Fifteen trends, tips and styling tricks to know about this Spring

For March's 15-in-5, all the style stuff which is currently floating my coat (plus one thing which is not)

Welcome to this month’s 15-in-5. A blow-by-blow rundown of the 15 style-related tips, trends, clothes and ideas currently bothering my brain, broken into five digestible categories.

For March, it’s all about the start of light jacket season, the joy of dressing as young as you feel and the spring styling hacks you need to know about right now.

5 specialist spring jackets because I’m craving SUN

The Terraces Throw On

I spotted this slinky little Giorgio Armani Harrington jacket on a recent visit to superlative Camberwell archive store, La Nausee. It reminds me of the kind of thing Danny Dyer would have worn in Football Factory, or Beppe di Marco when he was manning the market stall in Eastenders. 

If you’re lucky enough to nab it, wear it with some solid, mid-rise, straight leg blue jeans - proper dad style. But take things in an unexpected direction by doing a crochet T-shirt underneath the jacket and a pair of Loewe slippers on your feet. From Dad to Rad in three easy beats. 

The Leather Dad Jacket

You’ll be bored of me saying this, but Studio Nicholson can always be relied on to produce beautifully simple, yet subtly trend driven pieces which will last the test of time. This chocolate leather jacket is a case in point. 

Sure, it might look like something you’d find hidden away at the back of a charity shop, but this jacket has the ultra-soft handle of a hide which has been lovingly massaged into submission. Wear with tailoring, to surprise. 

The Contemporary Denim 

I like the corded effect of this grey denim jacket by Our Legacy. There are matching straight cut jeans to go with it, if you’re feeling flush, though It’ll look just as good worn alone with a T-shirt as it will a mid layer between a coat and a sweater. Aka VERSATILE.

The Soviet Cosplayer

Right, this boxy jacket from Gucci is expensive. And yes, it might seem perverse to buy something from a brand just before the first collection from the new creative director drops, but hear me out.

This jacket is the PERFECT expression of the current tailoring mood. Angular, oversized, menacing. It’s almost a blazer, it’s almost a bomber and you can wear it as either. Team with snuggly jumpers and jeans and you’ll look too aloof and impressive to be cosy (whilst being cosy); or wear with monochromatic tailored separates to look like a Sexy Stalin (even if you’re listening to Cruel Summer on repeat as you stomp). 

The Corduroy Classic

You’ll never go far wrong with a classic corduroy bomber jacket. This caramel one from A.P.C is the perfect colour (not too orange and not too greige), meaning it will work well with most of the colours in your wardrobe.

If you’re in the market for something a smidge lower in price, I found some great versions of this very bomber at Reign vintage in Soho recently for less than £40. 

4 middle aged men dressing as young as they feel

Perhaps it’s because I’m getting older and I’m beginning to worry that my youth coupons are losing their value, but it’s been lovely to watch Hollywood’s middle aged actors dominate the red carpet this awards season.

Indeed, who needs Timothee Chalamet in reptilian Prada and Edward Scissor Hands-esque Alexander McQueen, when you’ve got 47-year-old Cillian Murphy in multiple Saint Laurent flexes and David Oyelowo in tonal Berluti? Not me! 

Pedro Pascal

48-year-old Pascal looks like he’s having so much FUN. Whether he’s wearing a white Prada shirt with a pair of black trousers (simple, yes, but he wore the look in such a way that it seemed complex) at the SAG awards, or a tufted Bottega Veneta turtle neck with a tonal arm sling at the Golden Globes, he’s doing it with a smile on his face. Which is ace.

The lesson: You can literally go as wild as you like with pattern, print and other fabric accoutrements, so long as you keep everything monochrome.

Colman Domingo 

It’s rare that a Hollywood actor enjoys their breakout moment at the age of 58, but that’s precisely what’s happened with Rustin star Colman Domingo. He’s clearly enjoying his moment, too, because he’s making some real MOVES on the red carpet - the candy pink custom Off-White suit, with bondage detailing, which he wore to the SAG awards being a punchy example.

Some of the fits work (Louis Vuitton at the Golden Globes), some don’t, but that’s fine. Domingo’s taking real risks in his sixth decade, and for that he deserves all the awards. 

The lesson: Life is short - memories are short - dressing up is fun. 

Cilian Murphy

Murphy is dressed by my stylist friend Rose Forde and suffice to say, she’s doing a cracking job. The 47-year-old Irish actor has worn a spectrum of monochromatic Saint Laurent suits this awards season and has looked understated and stylish whilst doing so.

The key to the success of Murphy’s looks is that each one features one statement element: a plain black suit worn with a sheer tonal shirt, a simple grey suit worn with Talking Heads shoulders, a classic tux worn with a rodeo bow tie. You get the picture.

The Lesson: Keep it classic and tailored, but add one simple twist to make the look sing. Not two. Not three. One. 

David Oyelowo

The man rocks ton-sur-ton Berluti suits in jewel shades like no one else. 47-year-old Oyelowo is a typical endomorph, with a stocky chest and compact limbs. The suits he wears are cut perfectly to suit his shape, with broad lapels and tapered legs, and the burgundies and browns perfectly suit his colouring. He knows how to dress for himself - a skill which invariably comes with age. 

The lesson: Learn about your body shape and dress accordingly - visiting a tailor and asking the right questions (what kind of lapel works for me? Double or single breasted? Tapered trouser, half or full break?) will help. 

Also, you might be able to afford more expensive clothes as you grow older, but that doesn’t mean they’re all going to suit you, so make like Oyelowo and only buy (or borrow) what works. 

3 new ways to wear leopard print 

Animal print - leopard, specifically - is trending. Shown on the Spring Summer ‘24 runways at Tom Ford, Martine Rose, Wales Bonner and Dior, the way to wear the pattern right now is to pick one key item and work it into your everyday wardrobe. Remember, leopard print is a neutral, so it’ll be easier than you imagine to team with the garments you already own. 

The Trousers

These leopard print jeans are from one of Francesco Risso’s first collections for Marni. I love the cut - slightly flared, spacious through the leg without being baggy, high waisted, flattering - they look as great worn with a tailored jacket as they do with a grungy statement sweater. 

Here, I’ve teamed the jeans with a tonal brown sweater, a denim jacket for a spot of structure, and a chocolate blazer from Our Legacy. A pair of beaten up Converse high tops take the drama of the silhouette down a notch. 

Get the look:

L to R: Blazer by Our Legacy, £690, shop.doverstreetmarket.com; jeans by Vetements, £500, mrporter.com; Jacket by Stussy, £190, shop.doverstreetmarket.com

The Shoes

I love these pony skin leopard print slippers from Sabah. I’ve worn them with a roomy navy Studio Nicholson suit, an oversized white over shirt from the same brand and a collarless white shirt from Margaret Howell. The red neckerchief mirrors the personality at the base of the outfit and brings everything together as a considered whole. 

Get the look:

L to R: Trousers by Studio Nicholson, £395, studionicholson.com; Slippers by Sabah, $225, sabah.am; Overshirt by Drake's, £475, drakes.com

The Shacket

This leopard print shacket is from Brain Dead, it’s a great mid layer, but it also works as an outer garment. 

I took inspiration from a recent Tom Ford show for this look. I’ve worn the shacket with a pair of slim caramel wool trousers from Gucci, a V-neck black shirt from Zegna and a pair of black leather Dunhill boots. I like the slinky, seventies vibe - escalated to Robert Redford heights with the addition of some Saint Laurent aviators. 

Get the look:

L to R: Trousers by Gucci, £700, mytheresa.com; Jacket by L.E.J, £395, lej.london; Jacket by Massimo Dutti, £249, massimodutti.com

2 styling hacks you should apply to your own wardrobe this spring

The Full Tuck 

Forget the French tuck (half your shirt or sweater tucked in to your trousers at the side) and ditch the half tuck (your shirt or sweater tucked in at the front, only), right now it’s all about the full tuck.

Considerably less affected than either of the aforementioned styling tricks, it might sound obvious but tucking your entire jumper into your jeans will make you look chic and purposeful -  like a modern day Katherine Hepburn, or a young Robert Rabensteiner. The more you faff with a tuck, in my opinion, the sillier you look - so keep it simple and stuff it all in. 

The Full Break 

Cropped trousers are out, half breaks are fine, but a full break trouser is where it’s at this spring. For the uninitiated, a full break is basically the one fold of fabric which falls over your shoes when the hem reaches the floor.

Think Mick Jagger wearing a pair of fluid Edward Sexton trousers on his wedding day, or irresponsibly chic restaurateur Jeremy King walking the floor at London’s hottest new restaurant, The Arlington. 

1 forever item I can’t stop thinking about buying 

More an idea of an item than a specific item this week. I can’t stop thinking about these two drapey, silky, obscenely priced blazers. They’d wear like double cream. Sigh. 

L to R: Jacket by Bottega Veneta, £2,240, bottegaveneta.com; Jacket by The Row, £3,500, mytheresa.com

Also a bit obsessed with the prices of Schiaparelli's ready-to-wear (designed for women, coveted by me, wearable by you). Like this coat, which costs around the same as a black market kidney. Literally to die for.  

Coat by Schiaparelli, €19,000 (lol), schiaparelli.com

1 thing I’m really not feeling 

I’ll be unpopular for this, but Salomon’s XT-6 trainers. It’s Zone 1, not the Brecon Beacons. 

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