FASHION NOTES

Collages by Zoe Klinck of Zoe Klinck designs (you can check her out at www.zoeklinck.com).

Dresses. We had maxi (for the long-legged giraffe), we had midi (great to bring out those curves), we certainly had mini and micro (it’s winter now so let’s protect ourselves against frostbite). So what’s left? Shirts! Perhaps this sheer variant? If you can, go all the way and try leather.

The male-staple, Part I. Proper shirts are hard to find. And I am not talking about evening attire. It took me years to find the ideal casual wear shirt. Normally, they never fit (most people don’t care anyway) and the collar always dangles (particularly after washing). Try thick cotton button-down shirts. Uniqlo does a wonderful one  for a wonderful price (go for white, grey or light blue in the thick cotton or the dark blue corduroy for £20 – you save an impeccable £110 in comparison to the APC variant). Buy online or from their stores on Oxford and Regent Street in London.

A word of caution. Yes – it is a big trend again (Rhianna is doing it, Joan Smalls as well, and random ‘fashionables’ certainly are), but ‘branded T-shirts’ of all kind are still crap. No YSL, no Versace, and certainly no Kenzo. Real or fake (or real-fake like Homiés or Féline) – it doesn’t matter. D O N ’ T  T O U C H  T H O S E  T – S H I R T S!

The bag. A new bag for uni? A new bag for life. For lecture-life (store everything), for grocery shopping-life (carry everything), for bike-life (secure everything), for sex-life (hide everything), for life. Go to Zara and get a tote like this one in the most gracious shade of grey or a wonderfully autumnal emerald-green. And it is not even a sin – but a practical necessity (German-approved).

The male-staple, Part II. The money you save on the shirt, you could spend on a new pair of shoes. If it is true for any item, it is true for shoes: if you buy cheap, you buy twice. Just be sure to buy a proper pair. With the Crockett and Jones ‘Finsbury’, you can get through all of Cambridge. If you’re feeling really self-indulgent, get black for the evening and brown for the day. Don’t waste time with Church’s – too chunky for teens and tweens. Buy from Ede and Ravenscroft in Cambridge or Crockett and Jones on Jermyn Street in London.