Marina Rinaldi Journal 1600x900 Marina Rinaldi

Marina Rinaldi Journal 640x1138 Marina Rinaldi

The dress is your friend

Suits, turtlenecks and skirts, cardigans with shirt and trousers… can we please wear a dress once in a while?

Let’s debunk the myth that dresses are complicated, too much effort, or that you don’t know how to style them in winter.

Until recently, I was the biggest believer in these hang-ups, when I suddenly had a revelation: start from the bottom to build the top.

Here’s the plan, and stay with me because there’s logic to this, it’s not just the ramblings of a fashionista with her head in the clouds.

The first thing to consider is timing. How long does it take you to put together every possible combination in the morning?

I know a thing or two about fashion, and I still have days when I drive myself crazy in front of the mirror.

Nappa leather duster coat - WINE-COLOURED

Marina Rinaldi

What seemed like the perfect match while in the shower

The full skirt with the V-neck tucked in, in reality turns out to be a disaster (now kicking myself for forgetting to pick up my pencil skirt from the dry cleaners, it would have gone perfectly with the little cashmere sweater).

At this point, I’m a lost soul, rummaging through the wardrobe for a solution that might actually work. If only the shoes didn’t trip me up, because loafers with a pencil skirt are against my religion. With a dress, everything’s more straightforward. All you need is a few tricks. There are thermal layers that you can wear directly on the skin, and they’re so thin they don’t spoil your silhouette under a dress.

And then there’s the trusty ally you already have in your wardrobe: the jacket

That’s right, a blazer doesn’t always have to be paired with matching bottoms. In fact, it enjoys mixing things up with new friends, like a shirt dress or an A-line piece. At this point, you could even head for Everest base camp if you throw on a good down jacket, because here’s my slightly unconventional suggestion: hiking boots.

I’m not talking about those super-technical ones that would have you stomping around the office like Frankenstein’s sisters (by the way, the latest remake of Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein directed by Guillermo del Toro has just come out, and the costumes are breathtaking – worth the ticket price alone).

Go for that 1950s mountaineer vibe and, I promise you, the job’s done. When you finally sit down and enjoy your coffee in peace, after saving yourself ten minutes of unsuccessful mixing and matching, I bet you’ll agree with me.