ECLECTIC CURRENT

  

How to sum up the big new mood sweeping the fashion world at the moment? Well maybe it has something to do with a couple of stylish girlies hitting the town not that long ago…

 

Stella McCartney trots into one London hotspot, she’s wearing a vintage silk dress, casually tied at the waist with a ribbon, a pair of scuffed satin shoes, an armful of bangles, a giant pair of shades and a bag – fit to burst-chaotically pinned with badges, charms and brooches.  Her hair is messed up, her make up non existent.  She’s put herself together in a way only an English girl knows how – eccentrically glam, imaginatively decorative, defiantly original and not at all what some of our New York sisters could call ‘groomed’.

 

A week later, Sienne Miller strides into another London bar wearing clapped out cowboy boots, old black leggings, heaps of ethnis jewellery and a Matthew Williamson feather-print top henned with gold coins.  Again, she wears not a scrap of make up and she happily point s out that her hair has turned a funny shade of green due to dying it back from brunette to blonde, via the bathroom sink.

So, what do these women have in common? Could it be that the English way of dressing isn’t about being perfect but about being individual? well surely this is our moment because after all, nobody does quirky eccentricity quite like the good old British!  And that’s exactly what this new mood in fashion is all about- all things individual and unexpected.

 

 

It seems that we are a nation of mavericks and non conformists, unlike the US, where it has become a Bergdorf Blonde territory, where manis, pedis, blow outs and nose hair waxes are a must.  The average working English rose eclectic can be seen wearing a happy mix of Prada, Marni, Primark and abit of Topshop all in one look. It’s never too early in the day for sparkles, eclectic’s love whimsical shoes that clash pleasingly with an outfit and they adore every kind of brocade, especially if it would make a good piece of upholstery.

 

One designer inspired by the whole eclectic look was Burberry Prorsum creative director Christopher Bailey, particularly the queen of the Bloomsbury brigade, Virginia Woolf. Inspiration doesn;t only come from fashion icons strutting around wearing it all mixed up, they also come from our precious old ladies.  They seem to have had a great impact in this new trend, like the way they wear their old clothes with things from Oxfam, like a sailors jacket, a pair of bright red trousers and a zebra print top.  They then throw it all together in this fantastic way.

However, unfortunately, not every side of the pond feel the same about the new eclectic attitude. 

 

 

The French have rules about the way you should put things together, like black tights and brown shoes- “Ooohhh non!” they scream.  Sometimes they just don’t get it because their idea of chic is very conservative.

But why is Le Style Anglais so very of-this-moment?  I think it is because there are no rules, like for example, you don’t have to wear a certain colour with another colour or worry about clashing.  It is now all about having fun and being inventive.  It is basically what British style has always been about, but it has just taken abit longer for people to realise and fully embrace it.  We have always been creative and made amazing looks through expression, just look at the teddy boys, rockers, mods, punks and the new romantics…the list is endless, each as colourful and inventive as the next. We have never conformed or cared about what other people think. 

 

The eclectomania is a rebellion against all of those huge fashion brands rolling out identical stores all over the world, nowadays people just want to feel individual.

Of course it takes alot of self confidence to layer odd colour combos, mix spots with stripes, your grannies jewels with your boyfriends sweater? Doesn’t it require the DNA of Kate Moss to work it successfully? Well, the answer seems to be no. 

All you need is a desire to look original, to be prepared to break the rules and have fun.  Anyone can do it, because what we Brits are good at is not looking perfect-which today is perfect.

 

 

Kyrstt Hazell.