LONDON – London doesn’t get a lot of natural sunshine — England is as famous for its bleak weather as it is its heavy reliance on tea — so we have to provide our own and this is done via the medium of style.
There is no denying that London is one of the most fashionable cities in the world, with a truly outstanding high street but it hasn’t cemented its reputation by merely keeping abreast of current trends. The remarkable thing about London is that individuality reigns supreme, we may not have the ateliers of Paris or the glamour of Milan but we do have truly original style. London is a melting pot of different cultures and traditions and this means that for a street style spotter there really isn’t anywhere better. While the notion of what it means to look British might be increasingly uncertain, the one unifying thread is eclecticism. There is less of an emphasis being flawless in London than there is in the other fashion capitals. Parisians are polished to perfection, Milanese ladies are impossibly glamorous and New Yorkers are stylishly sleek. But in London, where blow dry bars are relatively new, it is fairly common to see a very stylishly dressed woman who looks as though she hasn’t put a brush through her hair. British girls are less concerned with looking perfect, they spend less on grooming than their American counterparts and the result is that style is more relaxed, it thrown together rather than assembled. But don’t get us wrong, this is not about not caring, Londoners are definitely fashion conscious, it’s just that pretty much anything goes and individuality is celebrated more than perfection is. While trends are of course followed, they are incorporated into a person’s individual style. In London it would be considered gauche to dress head to toe in a trend and creativity is valued a lot more than being “trendy” is. London Fashion Week is renowned for showcasing the more experimental side of fashion and it’s fair to say that the line between art and fashion had become increasingly blurred, but this is not just on the catwalk, take a walk around the streets of London and you will see that people are donning ever more outlandish outfits.
Style will always trump fashion in London, where the only word to describe street style here is “eclectic”.
Miriam & Siobhan – Remotely Fashion
