Fashion observations from a day people watching in London

[Unicornsaregreat]

• Lots of different styles of jeans. Still lots of skinnies, with oversized tops
• Lots of bags like this picture
• A very large proportion of trainers were New Balance
• Those not in trainers mainly wore chunky flat or low heeled boots (no one in heels)

I'm in Glasgow where all I can see are women in those floor length puffas with tiny heads poking out. Am coming out in a menopausal sweat just watching them. I have on an Arket Blazer in tweed, white T Shirt, Navy cos baggy trews, tan leather belt and white trainers. Even had to put my scarf in my bag. Glasgow used to be very stylish, I think the fashionable must still be sleeping off their hangovers.

@RampantIvy he does wear jeans- with a brown shoe (usually suede), as is correct 😉. He wouldn't wear brown shoes with a suit, of course. He would regard trainers with jeans as either toddler or 'graphic designer's depending on his mood 😄

Good idea, @RampantIvy !
I was thinking of starting a thread for advice on a couple of events. Sometimes people give really good links and suggestions, often something you've not considered.
I'll look forward to your thread!

DH only ever seems to wear proper shoes with his funeral suit or smart trousers. He is semi retired and works from home so he is in trainers most of the time.

Me too!

My point was actually that the parts of London I'm in are limited, which is likely to limit what I'm seeing, which may mean it's an inaccurate picture of what Londoners are wearing.

As I'm there as a tourist for very specific reeasons I'm not sure why you would expect me to visit anywhere other than the parts I wanted to visit.

My DH genuinely doesn't own any that are not for a specific sport.

I actually don't know many men around me who do wear trainers, actually. Particularly in winter, when boots are the obvious choice. The only time he has ever looked odd or out of place was when we made the catastrophic mistake of trying Center Parcs.

As I WFH and I drive to my office which is on a trading estate I spend very little time in city centres and have no idea of what people are wearing these days. Mumsnet is my window into that world.

Anyway, I'm off to visit my local Seasalt now - so shoot me

The Jermyn Street shops are all still there, but yes, I wonder who still shops there? Do "City gents" still exist?

There were a fair number of suited gents at ROH when I was there in November.

I always think that.

I can't bear a bare ankle in the winter either. It makes me feel cold just to look at it

Oh seconded bare ankles. How? Why?

Clothes and dressing should be fun and joyous, look at Vivienne Westwood's funeral last week.
Apart from Bianca Jagger, Stormzy and Bobby Gillespie most of them looked ridiculous.

Reading here, went to town last weekend and saw;

Lots of granny dressing, think cardigans, overly patterned shirts, longish line skirts but worn with big chunky boots or mum jeans and loafers.

Or;

Got lost auditioning for Love Island. It's was chuffing freezing but the array of skimpy cycling shorts and cropped tops, or leggings, according to DD from Pretty Little Thing, was enough to convince it was a height of summers day. Lots of dayglo lycra. Chunky trainers and remember those big white sports socks like Princess Diana wore? Those. Also saw quite a few low rise jeans with hip bones on display. And so many puffa jackets.

Goth seems to be coming back again, somewhat inevitably. I always internally cheer at that as a former indie goth kid. Lots of Korn, slipknot and Nirvana t-shirts, a few army surplus shirts and bags. Lots of studded jewellery. Doc martens everywhere, in an array of styles and colours. Quite a few more toned down skate boarder types as well with skate boards and wallet chains and Vans.

I love that so many individual styles are coming back, for a while it felt like everyone had been shopping on the same website.

Ahh @Floisme & @NatashaDancing

The 90s in the City were great for suiting.

I really hate casual wear. Everyone's become so sloppy.

I've recently bought two Bella Freud suits. One cord, one velvet. I bloody love them. The cord is a bright navy, the velvet burgundy.

I'm wearing them all over the place.

I like the sound of your suits, @RhadamanthNemes . I have a forest green needlecord one, it's gorgeous. Looks good with orange and red tops and shoes.
That Westwood funeral - Zandra Rhodes always looks amazing!

National treasures all and god love them for breaking out the Westwood, but a hard no to all of it

It's from a different time

I love the sounds of your Bella Freud suits too. I am very fond of a slight androgynous look myself & I wear lots of cord & velvet, both blazers & trousers but I don't actually have a suit. It's on my list.

I get they were going to vivienne Westwoods funeral but those outfits are the polar opposite of my style . Though I admire them for what they are!

Did you buy your Freud suits in person or online? I'm interested in what the sizing is like. Thanks

East Midlands here. 53 years old. Went into John Lewis yesterday and thought what a miserable collection of clothes on offer. It’s showing a range from lots of different retailers and it’s all bleurgh. Feel very lost fashion wise. On the plus side, it made it easy not to buy anything and save some money.

Indeed they do, and thank God for that 😀

Sadly Couch & Hoskin near me has closed for good - I used to walk past every day and look through the window at the tailors pulling out bolts of cloth and pinning paper pattern sections up on the boards behind them.

I agree about the different areas; I live and work in the Square Mile and spend a fair bit of time in East London and the difference between here and West London is like night and day. All I can remember about the last time I had to go over there was the number of camel coats and how bland and 'tasteful' it all was, although I've no doubt it was also very expensive.

I think people are also concentrating too much on age and not enough on demographics - I've never spent much time around women with young or school age children because I don't have any (which is likely why I have no idea about the trainers worn by women of 30+) and most of the people I know are younger than me and work in one creative/entertainment sector or another, as do I. Everybody's idea of an ordinary everyday outfit is likely to be skewed by the people they see every day, surely?

Love a good wedding one

Tuned into one of my London influences today.big fleece.leggings and white socks!

Shall I tell you my least favourite S&B word at the moment? 'Comfy'.
No this is not because I don't expect clothes to be comfortable. In fact quite the opposite, it's because I think comfort is something that should be taken as read, not celebrated as if it's some kind of virtue in its own right.

Is it awful for me to say that I would love for these to make a comeback 😳

Me too @Calphurnia88

When I was in primary school we had a really (what I considered ) fashionable teacher who used to wear these over light blue jeans with a belt and an array of over sized T-shirts or sweatshirts. She also had a blonde perm and gold hoop earrings.

I thought she was an angel.

@garlictwist unfortunately this is so true.

I have never owned or worn a fleece

I have boobs and I'm not tall - I would look HORRIFIC