4 new season trends and how to actually shop and wear them
Tricky trends? Here's my shopping list.
You know what? I love trends. It’s somehow become quite in vogue to abhor trends and say that you’re you know, into “minimalist dressing” WHICH YES IS CLASSIC BUT IS ALSO A TREND!
I’m not saying you need to jump on every trend bandwagon, but adding just an element of it can update your style and make it feel a bit more relevant.
It adds texture, a bit of interest, a bit of something something.
In my internet shopping research I usually leave a lot of open tabs (don't we all), but lately I've been saving everything I’ve been eyeing off to my new favourite shopping app Carted; download it to create your own shopping lists here.
I can see all my shopping in one place AND even better, find out when the items go on sale. (The way the price changes are displayed in Carted is like watching the share market but more fun.) I pretend to be chill and all, but I like a list and organising my shopping finds neatly into categories.
Below is how I can see all my different lists in the app — to the right is how the inside of a specific lists looks (where you can see prices going up and down, in this case, because of the exchange rate).
All my lists organised in Carted.
THE TRENDS
While the Western/cowboy trend has been simmering around in fashion for a while, Cowboy Carter will really tip it over the edge. I’ve never really been that INTO IT admittedly because it always seems so literal, until this iteration, which is a bit more luxxy ie more my kinda thing. Ralph Lauren just showed his latest collection a few days ago and it has all his hallmarks of embellishment and detail that makes it look a bit, well, more fancy. Now, I’m not saying that you need to wear the cowboy boots and the denim shirt and belt — that’s way too much — but I so much prefer just seeing subtle elements added to what you usually wear.
Denim shirt: Levi’s Teodora shirt, and I’ve also found the paler blue version on sale here. Levi’s — no notes, it’s a classic.
Pearl earrings: I wanted the luxxy feel of pearls but some of that old world feel and found these from Istanbul-based brand Mon Reve.
Belt: Sandro Western belt. There’s a lot of OTT blingy ones out there, or Western belts that are just wrong. This is on theme without being like, YOU’RE GOING TO A COWBOY PARTY.
Boots: Khaite Dallas cowboy boots. They are sold out in so many places, so I’ve found them in additional sizes here and here. I also like the chocolate brown ones here.
Dress: I always love a chic shift dress with sleeves, bonus points if there’s fringing which makes it a bit more interesting and well, ‘Western/Cowboy’. This is from Jardin des Orangers. Even the brand name is chic.
Studded jacket: Admittedly, I haven’t looked at Cynthia Rowley for… a while… but I cannot find a better version of this jacket. (There is a studded Khaite one out there, but the price is… significant.)
Paillette skirt: zig where others zag. Gosh I always love a Rabanne skirt. This one is here and there’s another version at Cettire. This adds a touch of zjushy glam to the usual trend look.
Main image, embroidered jacket: Sézane. They are everywhere at the moment. I don’t think this is the easiest jacket to pull off, but look up vintage YSL and Ralph Lauren to get into the mood. It can look really chic with a white T-shirt and grey jeans, or a shirt and wide-legged black satin pants for evening.
If you can’t tell, I’ve been into Miu Miu at the moment — not just from a marketing and brand point of view, but also the styling. The key here is layering, with collars and sleeves poking out, and visible drawstrings (as above!) You can also really go with a cohesive colour theme, eg a pastel route or maroons and navy, depending on your preference and seasonality. To make it look less cool and TWEE and PREPPY, it’s all about contrasting it with a bit of sportiness (like with piping detailing or bold stripes) and just making sure it doesn’t get too PRETTY.
When I put it all together in a list on Carted, I can start seeing what looks too prissy and what actually works together, and then further refine, refine, refine.
Red socks: Comme Si. This brand is everywhere on certain parts of the internet. IYKYK. And, an easy way to introduce red, which ICYMI is a big trend of the moment.
Maroon shorts: Mango. I’m seriously contemplating getting these (also love the styling here) buuuut we’re about to go into winter in Australia…)
Black skirt/shorts: Source Unknown. They are sold out in my size and I’m hoping that they restock!!! Yes, these are heavily inspired by the Prada ones a few years back.
Blue rugby knit: Patagonia. I put this on my IG stories once and WOW was it popular. I’m also tempted to purchase it, but steady there, ZW.
Green and white stripe top: Onte. So easy to throw over the shoulders, or wear collars under it. The dark green is also a nice change from the usual black/navy stripes you see out there. I do actually own this and wear it a LOT because it is also very soft and comfortable.
Pale pink shirt: The Bekk. This reminds me of that Cate Blanchett shoot where she’s wearing pastel preppy shirts, you know? I love an over-the-shoulder layered shirt/knit situation and even better when it’s built-in so it’s not falling off all the time.
Pale yellow pants: Donni. So apparently this is like the High Sport Kick Flares… I like this unexpected pop of buttery yellow if you want to go the pastel route, but there are so many other colour options.
This is basically inspired by Chemena Kamali’s new vision for Chloé, which can broadly be said as bohemian but for now. I never was into the whole boho look but what makes this so much more compelling for me is the incorporation of elements that are more cool, urban and sleek; the glossy leathers and gold hardware is the hardness that contrasts with typical boho. Oh and her new clogs are epic, and there’s not quite any out there at the moment so I can’t recommend any good ones right now!
Case in point for the power of her ner vision: Chemena Kamali alongside Sienna Miller, Greta Gerwig, Emma Mackey and Zoe Saldana at the Met Gala 2024.
Necklace: Vintage gold bib necklace from Etsy. My vintage jewellery hack is to head straight to Etsy and search for whatever your heart desires eg “vintage puffy heart necklace” or “gold vintage bib necklace”. You may have to sift through a lot of rubbish, but you can find seriously good stuff.
Crochet top: Isabel Marant from the Outnet. It’s very ‘new Chloe’ to wear it with shorts and high boots with a khaki parka/overcoat for a bit of sleekness.
Sheer maxi dress: Topshop from ASOS. A surprising find, wear the front tucked into leather leggings.
Jeans: St Agni from The Undone. 70s-esque jeans are basically a classic.
Boots: Toteme croc-embossed leather boots. I have these boots and LOVE them. Again, it’s just incorporating some sleekness into the entire look so you don’t look like, Coachella-2014-boho.
Sunglasses: Liv tortoiseshell from Sun Buddies. A friend has sunnies from this brand and they look great! These are a similar-esque shape to a pair I have from Japan that are easy to wear and don’t look too retro, but these are slightly bigger to give that 70s feel without being like SEVENTIES.
Trench coat: Zara contrast trench coat. You’ll wear them over everything and honestly this almost can fit into every trend…
This is one that’s bound to be a favourite; basics, but better! Everyday, but elevated! So many alliterative opportunities. We’ve been moving in this direction for a while: think quiet luxury, stealth wealth, blah blah blah. The move-on here is that these seemingly classic pieces have a bit more to it this time; a sheer panel, a twist here, a slouchy bag shape here. It’s not boring, promise. Key shows to look at is Carven, which has a new designer Louise Trotter that’s getting a lot of buzz, Jil Sander, Prada, The Row and Khaite.
Beige suede bag: Arket. This is a development of that slouchy bucket shape we’ve seen with this ‘east-west’ (horizontal rectangle, basically) look.
Black tie-waist pareo skirt: Mango. Be still my beating heart: Mango continue to pump out trend-after trend looks. I particularly like how they’ve styled it over pants, and it really plays into how this trend is so versatile and depends on layering. It’s really make-what-you-will.
Black leather top: Cos. Again, how can you go past Cos for this trend? An element that’s new to this trend is this soft, puffy-esque silhouette that you see in the garments — not just bags, anymore. I think you can achieve this with this lush leather top.
Gold earrings: Camilla & Marc. This just came through on the brand’s eDM and you know what, their digital marketing worked because I was immediately drawn to these earrings. I’ve always loved a bold earrings and we’ve seen a lot of gold ones out there, but these basket-weave-esque ones offer something new.
White skirt: Pixie Market. The Row have a white skirt there at the moment that its fans are frothing for, but I think this is a great ‘look-for-less’ without looking EXACTLY like it. It’s on pre-order at the moment, and I’m tempted.
Black shearling flats: Essen. A bit of a Phoebe Philo-vibe, these are basically an off-kilter classic.
Brown pants: Friends with Frank. I am SO impressed with the quality of this Melbourne brand at the moment. If you’ve followed me for a while you know I also can’t go past an elasticised-waist silk/satin pant.
White blazer: Source Unknown. I particularly love the sheer panel which is just such an unexpected and elevated twist on your usual blazer. This is so chic, I love everything about it. (Except that it’s one-size fits all, Source Unknown are a bit annoying like that.)
Thank to Carted for being a part of this partnership. This has absolutely no influence over what items I’ve selected, by the way! I use Carted as my organisational shopping tool, so I can get rid of all my shopping tabs and see all my ‘wish lists’ all in one place. Give it a try, and share your screenshots with me!
Yes, it's actually trendy to say you never follow trends. Are we going to dress exactly the same way for the rest of our lives? I think it's fun to look at fashion throughout the decades, but this'll become a thing of the past if everyone refuses to ever try something new.