"Little Women Style" Will Take Over 2020, Trust Me
I’ll say this once and never again: Amy was right and Jo was wrong. That’s when it comes to the power of books anyway and that ‘Perhaps writing will make [things] more important.’ Amy’s hypothesis will be proven, I believe, by the effect Greta Gerwig’s film and the resurgence of the novel it has encouraged will have on the way we dress over the next year and perhaps longer. And I promise there’s reason to this other than the fact I’m trying to make my acronym WMJBOAWI (would Meg, Jo, Beth or Amy wear it?) happen.
Jacqueline Durran won the Academy Award for best costume for Little Women and wow, did she deserve it! The costumes in the film are intricately designed and constructed. For example, each daughter has an individual colour or two that they wear throughout the film, with Marmee wearing a combination of them all (this is the same with their hair styles). Also, Jo doesn’t wear a corset which ‘lends a freedom to how she can move’, which, for me, added a lot to Jo’s characterisation in the film, especially in the dance scene and hill scene with Laurie, when the way in which she moves is so distinctive. Speaking of this scene, notice that the waistcoat Jo is wearing is the one Laurie wore when Jo jokily got down on one knee to him earlier on in the film.
The costuming of the film fascinates me because I think it is so fundamental to why it worked so well and how, despite the many film adaptations of Little Women, this one captured the essence of the novel in such an evocative and imaginative way. For me, the colours of the film was a significant part of this and much of this is down to the costuming. Period film costuming is often grey and dull and hardly inspiring. But Durran opted for colourful costume, which is actually factually accurate in terms of what people were wearing contemporarily. As Gerwig explains in this video, fabric dye was new and exciting in the late 19th century and so it was trend-forward to wear brightly coloured clothes.
This attention to detail in the costuming in Gerwig’s Little Women is undoubtedly a significant reason as to why the film’s dress has been so inspiring for many. But this has only spurred on the “Little Women style” obsession that has been growing within the fashion industry for some time. This mostly takes the form of prairie dresses, championed by brands like Batsheva and The Vampire’s Wife, but anything billowy, floral and/or made up of pastel checks resembles “Little women style” enough for me to deem it so.
So why has this style of dressing gained so much momentum? Like many trends, I think it stems from a sartorial nostalgia of sorts, when wearing your third best dress to lounge around the house in was the norm. Don’t get me wrong, I won’t be trading in my pyjamas any time soon, but sometimes I get bored of casual dress codes, especially given the fact that my life provides very little opportunity for formality, sothe idea of wearing a beautiful, extravagant dress for no reason excites me.
Further, it’s comfortable! Long billowy dresses mean lots of room for food babies (the one I’m wearing in these photos even has an elastic waistband: swoon!) and they’re practical all year long. In winter, with tights and in summer, without (they’re especially great if you don’t want to get your legs out, for whatever reason).
The dress I’m wearing here is from Nobody’s Child and I adore it. I’ve been loving wearing it in winter (with tights and thermals underneath) and I am looking forward to taking it into spring with, I get excited just thinking about it, bare legs! I love wearing this dress with more masculine pieces like these ankle boots to channel my inner Jo and I think the myriad types of styles this trend can work for is one reason why it will take over. Nobody’s Child is great for “Little Women style”, especially if you’re looking to find it from a brand with ethics at its heart, and I’m currently trying to avoid the website in order to protect my bank balance.
“Little Women Style” is a romantic, nostalgic and fun way of dressing and one that, when the situation allows, I’ve rarely been straying from. Anything to be more like Jo March and, luckily, it’s not quite as difficult as writing a book about your family or turning down Timothee Chalamet’s marriage offer.
What Is So Alluring About French Girl Style?
You probably have an idea of what I mean when I say ‘French Girl Style’, maybe even an image in your head. This generalising, vague term is, for me, so very distinctive. A Pinterest board (well, I do have one dedicated to it) is forming in my head as I type the words. Vogue has an entire online page dedicated to the phenomenon. So what is it that is so distinctive and, more importantly, so alluring about this particular type of dressing?
French Girl Style is effortless, sexy and cool. Oh great, some more vague and non-specific terms! But those three adjectives are what immediately spring to mind in trying to describe it. This blog post isn’t about how to do it or what it is though, there’s various articles going through that including this one by Who What Wear, which is fairly comprehensive. I want to discuss what is so alluring about it for me and everyone else who has been aspiring to look as stylish as the French Girl since they discovered them.
I’ve always been fascinated by France, the culture, the language, the scenery. So finding out that my styling aspirations also lie in France was no surprise. Everything about France, to me, is so effortlessly chic. I’ve always been infatuated by the language, even if ‘learning’ French at GCSE level stifled that for some time (copying out information about something from a book for 2 years will kill your passion for anything). The sceneries of France are as unassumingly beautiful as the language that the natives speak is, from cafes with outdoor seating on the streets of Paris, to rustic cottages in the south that haven’t been refurbished potentially ever with farms as their back gardens. To me, French Girl Style holds as much of this modest beauty as everything else in the country does.
It was French Girl Style that encouraged me to start wearing jeans (can you believe there was a time when I didn’t wear jeans?) when I discovered just how versatile they were for creating outfits that were sexy and masculine at the same time; this was beyond groundbreaking for me and is something I still aspire to with my outfits now. It was also French Girl Style that taught me the power of a feminine dress, and feminine tops for that matter, preferably of a wrap style paired with sandals or trainers and not much else.
Maybe it is the simplicity of it all that is so alluring about this way of dressing. It’s all about wardrobe staples and re-wearing classic pieces, again and again. Sounds easy, looks great, who wouldn’t want that? But of course, it’s not easy, or everyone would look like a French Girl (hence why I’m keeping ‘French Girl’ in capital letters, it ain’t just a girl from France!) So maybe that’s its power, its unattainability despite its ease. I know I’ve had many moments when I think I have all the ingredients for the perfect French Girl outfit but look as much like a foreigner wearing it in France as the man with the ‘I <3 Paris’ t-shirt on who is posing in front of the Eiffel Tower.
But it isn’t unattainable to the point of frustration. Even if I often don’t nail the French Girl look, I still usually manage to put an outfit together that I like based on the inspiration I’ve found from it. Take the outfit I’m wearing in these photos; I might not look as effortlessly sexy as the French Girl (I certainly didn’t feel it when I was awkwardly posing outside of this restaurant on a busy Sunday afternoon) but I really love this outfit!
I found this little polka dot top in a charity shop in Barcelona and it is definitely one of the most French Girl-esq pieces I own (it looks better without the jacket but it was actually baltic whilst taking these photos). I love pairing these jeans, also found in a charity shop but one that is in my local area, with my Mary-Jane style shoes, as a dainty pair of shoes like these paired with a more masculine cut shape denim also feel very French Girl.
If you’re looking for some more French Girl Style inspiration, may I point you in the direction of this Pinterest board I created for that very purpose. I also thought I’d share some of my favourite Instagram accounts for French Girl Style inspiration:
Let me know in the comments whether or not you’re into French Girl Style and if you are, why you think it’s so alluring for so many!
you might also like…
My Head Says Neutrals but My Heart Says Baby Blue | Conscious Styling Decisions vs. Impulse Purchases
Over the past few months, I’ve really been thinking more consciously about my shopping and styling decisions in order to protect both my bank balance and the planet. I’ve been curating my seasonal style inspiration Pinterest boards on a regular basis and have added a Wish List to my blog to keep track of the pieces I want to buy. And it’s been working! I think I could count on one hand the amount of new clothes I’ve bought (excluding charity shop buys) during the first 3 months of 2019 but, despite this, I haven’t been feeling bored or restricted by my wardrobe.
However, as the seasons are changing and the weather is warming up, I’m starting to see gaps in my wardrobe and I’m feeling the urge to shop. I’ve been religiously consulting my Pinterest boards and my Wish List before making any new purchases, thinking about if an item of clothing is really something that I want and am happy to spend my money on, as well as if it fits into what I want my style to be.
My Pinterest boards say that I’m very into neutrals (as do my ‘Saved’ images on Instagram) and neutral outfits are something that I think look really chic and would like to wear more. However, the pieces I gravitate towards and get really excited by don’t necessarily correspond with this. For example, I recently found my dream dress in the form of the Rixo Monet. It’s baby blue and leopard print with floral daisies printed all over it, I mean, far from my neutral aspirations.
I know I’d feel great wearing this dress. I know I’d give up a limb to own it. But it doesn’t fit into my ‘style vision’, so should I still be buying it? Of course, this is totally hypothetical; I don’t have a spare £300 to spend on a dress, or anything for that matter, and if I did, maybe these questions wouldn’t be quite so pressing for me and my wardrobe. But when my budget is limited, I want to make sure the clothes in my wardrobe are all pieces that I love and will get my wear out of. But I’m not sure which methods of purchasing are going to get me to that point.
Personal style is something that fascinates me, mostly because I don’t really think I’ve found my own. I know what clothes I like when I see them but do I dress in a way that is consistent? I don’t think so. And could I sum up my style in 3 words? Definitely not, apart from ‘I’m not sure’. I think people who have found their personal style will struggle less with these questions of conscious shopping decisions vs. impulse buys and can probably find pieces that they will love and wear through both methods. But for me, I’m not so sure that it works that way.
As the title of this post suggests, I am loving baby blue at the moment. Blue is always a colour that I’ve loved wearing; I have blue eyes and people often compliment them when I wear blue clothes so I think it’s become a subconscious liking of mine. So when I saw the satin midi skirt I’m wearing in this post, I knew it had to be mine! But I didn’t buy it straight away because a baby blue midi skirt wasn’t something that had made its way onto my Pinterest boards, or that I’d ever really felt the desire to own before. But I knew I loved this one, so when I saw that it was on sale for 25% off, I snapped it up.
I’ve only worn it once (I mean, that’s pretty good going as it only arrived 4 days ago) and I felt great wearing it but I’ve still found myself thinking a lot about whether it was a responsible purchase. It wasn’t even an impulse purchase as such, but just one that just didn’t fit into my ‘style vision’. Speaking of impulse purchases, I went into Topshop 20 minutes before closing time on Sunday and found a red and white satin mini skirt that I immediately fell for, as it reminded me of a Realisation Par piece that me and my pitiful bank balance have been admiring from afar. I bought it immediately, something I have not done in a while. Usually, I’ll try something on, go home and think about it and then purchase it (or not) a few days later. This was my first proper impulse buy in a while and I felt weirdly guilty about it. My immediate thoughts were ‘well, I can bring it back if I change my mind’. But no part of me wants to take it back. It’s a great piece with so many styling opportunities and it’s not like it broke the bank at £20.
This overthinking about these pieces has made me wonder how consciously I should be thinking about my shopping and styling decisions. I mean, isn’t the fun of fashion being able to wear whatever you like (as the name of my old blog ‘If You Like It Wear It’ would suggest) and whatever you feel represents you? Although my Pinterest boards can certainly be a place of great inspiration, I also worry that they can be a place of restriction too, moulding my style into whatever everyone else is wearing and whatever it is that I think I ‘should’ be wearing
So, to come to some sort of a conclusion, I really don’t know whether it’s best to follow your head or your heart when it comes to personal style. A combination of the two sounds about right, but it’s a tricky balance to perfect! There’s no doubt that thinking more consciously about shopping has improved my bank balance and helped me buy less fast fashion, which can only be a good thing. And using Pinterest really has made me more and more excited about getting dressed in the morning! But I also don’t think there’s anything wrong with buying a piece of clothing without having thought it through for hours and hours. Impulse purchases can be good for the soul and there’s no harm in them every once in a while. After all, there’s nothing quite like the excitement of buying something that you love on a whim and I wouldn’t want to lose that!
I’d love to hear your thoughts on this subject! Are you more of a planner and conscious thinker when it comes to buying new clothes or are you all about impulse purchases? Let me know in the comments!
you might also like…
Spring Style Inspiration
Some links in this post are affiliate links which means I earn a small amount of commission if you buy an item.
So it’s February and I'm already thinking about spring but with the UK weather as nice as it is, how can I not? I mean, I left the house wearing no layers other than a t-shirt and a cardigan the other day. I am loving it! The change in weather has come at the perfect time as I have been getting so bored of winter dressing and am ready to start changing things up. So, I thought I’d go through some of the trends/colours/patterns etc. I’m feeling inspired by for spring dressing. It’s a little different to my normal posts as there are no photos of me/taken by me but I hope you don't mind!
I’m not only writing this post because I’m excited about spring but also because I’m trying to think more consciously about the things that I’m buying, so laying everything out I’m feeling inspired by like this ensures I’m able to make more sensible shopping choices. With that, here’s some things that are inspiring me for spring…
Neutrals (Stick of Butter)
Image found on Pinterest.
I know I’m not alone in saying that I’m feeling super inspired by neutral tones and colours, I mean, they’re everywhere. I’ve always been someone who likes to incorporate colour into my outfit but I am actually so on board with this trend. Wearing head-to-toe neutrals (in what Man Repeller would call ‘the stick of butter’) is one of the most bold and striking ways to dress in my opinion, even more so than wearing lots of colour. Plus, it looks so effortlessly chic.
Despite neutrals being on trend at the moment, they’re not really ever going to go out of style, so I’m definitely looking to invest in some neutral pieces, specifically a pair of tailored trousers and some trainers (I LOVE the pumps in this image).
Here are some other things on my neutrals wish list:
Pastel Checks (Dressing like a picnic blanket)
Image taken from @michellemdriscoll on Instagram.
I’m always into check/gingham whatever the season. But I am particularly excited about pastel checks, especially when they come in the form of a midi dress, for spring! I already have a baby blue check H&M blazer from last year that I’m planning on pulling out from hibernation but I would definitely like to invest in some more check print, like I said, particularly in the form of a midi dress. I absolutely adore the & Other Stories midi dress in this photo but it’s a little bit spendy so I might have to look for another option…
Here’s the link to that dress and some other checked beauties…
baby blue
Image by @monikh on Instagram.
Blue has always been one of my favourite colours to wear but I’m particularly loving baby blue for spring. It’s a colour that just feels like spring, plus, it looks great with neutrals. I’m 100% going to get the beautiful midi skirt pictured below when I can afford it and I’d also really like to get some baby blue knitwear. The Rixo dress pictured below is literally my dream but, alas, very much out of my budget. If anyone knows of a dupe please let me know!
feminine shoes
Image found on Pinterest.
From slingbacks, to Mary Janes, to ballet pumps, I love how super feminine shoes look. My very wide feet don’t take to them as much as my taste in clothing does but I’m willing to suffer a little for a really good pair of shoes. I have some great slingbacks from Primark (their shoes are so great) that I picked up last year as well as some very old Mary Janes from ASOS that are falling apart but I still love.
I love how chunky heels look on a slingback but I don’t think I’d get very much wear out of them as I spend most of my time working at my desk or in lectures, but if I find a fairly affordable pair maybe I’ll pick them up for occasions when I actually do have the opportunity to dress up.
My favourite way to style a feminine shoe is with more of a masculine trouser/pair of jeans with a feminine blouse and a (faux) leather jacket. The contrast between masculine/feminine in an outfit like this always looks so cool and timeless.
Red is the ultimate feminine colour in my eyes so it feels only right to find a pair of ultra feminine shoes in this shade, even if they are a little bit ‘There’s no place like home’. Topshop brought out an incredible pair last year and I’ve always regretted not buying them so if I do find a pair this year I’m definitely going to take them home with me.
Here’s some feminine shoes I’ve found that you can shop now:
I hope you’ve enjoyed this post! Let me know in the comments if you’re into any of the same things for spring styling as I am or, if not, what you’re looking forward to wearing this spring.
you might also like…
