Oxfam’s Second Hand September initiative is an excellent idea, perfect for the environment and the cash-strapped.
The only problem with revisiting the abominations at the bottom of the wardrobe is that you might be tempted to wear them again, even though they will look just as wrong now as they did in 1998. I was thinking about this as I unearthed some raddled old cowboy boots. Would they make me look like Lotta Volkova or Lotta Lolz Behind My Back? I am debating their resurrection because of Miley, who I’ve been crushing on since Glastonbury; so much so that I even bought The Untethered Soul, on the basis that she recommended it, even though I don’t do self-help books or even cowboy boots, but that’s love for you. Miley isn’t the only person doing her best Clint Eastwood impression at the moment. See also: Diplo in his embroidered Fort Lonesome suit and matching Stetson, Lenny Kravitz in his bootcut jeans and sleeveless denim jacket, and Lil Nas X, who provides the soundtrack to the trend and has earned the right to wear his cowboy boots.
I was about to describe it as hillbilly style, but in the US, ‘hillbilly’ is considered derisive and used to refer to a poorly educated person from a small rural town, with poor social skills. The closest British equivalent is probably ‘chav’. Sure, every well-off teenager in London is wearing hoop earrings, cropped tops and trackie bottoms, but it would be offensive to call them chavvy. As for why clothes traditionally favoured by the underclass are simultaneously in fashion on both sides of the Atlantic, who knows? Fad, or political statement? You decide. I’m going with fad, one that I hope I don’t fall for. There would be few sights more tragic than a middle-aged woman traversing the badlands of Primrose Hill in cowboy boots, a Stetson and a white vest (once called a ‘wifebeater’ — another offensive term), while her teenage daughter trailed behind her channelling Vicky Pollard. Yeah but no but yeah but no. Just: no.
A two-piece of the action
This season’s most unlikely, most unforgiving trend? In with a bullet at number one, fighting off stiff competition from puff sleeves and tortoiseshell manicures (everywhere on Instagram; as if the execution and upkeep of a regular mani isn’t time-consuming enough) = the two-piece. Worn by Britney Spears, Regina George and Steps-era Faye Tozer in the Nineties, blame its resurgence on Maddy Perez, the Euphoria character played brilliantly by Alexa Demie. Or Cara Delevingne in a black and white Balmain number at the premiere of Carnival Row. Come and have a go if you think (your abs are) hard enough.
Raw deal for fashion
It employs more than 890,000 people — about the same number as work in finance, FYI — and is worth £32bn to the UK GDP. Yet the fashion industry would be damaged by a no-deal Brexit, says a new report by the British Fashion Council. Leaving without a trade deal would mean reverting to World Trade Organisation rules, at an estimated cost to the industry of up to £900m.
As for the implications for attracting international talent… don’t even go there. No wonder one of the first people I spotted at the recent #StopTheCoup march was designer Molly Goddard. As with every industry, it’s the small businesses that will suffer most.
