Newsletter

Know Your Seasonal Style: The Trouser Suit

— by Alyson Walsh

 

Photos: Claire Pepper

Being an advocate of Gentlewoman Style and faff-free dressing, the trouser suit’s on-going popularity doesn’t half please me. From Dietrich to Denueve, Hepburn to Huston (Katherine and Anjelica), some of my favourite women of style and substance just happen to be trouser suit enthusiasts, too. As a youngster, I can remember thinking I was the bee’s knees in a brown two-piece with big lapels at Butlin’s Holiday camp. It was the 1970s… And, during my fashion editor period, I invested in a beautiful Margaret Howell lightweight wool check trouser suit, that I still have today. This season’s shape-shifting has given tailoring a looser, less buttoned-up feel, meaning that my Margaret Howell suit with its shorter, fitted jacket and tapered trouser is not quite the right silhouette. Nevertheless, it’s a beauty and a keeper, just as long as I can keep the moths at bay.

So. In the latest Know Your Seasonal Style I thought I’d give the trouser suit another try. This is the Winser London Lauren Boyfriend Blazer and the Lauren wide leg trouser, the jacket is double-breasted and the trousers are in a satin backed crepe with a tuxedo stripe. Though I tend to shy away from colour, the most popular pants suits this season come in Crayola brights and sugar-coated pastels. Cate Blanchett wore pale pink and primrose yellow trouser suits at Cannes 2018, where she was the 12th female jury president.  And there’s the thing. Now that women have finally chipped away at the glass ceiling, we no longer need to rely on power dressing to emulate our male counterparts, we can dress to please ourselves.

Style notes: The ‘paint splash’ sneakers are by Georgina Goodman, new collection launching in June (for enquiries please contact: [email protected] ). The silk blouse is by Rixo (similar HERE and more styles HERE). The ring is from Badger’s Velvet. And I’ve just realised that everything I’m wearing here was designed by a woman.

 

Please note: affiliate links in this post may generate commission.
Suits you?

Keep Reading

Trends to take away from the 2018 RHS Chelsea Flower Show

  Being an advocate of Gentlewoman Style and faff-free dressing, the trouser suit’s on-going popularity doesn’t half please me. From Dietrich to Denueve, Hepburn to Huston (Katherine …