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In an early issue of Vogue UK this year, Emma Elwick-Bates, the market editor, relayed her favourite show of the season. As Magdalena Frackowiak sauntered down the catwalk in a simple, unadorned grey coat with an inverted collar, she was sold. Stella McCartney's realist vision of 90s minimalism, cowl neck gowns and shots of tangerine was a joy to behold. But mostly it was that coat. Grey and gorgeous - which is not something that you normally say about the colour grey, unadorned, unhindered by jewelry, unfussy, line unbroken by other clothes. It sat clean away from the body with an inverted collar, folded against the chest. It was a feat of clean and clear design and quickly became one of the pieces of the season. I've seen this coat in person (At Arida Potts Point, if anyone was curious) and it really is glorious. It's sold out on Net-A-Porter in all sizes except 48 - classic Stella to have such realistic sizing. I've seen it on at least one fashionable young thing traipsing around the Tuileries this past fashion week, and why not? It's the epitome of classic, chic design by someone who has it in spades.
There is absolutely nothing remarkable about that coat - I mean, a coat sometimes is only ever just a coat - except for that collar. We can rave about cut, line, shape and fabric till the cows come home, but sometimes you need something a little extra to commit to those exorbitant designer price tags. that collar is it. It is suggestive but also still chic. It is one of those classic clothes that are made all the more interesting because of a quirky design twist. Would that coat have made as much of an impact had the collar been folded normally? It would still have been a good coat, let's not deny that, stella's a bit of a dab hand at the tailoring. But it wouldn't have been a great coat, and that collar makes all the difference.
the photodiarist, streetsfn
It's kind of charming, really, that two of the current style proponents of this are street-style photographers. On the left you'll see Hanelli Mustaparta and on the right Garance Dore, both of them European style superstars in their own rights who run blogs who get more daily hits than a magazine. Both of them document on their blogs their own style evolution - Garance has talked about her battles with frizzy hair, her love of k.jacques sandals and her dalliance with track pants (which she later cut into shorts), Hanelli has spoken of turbans, crop tops and general high-fash rolling. I love how street style bloggers sometimes share with us - the fashion plebs - their dalliance with all things sartorial (har har pun intended). Exposed as they are to so much fashion inspiration every day, it is quite lovely to see them toying with ideas and playing around with inspiring thoughts just like we do after seeing their pictures. Like Garance, lopping off the bottom of her Isabel Marant track pants after seeing a girl on the street in cuffed track pant shorts. Or Garance's wonderfully self-deprecating tales of fashion woes - from wearing a white shirt and trousers to a black tie dinner with only a lick of red lipstick as an accessory, or a trench coat and lingerie to the Vogue Paris masquerade ball. With their style mishaps they are just like us, really.
Both Hanelli and Garance love the inverted collar. Garance has been wearing hers since way back in May, when I met her in Bondi Junction and she was wearing an outfit very similar to the above, although underneath the blazer there was a dress. I remember thinking how striking that inverted collar was, with her scraped back hair and gleaming fresh skin. Hanelli works hers in a similar way - a fresh plunge pool of a tee shirt, glowing skin and a messy top knot. It's a look that is so modern, even though I can't quite put my finger on why exactly, it just is. It is exciting. Sometimes you don't need a style revolution to shake things up - you don't need to change pants shape or wear bright colour or stick louis vuitton bunny ears in your hair. Sometimes all it takes is popping the collar on your favourite blazer - an instant style update.
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