Fashion
When winter arrives it's tempting to abandon thoughts of fashion for the nearest, warmest thing you can find. But no matter how badly you have tuned your fashion radar, you cannot have failed to notice that ponchos were everywhere this summer.
A foray into town without spotting someone draped in the aforementioned article was just inconceivable. There were no limits to the ability of the High Street stores to confront us with ever more startling (or should I say distressing) variants of this potentially pleasing and chic garment.
The poncho, it seems, has had a depressing summer, having initially promised so much in the spring/summer shows when the seductive dark hues of shrugged glamour and chunky candy colours injected a much welcomed dose of charm into collections. The poncho, it seemed, was the obvious way to conquer self-inflicted pashmina fatigue.
Alas as temperatures soared the high street sought a gimmick with which to lure us back into retail hell and separate the less discerning punter from their cash. Their object of choice, far from being an authentic poncho, was essentially a glorified shawl in a dismal array of putrid colours with a substantial handful of glitter thrown in for good tack measure.
However, these dalliances with nylon are not really for serious consumption and ought not to infringe on the calculated autumn purchasing of the fashion aficionado. October has arrived and now is the time to pull out those heavy chunky knits, which at least pretend to have more in common with their Native American origins than their nylon counterparts.
The poncho may at first appear devilishly impractical, but this is to ignore the garment's irresistible charm and the glamour; there is something terribly indulgent buying something that means your arms are inaccessible to all but a handbag. Autumnal colours in heavy wools are far more convincing as strong style statements and believe it or not they actually keep you warm. Ponchos are perfect when you are just nipping into town , in the evening when you want something a little quirky or to add a much needed glamour quotient to an essay crisis that insists on dragging itself into the wee hours.
Embracing your inner Pocahontas couldn't be easier: stick with wool and a heavy knit and you can't go wrong. Venture into the territory of the flimsy poncho and you're bound to regret it, bitterly. Remember - this could be the start of a beautiful friendship.
Now as you're all getting cosy and summoning the mystic power of Native Americans in your patterned ponchos, take a moment to realise just how tiny a step it is from poncho to witch's cape. Gothic glamour offers release from the pseudo-chic polishedness that saturates the wannabe culture du jour.
With attempted shine becoming so sickeningly glittery, it is amusingly empowering to cultivate a dark yet translucent shell that allows inner luminescence to radiate from beneath. Even golden boy Mark Jacobs is getting in tenebris with Chlöe Sevigny purring vampily for Louis Vuitton's latest advertising triptych, her uncompromising tom-boyish glare blowing the goldilocks of Scarlett Johansson and the Gwyneth look alike out of the water with the self possessed insouciance one would expect from a young witch. With Halloween approaching it's time to lose those butter-wouldn't-melt pale pinks and get foxy in ruby reds and bewitching blacks. But fear not my pretty pumpkin princesses, you can be fearsomely feminine without falling into the fiendishly fetishist realm of Marilyn Manson. Think more of his beloved Dita. Von Teese that is. You know, his burlesque stripper fiancée; all milky curves and blood red lips. She evidently summons her inner powers to seduce everyone from London's fashion brigade (Jade Jagger's party for Garrard last year) to a politically present self-proclaimed anti-Christ. Clearly you must be able to conjure up the shiny darkness from within, but help to boost your badness with un petit peu du makiage. Chanel's Rouge Noir polish offers a glossy goth hit that is highly compatible with black tie dinners and stops you nibbling your nails in the lingering hours of non-focus spent in the Bod. Dip into the dark side and watch the good fairies wilt at the wickedness of your inimitable inner sparkle and suspect secretive smile.
14th Oct 2004