing is filtering into stores.
Click on Net-A-Porter and I see knee-high boots winking at me, turn left to ASOS and suddenly my screen is filled with fluffy jumpers and corduroy trousers. This just can’t do, it won’t do. There’s no way I can take on my commute - a steamy tube and sticky bus ride - wearing double-layered cashmere. Or is there? As fashion week’s start kicking off around the world, starting in Copenhagen, popping up in Stockholm and Oslo, the style set is already trying out the newest looks. Weather be damned, we’re going to copy them.
new season winter aw18 trends grazia
1 of 8Get To Know Your Wild Side
It looked like London Zoo was let loose on the winter catwalks, except all those snake, leopard and zebra prints were fake. In this wild, wild world, one pattern is not enough, double the ante with a (lookalike) cowhide bag, a (fake) snakeskin mule and a tiger (printed) dress. When winter comes, go full faux with a leopard print coat.
2 of 8Boil It Down
We're all over the incoming boiler suit trend. It's not just for electricians and plumbers anymore as Glossier's staff famously where millennial pink jumpsuits and half of CPH FW were clad in statement boiler suits. As autumn sweeps in, be ready with a one-piece that you can wear with sandals now and ankle boots and a polo neck in a few months.
3 of 8Make A Considered Clash
Mashed up prints is part of the incoming season's most playful styling tricks, but also one of the simplest to refine for your wardrobe now. Pick a key colour - scarlet for instance - and spin out a pattern story based on this central shade. Just, add in a miniature bag that laughs in the face of practicality as a final touch.
4 of 8Stockpiling Scarfs
Between Richard Quinn, the Queen and Faustian Steinmetz, the humble silk scarf is blowing up. While the weather isn't ferocious enough to justify an under-the-chin knot, channel your inner Brigitte Bardot and tie that bombastic bandana beneath your hair.
5 of 8Paint The Town
Sure, it's not cold enough for the camel coat, but try tobacco now with winter's lemon twist courtesy of accessories.
6 of 8Wear Your Winter Boots With A Summer Dress
Cowboy boots are catnip for the fashion world right now. Hunt out the cropped kind and style them with a sundress to give them the ironic reboot that will see them into winter.
7 of 8Take A Hike
Between cycling shorts and ballet pumps, we could tell that athleisure didn't stop at hoodies, but we were still totally thrown by the accumulation of hiking trends breaking out for AW18. Ganni and Acne are all over it, but you can be too by breaking out your old walking shoes with an attractive sock. Word of warning: leave the Camelbak at home.
8 of 8The It Bag Is Out There
Unlike most winter trends, this one isn't weather sensitive. If one bag is destined to rule them all then this fall it's the Dior Saddlebag without a doubt. Already swinging from the elbow crook of at least 100 influencers, this update on the brand's archival classic has been upgraded with new hardware and a magnetic closure.