It’s become somewhat of a tradition for me to do a little write up of the fashion trends that I’m loving (you can see my previous posts here, here and here), and as I’m feeling pretty inspired at the moment I thought I’d shake things up a little and do my mini trend report early on in the season. In fact, I feel like I deserve a pat on the back for putting this together before Autumn has even started (one week left of summer, peeps).
However, my main reason for writing these reports half way through the season is because by then it’s really easy to see which trends are flourishing and which ones I’m personally really enjoying. So this report is going to be a little different from the others – I’m going to include a few trends that I personally might not be buying into but that you will still probably see all over the high street and/or on your social feeds. And precisely because it’s early on in the season and not all of these trends are for me, I’m going to use photos from some much more cooler bloggers than me to showcase these trends. Not only do I not have the money to try a ton of different trends, but I also don’t think there’s any point in me buying something that I’m not sure about just for the sake of a blog post! Hence why these lovely ladies’ Instagram accounts can serve as perfect doses of inspiration for the A/W’18 trends that are happening right now, and might even last throughout the whole season…
1. LEOPARD (AND ANIMAL) PRINT
So there we have it – the most obvious Autumn/Winter ’18 trend that started off as a big summer trend and is now set to be one of the key prints for the colder months. With the star item being a midi leopard print skirt (specifically three skirts by Zara, & Other Stories and Marks & Spencer that have driven all the bloggers crazy and been splattered all over Instagram), leopard is big but not the only print with the potential to drive the ladies wild – snakeskin is about to explode and even zebra might surprise us.
After buying this pretty shirt a few months ago, I’m not sure if I’ll be fully embracing this trend any further. Then again, I wouldn’t mind finding a cute skirt or dress… watch this space.
2. CORDUROY
Oh god, a few months ago I feel like I could have written an essay about how much I hate corduroy, and yet here I am, ashamed to admit that I might be giving this trend a go?! What’s happened to me… But back to the point, it seems like the seventies are big for A/W’18 and with that comes corduroy, a fabric very reminiscent of said decade. I don’t really know why I hate it so much – I think it’s because I wore it loads as a kid and looked terrible in it. You would have thought I was traumatised for life and yet for some reason I’m actually considering getting myself a little corduroy skirt – but only if it’s an A-line, button-up style in a cute colour.
3. TARTAN
Spring/Summer’18 was all about Clueless – check prints and coords that were fun, flirty and colourful. However, things have gone a little darker for A/W’18 – I’m thinking Braveheart, or maybe The Sex Pistols if we want to be extra cool and grungy. I’m personally not into this look as my fondness for all things girlie doesn’t allow me to be cool or rock chick enough to pull it off, but I love it on other people and totally understand its appeal.
4. RUSTIC SHADES
Burnt orange, rustic red… call it as you may but it looks like those warm, chestnut-like shades synonymous with autumn are going to be huge this season. I love my stronger hues but don’t be surprised if I eventually do dip my toes into these cosy shades.
5. SILK SKIRTS
I’m actually very surprised at how silk midi skirts have become so big over the last few weeks, as they seem like the ideal spring/summer piece. This might be more of a micro trend for the colder countries, since realistically silk skirts don’t really fit in with minus temperatures, non? Then again, the look du jour is a silk skirt matched with a chunky knit jumper and ankle boots, so we shall see whether it will truly make its mark in A/W’18 or if it will simply be an end of summer/beginning of autumn, one-hit-wonder transitional piece.
6. RAINBOW STRIPES
Yes, I’m including rainbow stripes in a trend report for the third time. Almost a year after mentioning them for the first time here, rainbow stripes have exploded and triumphantly remained relevant for pretty much three seasons in a row, appearing in lots of jumpers on the high-street for A/W’18. I personally love this look but already have a little awesome collection of rainbow stripes in my closet (you can see examples here, here and here), and don’t know if I can justify anymore. That’s not to say that I haven’t spotted some very cute rainbow jumpers here and there that I would just love to add to my rainbow family… But, as of yet, I have not started wearing knitwear, and aim to hold out until October.
7. MIDI AND MAXI DRESSES WITH SLITS
That’s right peeps, go slit or go home, because leg cleavage really is a thing. I’ve had a few disastrous moments with slits over the past few weeks (as showcased here and here), but I can offer a personal visual representation for this trend as I’ve finally found my match with this cute dress I got from Nobody’s Child. My 2008 self would be disgusted to see me embracing my inner Lily Allen and teaming it with trainers like a true basic bitch, but my 2018 self is loving the dress and trainers look – and leg cleavage!
8. MUSTARD
This cheerful shade was big in SS’18 (and yes, I mentioned it as a key trend for then), but I have a feeling it will stick around for A/W’18. And think how well it matches all those rust shades we’ll be seeing…
9. COSY CARDIGANS
The humble cardigan made an impact in A/W’18 (remember that River Island cardigan?) and is set to steal the spotlight again this coming season. But not just any cardigan will do – keep it chunky, oversized, with a V-neck and big buttons.
Writing up about trends before the season has officially started was a little tricky so it’ll be fun to see if I get it right and if any of these trends take off, last and really become a standout theme in A/W’18. And whilst I’ve loved writing this piece and am curious to see what styles will hit the streets and feeds this season, I’m still yet to figure out what my style inspiration and mental mood board is going to be for A/W’18. So let’s enjoy these cool last summer days a little longer…
xxx