As Fashion Comes Down to Earth, a New Chic Sweeps In

Making the clothes you'll want to wear very assured, all about grown-up ease and mobility, polish and charm.

Modern Elegance Meets Real Life

Eccentricity looks curiously out of place. Costume works only when tailored to a sense of real life, currently true of the dance inspirations filtering through mainstream fashion. The spotlight falls on positive elegance, on clothes redrawn with a clear eye for freshness, modernity, light body-consciousness and soigne edge — the essence of this autumn's fashion.

According to the best British designers, it’s simple: the new tailoring, an integrated look, a sleek modern coat. Brighter, a splash of colour in wool jersey cut with curves and full skirts — the kind of coat that has the new dancing spirit of a dress. Wear pumpkin orange with a black and white polka dot shirt, a slip of bright mint jersey skirt, sleek black legs, high black heels. Softer, a light pale layer that wraps up the look. Creamy white wool and cashmere, big, long, over lean navy gabardine suit, a white silk shirt.

The New Tailored Elegance

Pearly grey, a short light featherlight blanket wool over black polo-neck tunic and pings. Shorter, fuller. Black cashmere over a short bell of black in, a waisted poplin shirt. Neo-classic, off-white cotton mac with a button-in quilted lining, over a tight glazed black cotton skirt, a poplin in. With these, wear a black beret, new crenellated black suede slippers. Pinpoint the new tailored elegance: black and white, brown and white, houndstooth checks, new textures and tweeds.

The simplest black and white tweed coat-dress, fastened with one button, tapered turn wide shoulders to just above the knee, dressed with a deep wool plush pillbox, suede gloves, a faconne silk cravat. The new suit, very important to winter's integrated look. A precise houndstooth suit, distinctly city, fine brown and white wool, the jacket belt caught into a neat waist with strong black leather belt, short kilted skirt, white silk polo-neck shirt, plus black pillbox, suede heels, high heels.

A simpler, bolder suit, cut on elegant lines with longer, leaner jacket and skirt in a black and white houndstooth loose debonair lace and silk, to wear with a waterfall ruffled white silk shirt, felt. The new tweed suit with trousers, a suit that turns double-breasted men’s tailoring to a woman's advantage with its longer waisted jacket and easy straight trousers. Add a neutral, then the wide brim grey felt.

Special Pieces That Stick

You wear one of the new little black styles that are short, bare, delightfully sexy, clothes particularly right for cocktail, theatre and dinner, home and restaurant. All reduce the sensuality of your appearance: a black silk ottoman with skin, and rococo jacket with leg-of-mutton sleeves, cum the sweep peplum frill; strapless velvet wrapped and fanned in sleek; a curvaceous silk faille frock coat with pencil skirt; cloque dress and jacket; a simple short strapless body of velvet; and a tapered silk dress scrawled with a weight of gold chain graffiti. Wear these with little but black high heels.

For the most dazzling parties, the potent romance of long evening dress... bared shoulders, darkly rich mineral colours, flowing lines. Deep sapphire satin full skirts on a little cut-away bodice of sequin-embroidered black lace. Strapless gleaming green gold cloque caught in billowing panniers, or crushed copper beech silk with skirts swept up in a bustle.

Velvet Revival

Velvets: a svelte dark green body, a navy blue body with a sparkling necklace of embroidery; a violet sweetheart drop waist dress with gathered skirts, black silk slippers; bare-shouldered olivine velvet swathed across the body; and bottle green panne velvet and mink with skirts swept into a demi train.

Fashion Inspired by Dance

For costume in tune with the times, a handful of designers have turned choreographer this season to bring the romance and charm of dance clothes into fashion. It's a delightfully amusing and subtle way of recharging your wardrobe with individuality and character.

In step with this new esprit, for instance, looks that derive from the modern — the supple fabrics, the sweeping bias of Martha Graham’s dresses, plus the classical ballet's romantic doublet and hose. All thought through with the cool logistics of what goes with what, and the perfect detail — velvet collars, ribboned edges, and, for a night of dancing not day, lattice-ribboned Louis-heeled pumps.

Look for the donkey brown wool frock-coat with bronze satin backing the black velvet collar and pocket flaps, worn with a high cummerbund black jersey skirt, matt grey tights, black suede high heels. The black jersey dress of absolute simplicity and long fluted skirts, worn with black suede gloves. The satin-ribboned black maillot, a scooped jersey jumpsuit pulled up and over a glazed black ruffled sleeve shirt, or under a curved, panelled black velvet Prince Charming doublet.

Daywear Tailoring

What can you wear nine to five during the most rigorous and varied working day? An essential new suit defined as before by... New texture — black and white Irish tweed with an edge of black leather, smooth navy wool with steel buttons, pattern with plain, the mix of a black velvet-collared pinstripe with charcoal flannel, of black and white houndstooth or bird's-eye wool with black.

An easier sense of fit, a greater mobility — cropped or longer fitted jackets, new look blazers, short or longer tapered skirts. A cool and simplified pulled-togetherness, particularly in what you add — a cream satin vest, a white faconne or raw silk T-shirt with round neck, long sleeves.

British Beauty Redefined

What has happened to the British beauty? As fashion grows up so does the ideal. For the look of now, a new breed of self-confident sensual modern beauties. The concept is stride. What inspires us is ... the English rose, with her clear complexion and candid blue eye. The crew-cut blonde, with refreshing style. The new exotic, compellingly sleek and cool and mutable modern body, the shape we now admire is one of shade. For the not of course the only shape to be. What it definitely is: natural, fit and healthy, a never pushed to extremes, the new realistic ideal.