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Monday 8 September 2014

A trend to try - a metallic, or leather, pleated skirt...and possibly the last knitted Jigsaw sheepskin jacket in the company

OK, so bear with me on this one.  As we, let's say, move on in life, the trends available to us start to narrow down slightly. Clothes may need to be a little more forgiving, less embellished perhaps. The hemlines may need to come down slightly and perhaps the neckline needs to go up. You know what I'm saying - unless we want to look like Liz from the Rovers Return, we need to tread with a certain amount of caution - without playing it too safe which can be a travesty in its own right.

When metallic and faux leather pleated skirts first hit the scene I didn't get them at all. The Daisy foil skirt from Whistles (see below) was one of the first around and I didn't see what all the fuss was about. But now that they have been around for a while, they're starting to grow on me. A pleated skirt is very much accessible to lots of different shapes. It is the equivalent skirt version of a boot cut jean, so it does a good job of balancing out curvier hips, broad shoulders or a curvy bust. It might be necessary to try a few different ones and (generally) the top needs to be fitted but there's definitely room to experiment. The length on them is good too - although inevitably some kind of heel makes them "swish" just that little bit better. Well, that is unless one has the height, or the legs, not to require the assistance of heels.

There are many pleated skirts available this season with pale pink or pale blue ones at Whistles and various styles at Zara, so if metallic or faux leather isn't your idea of fun, there are plenty of other options. Equally if a pleated skirt isn't your preferred choice but the length of one appeals, there are lots of full midi skirts in brocade (Monsoon), floral (LK Bennett) or stripes (Whistles).

So here's a quick whizz of the options out there:

Foil coated pleated skirt Jigsaw £139


Faux leather pleated skirt Whistles £135


Faux leather pleated skirt Zara £39.99 (I'm liking the Zara site now, much better with the additional use of pictures).


Faux Pleated skirt Zara £39.99


Daisy foil skirt Whistles £125


So we're not talking about an everyday shop to Morrisons to wear this - although far be it from me to dictate what anyone should wear at any given time. However for anyone with a winter wedding coming up, or a black tie event, I'm very much liking the idea. It's a bit different, a definite change from a Coast dress or a LBD, or something short and fitted. At an event such as that you could wear some great heels with it, maybe a short fur jacket and it would be a great outfit. On a more daily basis it could be worn with knee high boots and a fur gilet, or a chunky roll neck and flatter shoes. Anyway, the thought got my cogs whirring to the point that one of these is now definitely on my winter wish list.

Now, on another note, this knitted sheepskin jacket Jigsaw (£395) that I am wearing is quite possibly the last in the company. It has only been released for two weeks and has sold out everywhere, however this one in a M/L is currently in the Birmingham store. Clearly it's too big and I look very much like an overgrown chick but oh my goodness it was so lovely to wear. So for anyone coveting one (and there must be many for it to have sold out so quickly) the store is happy to do a postal sale for anyone who wants to give them a call.