What do cool people wear in London?

[slipperyeel]

On the back of the rich people thread... what do cool people wear in London? Which brands? Any good Instagram recommendations?

I think the answer to this at the moment is sweaty Betty leggings, a big coat and Nikes but any other ideas would be great!

I think the scandi look looks cool, wide legged cropped trousers, blunt Bob and I also like the big coat trainers and joggers look. Makes a nice change from skinny jeans anyway.

I think it has to work with your body shape, personality and general physical style. Imagine a young Sophia Loren in Scandinavia cool/ Cos style clothes: probably not good. But Alicia Vikander you could imagine.

@slipperyeel
The problem is that London ‘cool’ is so subjective - also depends on your age too. I’m a similar age to Fearne Cotton and follow her on Instagram and I always think she looks ‘cool’ in an effortless / hippy way but I know that won’t be to everyone’s taste.
I also follow Nikki Reed who I also think looks ‘cool’ in a similar , understated way - very ethical , luxe, minimalist etc but she’s American , not London

Yeah I can’t really get excited by very young people - they can wear a lot of stuff and look great. I’m interested in the older crowd - particularly how they tackle casual. The woman on the left is cool to me - not trying too hard.

She might be 25 of course but I don’t think that look is limited to young people.

Oh I miss London so much, with that backdrop everyone looks cool!!

I would say a mixture of textures and shapes, layering and an attitude of not giving a shit. Cool can mean beaten up trainers and also otk leather boots.

Have a look at wearetwinset on Instagram. Agree with Emma Hill too

Clothes some other people think are cool

'Cool' isn't really a thing though, is it? In London you could be in Shoreditch with the hipsters/ trendies, Camden with the goth/ punks, Kensington and Chelsea with the Fashionistas, Notting Hill with the hippies, so on. Wherever you are 'cool' will be different. Define cool and we'll tell you where to go.

Looking at my cool friends, it's not necessarily
Brands but more a style. At the moment it's quite androgynous but often with designer sunnies and maybe red lipstick.
Brands wise - LF malarkey, &other stories, arket, Nike etc

OMG, surely that wearetwinset instagram isn't cool? It's the opposite of cool!

Divebar's lady on the left looks great.

At the moment Londoners seem to just be wearing joggers and ankle boots combo, stemming from not being bothered to change out of lockdown clothes before venturing out for our daily walk. Honestly, I live in a very cool part of town and only saw women in joggers today! Ordinarily I think anything with straight leg slightly cropped jeans basically, - just the antithesis of skinny jeans.

What's your beef @Floisme ?

My beef? That the op asked a perfectly reasonable question and that some posters reacted like she'd asked for the secret ingredient to the family home brew.

I’m still going out to work every day on the tube (weirdly at the moment it’s really mostly men doing the same thing, I’m often the only woman on my particular tube carriage)

I’m wearing knee high leather boots, black velvet mini from Toast, striped black and white t shirt from French connection and I have an electric blue cashmere jumper in my bag but it’s too warm on tube to wear. Black tights. Khaki wool beanie hat but yesterday I wore a fawn coloured beret.
Kate Spade backpack. Coat is smart black Reiss wool one.

Everything has come from eBay or secondhand except my handbag and boots and they was a birthday present from myself.

OP honestly asked a perfectly reasonable question!

Perfectly reasonable and actually very interesting question, yes!

... Are people not allowed to answer as they see fit?

Oh- and facemask- linen black one got off Etsy, I have one in most colours. Who’s have thought that would be a fashion accessory this time last year

I've got no problem with the question, but London is HUGE and very diverse. There just is no one answer. The previous thread referred to is much more targeted - what do people wear to look well-off for work in London - and even then there was a lively debate about working in Shoreditch Vs the West End, media Vs finance Vs fashion.

I agree that fashion spotting is a soothing past time in these times and interesting to see people’s thoughts.

Ah, I miss London style-spotting too! I moved out a few years ago (for love, ostensibly, but London remains my true love!)
I loved going to Spitalfields market to people watch. I lived in Wandsworth so much more yummy-mummy-ville.

Instagram account suggestions to follow might be helpful if anyone has any!

Pyjamas mostly at the moment.

@Thisisbananas3

Have a look at wearetwinset on Instagram. Agree with Emma Hill too

See @Thisisbananas3 I agree with @Fauvist - I don’t think Wearetwinset look ‘cool’ at all! They look way too try hard and immaculate to be cool. Don’t get me wrong, they look good but in a very made up, designer clothes, blow dried hair kind of way. They look like they could be from Made In Chelsea.

To me, ‘cool’ in London isn’t one look - there are lots of different styles, and as others have said these tend to be associated with different areas. Do you have a particular look in mind @slipperyeel?

However I think casual and oversized is very popular at the mo - big coats, straight or wider jeans or overalls rather than skinny jeans, hiker/biker boots and trainers rather than heels or smart boots.... a popular look is a mixture of styles and textures - masculine and feminine, oversized and fitted, smart and casual, clashing prints. So for example oversized coats and chunky boots are everywhere this winter but this might be worn with a pretty top or dress. Often a mix of brands and old and new. Vintage and second hand and finding small brands for more unique stuff to add interest and uniqueness to basics/high street is key - a PP mentioned LF Markey as an example of this. Cool is interesting and carefree and organic. A bit fun.

How about Pandora Sykes, Venetia LaManna, Emma Hill (as others have mentioned although she’s pretty conservative), Heart Zeena for a more colourful/eclectic vibe, Freddie Harrel, Esteé Lalonde?

Or if you have a particular style in mind then I’m sure you’ll get lots of ideas of shops, instagrammers etc you might like etc?

Coal drops yard seems to be the new place for the Uber cool.

Things worn there I’ve never seen before. Quite fascinating place to people watch.

I’m not surprised though seeing as the art college is now there

Agree wearetwinset are not cool.

Far too much camel, skinny ripped jeans, it’s just the uniform of any person who wants to blend in

This thread has reminded me of how much I miss outfit people-watching! My old office was near Burberry HQ and I used to love seeing what the fashion crowd were wearing; even then there were clear differences in terms of age/ style etc, but so many people dressing interestingly.

In the last few months I've been to Kings Cross much more than anywhere else central, and as @Onedropbeat says the St Martin's crowd around there up the sartorial ante quite a bit. You do get lots of Japanese girls in the mix, who tend to have a particular style but always look amazing IMO. As an aside, I think the St M's student crowd wear quite a lot of & Other Stories because of that lovely big branch they have at KX where I may have scored a sale coat in that sliver of time when we were allowed in the shops before Xmas.

Agree with a lot of what's been said up-thread about the variables of what's termed "cool"; I do think it's largely innate but also hugely influenced by the circles you move in. When I was younger I worked with some very cool women and it really made me think about how I put clothes together, what my personal style was. Not that I would ever have claimed to be cool myself, mind you!

Anything goes in London: it's so anonymous