Harrods - This Week’s Wish List

From Burberry’s reworked trench to Balmain’s blue hues and Needle & Thread’s vintage-inspired embellished dresses, the Harrods edit of just-dropped styles features wardrobe staples you need to invest in this season…

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The Modern Woman and Power Dressing

When we hear the term power dressing, it often sparks images of women dressed for business. The term originates from the late 1970s and evolved during the 1980s as we saw many women entering more professional roles.

So with the style closely linked to women’s style within the business and political environment, what is power dressing today? Has it changed much?

With the second woman Prime Minister in the UK, Theresa May and another female candidate running for office in the United States, will women’s power translate in the way that they dress.

In the Margaret Thatcher era, in the 80s, we saw suiting with big shoulders which signified power and turned women’s work wear into something else with a masculine edge. What is interesting though, is we have been seeing the return of statement shoulders in many designer’s collections. So are they coming back into our work wear wardrobe?

Roots to power dressing can be found in none other than Coco Chanel’s Chanel suit, which was a revolutionary shift in how women were dressed back in the 20s. The suit allowed women to de-sexualize themselves in order to be taken seriously. And what is interesting about this, although fronted by Karl Lagerfeld now, the most recent Chanel show highlighted the women behind the couture operation. And what was on the catwalk? The classic Chanel suit morphed into new silhouettes. With you guessed it, the power shoulder.

Of course over the decades, the suit and power dressing trends have changed, but what will we be seeing in the coming seasons? Aside from designers, today’s icons include figures such as The Duchess of Cambridge and Emma Watson. Both manage to dress powerfully, with a feminine and trend driven edge, and we can definitely learn a bit from them.

But trend wise for this FW 16/17, here are a few things to incorporate into your work wear wardrobe.

1 – A serious trench coat. Trench coats with an edge can be seen on the Burberry, Gucci, Prada and Celine runways.

2- Ruffles. Details such as ruffles ass femininity back into a very masculine way of dressing. Look to Gucci for inspiration. Opt for a ruffled blouse of shirt to play it safe.

3 – Checks. Seen at Victoria Beckham this season. To add an updated twist on the check suit, do not be scared to mix the checks up, or pair with other prints or block colours.

LFW: Burberry AW16

Designer Focus: London Fashion Week – Burberry

Burberry showed their Autumn /Winter collection on Monday, and it undoubtedly steals the show.

As arguably one of the most anticipated shows of London Fashion Week, the show obviously had an A-list studded front row. Stars including Rosie Huntington-Whitley, Naomi Campbell, Suki Waterhouse and Alexa Chung were in attendance, kicking off the show with an entrance alongside other stars on the Burberry red carpet.

Of course the show was held within the grounds of Kensington Gardens, however the runway has begun to veer in a more curved fashion, with models striding around the crowd. A different set up to previous shows at Burberry.

As for this seasons performer, Jake Bugg was nestled amongst the crowd to play accompaniment to the collection, which had a very retro, mod feel to it, therefore Jake Bugg was the perfect choice to play.

Creative director, Christopher Bailey, said that it was “not a themed show, but all the things that I love, It’s a patchwork of different things – from Mitford sisters to military to glam rock.”

Amongst the collection there was a number of military style overcoats with either red or gold piping, sequined dresses with huge flowery prints, lots of khaki parkas and more overcoats, but in large check either a sort of burgundy colour or khaki.

As for the accessories, shoes where either in a shoe/boot style, plat formed, topped off with tassels, of studded biker style boots.  Bags were very statement, as following on from a popular trend seen back at New York Fashion Week, with belt style handles or shoulder straps, that were often matched up with belts worn over the top of trench coats.

For full show, see YouTube video below.

Trench to Today: Thomas Burberry's Trench Coat

Founded in 1856, Burberry has become one of the most recognizable British fashion houses around today. Through their iconic Horseferry check and of course the historic trench coat. But here we are looking at the trench coat, and what made it what it is today.

In 1876, Thomas Burberry brought us gabardine, a woven fabric with tough water resistant qualities. This textile invention was quickly ordered up by none other than the British army in 1901 and Burberry submitted a design as an Officers raincoat. During the first world war, shoulder straps for the attachment of epaulets or other rank insignia and ‘D rings’ (rumored to be for grenades) were added. These raincoats were not originally named ‘trench coats’, that term surfaced later from soldiers on the front line. 

After the war, many soldiers continued to wear their trench coats and with the sheer amount of units ordered by the British army, there were many coats left. This meant they were on the market for the public to snap up. Hollywood stars sporting the Trench coats in movies popularized the style and of course, due to the hard-wearing nature of the gabardine, the trench coat stuck around and became a must have in everyone's wardrobe. Even women adopted the style.

Since then, the Burberry Trench coat has been worn by many including Audrey Hepburn in the iconic Breakfast at Tiffany's 'Cat' Scene, Steve McQueen and modern day icons such as Victoria Beckham, her son Romeo, Kate Middleton and the stunning Rosie Huntington-Whiteley.

    

Look out for the Trench Coat in Burberry's recent Christmas Campaign. It is spectacular!

I can 100% say that a bit or gabardine is top of my Christmas list. Check out Burberry for their current selection of Trenches. Maybe something bang on trend from their Prorsum Range, something classic and chic from their London line or something a little bit casual from Burberry Brit. Everyone is spoiled for choice. Just remember a Burberry Trench Coat isn't just for Christmas. It's for life. ;-).

From Fashion with Melanie