How to look 'cool' London Look

[DotCottonsFag]

I dont know whether thats the term ... but how does anyone replicate the 'look' of some of the women who take the tube?

Their hair looks uncombed but stylish
They wear either black and white, maybe grey
White trainers or black boots
They look done but without being done IYKWIM
Where do they get it from? I want it!!

It's all about your bag to start with.

It needs to be big enough for your stuff without being a suitcase, nothing looks more dishevelled than someone toting a handbag, cross body bag, laptop bag and a ratty old carrier.

You need a good coat with a handy pocket for a small wallet holding just your ticket and a card, this can then be fished out without having to delve into a bag.

You need wireless headphones so you can listen to music/podcasts/audible without your phone in your hands.

Colour palette: navy, white, grey and black. Flash of colour from a shirt, scarf

Non fussy haircut, if you've got a fussy layered do the humidity changes between street, train, tube and office will destroy any work with a straightener in seconds

[quote Ifailed]@Neonplant

Why are people acting like London is the only urban environment in the country?

The OP asked about London, so presumably that's why people are writing about London?
Feel free to start a thread about how to look cool in Coventry, or wherever.[/quote]
Obviously she's started a thread about London but the weird fawning replies over something which isn't a particularly London centric thing is just odd.

Your sentence re Coventry is hilarious. It's exactly the shit I'm talking about. I know that was supposed to be a put down but you've just made yourself look silly. With this embarrassing everything outside of London is the provences. Basically do you think your better than everyone hun? Cos that's how you come across.

Also there's not a fucking chance I'm gonna start a thread in s&b, people are really bonkers stuck up and take themselves way to seriously here.

Wow! Having a bad day @Neonplant? It’s a light hearted thread in S&B, you seem to be taking it far too seriously.

I take exception to being called "stuck up" for answering a question with a response thar could probably apply to any city of choice.

That said, OP asked specifically about London. People that live and work in London answered about London.

I really hate this assumption, that I have seen multiple times, that the S&B board is stuck-up, snobby, and judgemental. Why? Because we take an interest in and enjoying discussing fashion? We share opinions on styles and trends here, some get a positive response, others more negative, but very rarely rudely or way that mocks or belittles people. I find this board quite encouraging and have seen lack of inclusivity and unkind comments roundly called out. You don't see people called stuck-up for sharing negative thoughts on books or music on those boards. I wonder if it's routed in sexism as fashion is a traditionally feminine pursuit, so therefore we must be vapid and shallow? Hmmm....

@TSSDNCOP

I take exception to being called "stuck up" for answering a question with a response thar could probably apply to any city of choice.

That said, OP asked specifically about London. People that live and work in London answered about London.

I think it's an almighty shoulder chip talking rather than a personal thing - London and Londoners are fair game all over the site for whatever reason and I daresay most of us are used to it.

I've worked in London for fifteen years, but I've also worked in New York, Dublin, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Manchester and many other cities. They are not the same, and a general thread about what people wear in cities as if they were some homogenous lump wouldn't make any sense because whilst there are some similarities, they ARE all different. As others have pointed out, even different bits of London are different .

I agree with you @SocksAndTheCity but I thought I'd get bashed with the stuck up, snobby stick if I said I've worked in NY, Chicago, Paris and Zurich, but couldn't really comment on commuting in Manchester, Edinburgh or Oxford

I find that in London it’s uncool to look as if you care too much about what you look like. So - understated makeup… casual but quality clothing…. plain handbags without any bling. Of course most women know that this type of look is quite high maintenance to pull off well.

No idea i live in Glastonbury ury and just follow the 60s hippy vibe. Most of the time I have breakfast down my front.

Well I won't lie, I've rolled my eyes at parts of this thread - you'd be forgiven at times for thinking the rest of the UK is mud bound and lives in anoraks. But I do think there are things which, while not unique to London, are heightened by living there, e.g. the greater reliance on public transport and the long commute, which encourage flat shoes, lots of layers (some tube lines are incredibly hot) rucksacks and clothes you can go out in straight from work. I'd say a lot of it was circumstantial more than anything else and, as I've said, pandemic work patterns and the current lack of late night tube trains mean some of that may be changing. I've certainly seen photos of some family members out for the night recently and, in terms of dressing up, they're really going for it - sometimes they're even wearing heels

I think London style is really cool. I love people watching when I’m in town, and I love the way that the women don’t seem to dress for the male gaze, they just wear whatever they feel like.

There absolutely is a London style.It's subtly different from say Paris (which i do think is more my style) and New York which has always been cooler than London. In all three cities black dominates and people have that cool vibe but it's all subtly different. One of the things I miss when working from home, is not being able to see what other people are wearing on the tube.Yes, it's petty but I don't actually know where people get their inspiration from without their commute...I joke but only just...

I've been in London 16 years and thething that's changed the most is footwear! Trainers and comfortable boots are the norm now even in clubs and workplaces where only heels would do. And i love the emphasis on trousers now, much more of that on a night out than body con. Everything is much more casual.

Some of it is just fashion though. I'm a Londoner & my teenage years was clubbing in trousers & trainers. The 90s were very casual.

I was way out of my comfort zone when I went to uni in a different city. My unbrushed hair & natural approach was not desirable at all 😆

The thing that always strikes me is how much variety there is and how West End style is very different from Shoreditch, which is different from Brixton, which is different from Wimbledon, which is different again from Wimbledon village a mile or so down the road

agree with this.

I've recently moved to London from the Isle of wight (Where if under 30 it's trackies, if above sensible everything). I've immediately noticed that everyone here is slimmer, much better groomed and in the summer were dressed in pretty floral dresses. Slim trousers, nice boots, expensive looking jacket, simple hair and made up seems to be what many are wearing now.

I hope this is me you’re referring to. I travel by tube regularly and I almost never brush my hair

New York which has always been cooler than London.

I found the fashion in New York quite disappointing

Aside from the vintage and consignment shops, New York style was one of the biggest fashion disappointments of my life.

I presume many people on the tube or in central London areas would be tourists. Not all are Londoners.

Agreed - NY is disappointing as fashion goes.

Here's my take on London - you need to to wear your hair. I really mean this. It signifies so much - self acceptance, self knowledge, comfort in your own skin, vitality, individuality. I could go on. Start with that and the rest follows (not necessarily according to the OP's pattern)

All the Girls in our office wear flat or very low heeled loafers. We aren't allowed trainers or denim which is a pain. But other than that the look is still fairly casual. I usually wear a skater style or midi dress, black tights, loafers or Chelsea boots.Lightweight coat or leather jacket over the top

@blueshoes but recently there's been a distinct lack of tourists...

I've just had a few days off and have wandered around London a lot, going to museums and theatres. There are some obvious signs when someone is out of town - they often try a bit hard, or you can see they've dusted off the "good" handbag to come into town (and then clutch is tightly because they think it'll be snatched away). Nothing at all wrong with that, but its the same way I can tell who the central-liners are who come for a night out in town from the home counties. Its just a different style and different expectation of what it means to be "groomed" or "stylish" etc.

I’m from London. I think I probably look a bit like this.

I recently started working in an office in Herts and I heard one of them say about someone else “she’s like Cherry… edgy”.

I don’t feel edgy, I just kind of walk tall in what I’m wearing.

central-liners are who come for a night out in town from the Home Counties

I know this exact look.