PUSH YOUR BOUNDARIES…
I’ve never identified much with the Chloé girl – she has always felt a little too feminine and girly for my liking. That all changed though when I saw the photos from the Autumn/Winter 12 collection that showed in Paris recently…
The milky pastel colour palette that is so popular for spring was taken through and used on thick utilitarian winter gear. Swoon. I honestly couldn’t be happier about this. While I love a good burgundy, forrest green and navy I’ve been itching for something different to see me through the cold months. The soft pink cocooned shaped bomber jacket with curved shoulders is absolute heaven. I also love the slouchy taupe trousers with dark stripe up the side and the straight skirts that hit at the knee. As a girl that has been struggling to transition into dressing like a semi-serious adult this collection is right up my street. It’s feminine, pretty and natural (signature Chloé) but also wearable, practical and a bit edgy.
There was one aspect of the collection that had me squirming uncomfortably in my chair: long shorts. They came in a slew of colors, hit below the knee and had a distinctively sporty vibe. Elasticated waists, a plastic-y sheen, plus a scrunched leg opening… errr, forgive me for saying, this sounds like the least flattering idea ever. Nothing about it should strike a chord with me.
Notorious for wearing offensively short-shorts, my poor mother has had to take me aside on countless occasions and ask me to swap into more appropriate summer attire: ‘No one here wants to see your butt cheeks’, she’d say. ‘But long shorts suck’ I’d think. They’re unflattering and so lame. Plus, everyone knows the allure of a girl in short shorts (hello, remember Daisy).
The reality is that longer shorts have crept their way into quite a few collections – at Topshop they were tweedy and at Valentino they came in caramel colored leather. Every bit of respect I have for my legs is yelling that this is a bad idea, especially for winter (I have an instinctual hatred towards tights, you see). Somehow though, I’ve been won over by the shorts from Chloé. I love that they push the boundaries of what the brand is known for. Yeah, they probably won’t jive with every woman and they might be a bit tricky to style… but, if I’m honest, they’re the main reason I’ve fallen so hard for the collection. I like a bit of a challenge and appreciate that Clare Waight Keller isn’t taking the brand down the most obvious, or easy, path.
Other covetable and notable moments from the collection include the detailing on outwear (could I fit my canon 550d in the pocket of that coat?!), the simple clutches and heels with ankle straps (oooo la la, I never thought I’d want to wear an ankle strapped shoe but now I do).
Photos compiled from Style.com - view the full collection here
Yes, gorgeous collection!! Classy, feminine..modern
I’m not a Chloé girl but I’ve always loved their collections. I probably wouldn’t wear it how it’s seen on the catwalk but I would wear almost every piece individually. The first jacket is probably my favourite xxx
Like you, the coats spoke to me the loudest!!! Absolutely ADORE them!
I’m a sucker for an ankle strap, even though they are so unflattering on us normal human beings!
<3 the beige clutch! Never bought anything Chloe as I couldn't identify myself much to the looks… can't wait for next season though
I love Chloé, so I’m all in.
I linked back to this in my post:
http://actofstyle.com/2012/03/11/chanel-spring-2012-rtw/
Have a great Sunday!
Glad to hear you like it too! Thanks so much. xx
do I get a brownie point?!
Love the chloe collection.
Brownie point noted and a gold star has been stuck by your name on my ‘Commentators I love’ board. xx
I have always been such a big fan of Chloe and this collection really got me excited, pastels in winter is going to be LOVERLEEE!
p.s.
Look at me – commenting on your new domain! And I’m not even making fun of you. What has happened to the world?!
Btw loved this Chloe collection, Claire is doing wonders for the brand
Look look, I commented on the .com – neglected the .org after your very persuasive tweet
SIDEWALKCATWALKS.com
LOVE this! Chloe has always been one of my favourites. I think the obsession is at a new level.
love it too! very classy and modern I like the fourth one, love that skirt!
party time on the dot com. how can i follow your posts though, some kind of email update these days?
Hey Mat!
You can follow the posts through RSS & Bloglovin – both are available/updated for the new site. Find the links here: http://thestylecrusader.com/follow-me/
Or yeah, I’ve got this new follow by e-mail update thing. I’m not sure exactly how it works or what the e-mails will be like as I haven’t tested it out. Clearly you noticed the little ‘Notify me of new posts by email’ clicky box. Would it be annoying to get e-mail updates every time I post though?
How were you following before? Must make sure I bring over whatever way you used to follow to make it easiest…
xx
Ooo, ok, so I just tried out the e-mail thing. You’ll get an e-mail that you then have to click through on and confirm you want to follow. It’s set up through WordPress so you can follow lots of other blogs through it as well.
The thing that’s quite cool is that you can have all your updates delivered immediately (so if you follow lots of blogs then lots of staggered e-mails throughout the day/week), Daily (between 6am-8am), or weekly (on Monday 6am-8am). I was afraid the e-mail thing would be annoying to people but as you can choose how often you want to get notified… it doesn’t seem too bad?
xx
I am a huge fan of this collection. The colours, the shapes and yes, even those long shorts! I totally hear you on the ‘short shorts’ front but once in a while, I might consider putting the obscene cut-offs to one side if I had a pair of these below the knee beauties in my wardrobe
ps. how is your life in Zurich going? how long has it been now?
xx
Yess, so glad to hear someone else is considering the longer length short too!
Zurich is so good! We’ve just been here for 1 year now. Feels so crazy. It took an entire year to finally find & get into a permanent flat… it’s really only just starting to feel like home (as we can finally buy some furniture, unpack all the boxes etc).
How is Berlin??! I need to get my butt over there soon! xx
I loved this collection. But,well, I’ve always been a Chloe girl
Interesting view on the long shorts. I’m still not sure about them. I mean I didn’t dislike the way they looked on the models, but I’m not sure I would be able to pull them off in real life. Let’s wait and see…
I really like the first outfit – the one with blue jacket (great collar9 and pants with stripes on a side. Long shorts – not so much. I agree they are an interesting project with a challenge to style, but I really don`t like them. they seem strange and a bit off to me. Ankle straped shoes – big like although they slice my short legs even shorter.. but still.. big like