70s Cape, everyone's favourite at £90
Do you remember we were talking about Wallis being a place EVERYONE used to go to for their coats? Back in the days when clothes shops were scarce and Chelsea Girl ruled the world in terms of fast fashion.
Well turns out that the brand, which has been in business since 1923, has cherry picked a small, five piece collection of heritage coats from its vast archive to bring back to life. Called the1923 range, it features a pintuck 1938 crepe wool style, a 1948 bow back skirted version in bold red, a 1958 winter white number which is cocoon shaped and collarless and a 1965 princess coat which looks very wearable. Our favourite is the 1972 camel coloured cape coat, which is very on trend in all sorts of ways, colour, shape, the 70s......
We asked head of design Clive Reeve (yes we're sooo well connected here at TWR) a couple of questions on coats for you....
Clive, what are the key things to look for when buying a coat, do you think?
"The key things are fit, find a shape that flatters your figure. Quality is also key. Italian fabrics have a more luxurious hand-feel and remember, a really good coat should be tran-seasonal and reflect your style."
Many of our readers are over 35, which of the five styles from the 1923 range would you recommend?
"My personal favourite's the camel cape, it's classy but on trend, team with the new seventies trouser silhouette and instantly lengthen your legs! The other is the red coat which dates from 1948, it's full skirt accentuates the waist & highlights the lower leg, team with a heel for a very feminine silhouette.
Recently Jane Birkin told us that she kept warm by putting sheepskin in her shoes, from your years of experience in design, do you have any tips on how to dress warm and stylishly?
"Sheepskin! Jane Birkin as always bang on trend! Don't loose any heat from head & hands, so hot accessories such as gloves and this season's must-have fur deer stalker will keep you warm !"
1938 pintuck crepe £120. 1948 bow back skirted £120
1965 princess coat £100 1958 cocoon coat £120
The 1923 collection has just launched on line and in a few selected stores, check the Wallis website for details.
good morning TWR, it's 7.24 here in Swissy, have sent 1st son off to school and waiting for no.2 to wake up. Lovely coat post. I totally love the 1938 pintuck crepe navy one. Is gorgeous! Must go dig out my old coat collection. Have an old Laura Ashley princess coat which also might be back "on trend" this winter... (we have no Wallis here!).
xxx
Posted by: steffi | October 28, 2010 at 06:28 AM
Oh, I had some lovely coats from Wallis. How did they go so downhill?
Posted by: m | October 28, 2010 at 11:27 AM
Hi ,
How can you talk about coats and Wallis without mentioning the doyenne of coat designers, Sylvia Ayton, she was designing coats and jackets for them during the seventies and eighties. An amazing designer, with a distinctive handwriting , one of those little known designers who are the backbone of the British Fashion Industry .
Posted by: LESLEY YOUEL | October 31, 2010 at 11:57 AM
Hi Lesley and thanks for enlightening us, I hope a couple of the 1923 coats are hers then. Ax
Posted by: amanda | October 31, 2010 at 06:15 PM
wow, thanks for sharing this lovely coats. im sure girls will love this. awesome
Posted by: unisex lab coat | February 21, 2011 at 07:23 PM