These are the five wonders of the (fashion) world

In the fashion world, trends disappear as quickly as they appear. But fads and fast fashion aside, some things just don’t go away. Some pieces are simply timeless, and you can never go wrong with them.  Coco Chanel once said ‘fashion fades, only style remains the same’ – and these items never go out of style. 

Leather loving 

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The leather jacket is the epitome of the twenty first century ‘cool girl’ – the unofficial uniform of the off-duty model, the rocker essential and quite simply a staple in every wardrobe. Dating back to the early 1900s, the leather jacket first became prominent as a protective outerwear for the military uniform of German fighter pilots in the first world war. Fast forward ten years to 1928 and Irving Schott was designing the first motorcycle jacket for Harley Davidson – the ‘Perfecto’. Selling at $5.50, Schott had almost revamped the pilot jacket, adding a zip instead of buttons and shortening the length. By the 50s, the leather jacket had well and truly solidified its position in Hollywood as a symbol of ‘rebel culture’ – largely fronted by actor James Dean of Rebel Without a Cause - and, by the 80s, it was all about ‘peace, love and rock and roll’. Women began to embrace the trend, wearing the leather jacket on a more widespread scale, adding studs, pins and other mixed metals to accessorise – a trend largely pioneered by rockers such as Blondie and Suzi Quattro. Today, the leather jacket is quite simply engraved in high fashion. Always at the forefront of celebrity style, the ‘Perfecto’ has influenced designs by Balenciaga, Yves Saint Laurent, Christian Dior and Gianni Versace – and is a favourite of models and musicians alike. As to whether you dress it up, or dress it down – that part’s up to you.

Little black wardrobe staple

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Coco Chanel, Audrey Hepburn, Elizabeth Hurley, Princess Diana, Victoria Beckham, Kate Moss – other than being fashion icons, what do these women all have in common? They’re all well-documented lovers of the Little Black Dress. Thought to be originated by Chanel, in 1926, Vogue described the LBD as ‘Chanel’s Ford’ – meaning that it was simple and accessible for all women of all classes – a ‘sort of uniform for all women of taste’. In following years, various designers have opted to incorporate the LBD into their collections – Christian Dior continued to update the style, featuring full skirts and cinched waists in his designs. Now? The LBD is certifiably iconic in the Hollywood industry – think Audrey Hepburn in Breakfast at Tiffany’s – and adored by designers and celebrities alike. The LBD remains as everything Coco Chanel wanted it to be: versatile, effortlessly beautiful and flattering for every woman. After all, Karl Lagerfeld was right when he said ‘one is never over-dressed or underdressed with a Little Black Dress’. If you don’t own one, you should probably get one – trust me, you can’t go wrong. 

A mini icon

When we talk about the swinging sixties, we think of the Beatles, Carnaby Street, the sexual revolution and Mary Quant and the Chelsea Set – ultimately, we think of the mini skirt. While hitched-up hemlines and shorter skirts can be seen in fashion dating back to 4700 BC, the mini skirt only really became a trend in the 60s – largely due to the impact of Quant. Following a number of revolutionary movements, including the development of the birth control pill, women were seen to have more freedom; the mini skirt was the epitome of this newfound freedom. Named after Quant’s favourite car, the designer said that both the skirt and the car were ‘optimistic, exuberant, young, flirty’ and, hence, complemented each other perfectly. Models Twiggy and Jean Shrimpton were arguably the figureheads of the miniskirt, but the design has been worn by a number of iconic women – Jackie Kennedy, Debbie Harry (of Blondie fame) and Madonna, to name a few – over the years and continues to be a favourite in the twenty first century, with celebrities such as Paris Hilton and Britney Spears regularly sporting the look that never gets old. 

These boots are made for … 

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Ask anyone to name a boot and they’ll probably name the Chelsea Boot. First emerging during the Victorian Era, J. Sparkes-Hall – bootmaker for Queen Victoria – is credited with the creation of the Chelsea boot. Initially only designed as footwear for horse riding, the boots became a popular fashion trend in the 1840s – and remained that way until the beginning of the first world war, in 1914. Making its triumphant return, the Chelsea boot became popular once again in the Swinging London era, gaining their name due to their connection to the Chelsea Set. Chelsea boots were largely seen as the height of mod-fashion and solidified their status as a fashion necessity through their frequent appearances in pop culture. John Lennon and Paul McCartney of the Beatles commissioned the production of ‘Beatle boots’ after seeing Chelsea boots whilst shopping, and the style has been featured in a number of cinematic costumes – most notably, perhaps, in the Star Wars franchise. It’s hard to imagine the Chelsea boot making a disappearance any time soon, with brands such as Saint Laurent and Burberry Prorsum still designing versions of the shoe, and style icons such as Kanye West and Olivier Rousteing frequently donning the Chelsea boot, it seems that they’re well and truly here to stay. 

In the trenches 

Image courtesy of Masha Kotliarenko on Unsplash. 

What screams British fashion more than a trench coat? Originally developed for officers of the British Army during the first world war, the coat was designed as protection from wind and rain and only given to British Officers and Warrant Officers 1st Class – the coat was established as a luxury item from the outset. Two leading designers claim the creation of the trench coat: Thomas Burberry, of Burberry, and John Emary, of Aquascutum – and their position as leading menswear and sportswear designers at the end of the war added to the popularity of the coat in everyday civilian life. Having been worn by the elite – both in the early 1900s, and today – the coat remains popular, and on runways across the world. Fans of the design have included Audrey Hepburn, Cara Delevingne, Jourdan Dunn and Jackie Kennedy – while Balenciaga and Alexander McQueen have created their own versions of the coat. Burberry, however, is still at the forefront of the trend, having launched a range of the iconic design featuring different colours, textures, prints and fabrics in recent years – proving that the trend doesn’t die out but moves with society.