Fashion Flash
Charlie Dawson plays dress-ups
A Trend in 60 Seconds:
The Jumpsuit
Probably the most inappropriately named item in your wardrobe. Go on, try it. Pop your legs into that Dotty Perkins, Stella McCartney rip-off. Move to a space in your bedroom, far enough away from breakable objects and launch into a star jump. HAHAHA! Told you. The only jumping you’ll be doing in this season’s fad addition is the queue to order your Cosmopolitan at the hotel bar.
A short history lesson: jumpsuits were first introduced around 1913 by the H D Lee Mercantile Company and sold as military uniforms or flightsuits during World War I. Soon they were showing up everywhere from farms to factories. Initially designed for men, it was an industrious icon named “Rosie the Riveter” in a World War II ad campaign that really gave everyone something to talk about on their coffee break.
To nail the jumpsuit perfectly you should look every bit the Park Lane Princess-slash-Studio 54 stud magnet. And who should you blame for this fashion challenge? That’ll be Alexander McQueen, who previewed the glamour girl body-con jumpsuit with Swarovski crystals in his spring 2009 catwalk show.
Wear your high-street number with a low neckline and heels you could skewer a kebab with to elongate your frame, and accessorise with a bright patent clutch for edge. If anyone tells you that you look daft as a brush, tell them to go take a running jump.
Will it travel?
So, the paps thought you were “on-trend”, but will you be the laughing stock at the airport carousel? Find out if the jumpsuit makes the, er, jump...
NO Dan Cox, 33, Rome, Italy
“No. They make it easier to get on and off a scooter but harder to take off once you’re in the bedroom. Italian women are onto that!”
YES Flo Souter, 27, Paris, France
“It would have to be black, chic and worn à la Carine Roitfield (editor, French Vogue), with a pair of beautiful Balenciaga shoes.”
Beauty and the piece
So, you’re jumped up like the all-action girl you are. You don’t have time between kung-fu class and revving up the Porsche Carrera (OK, Ford Cortina) to spend a millennium doing your face. Enter Rush Hour by Benefit. A minute makeover: start at the apple of your cheeks and apply using whisker-like strokes, then blend evenly with fingertips. Next, dot in lips for a proper pout and work it like you’re in Dynasty.
RRP €17.50, 1G
-600x320.jpg)
