Elegance is back

By Callie Morgan

Although it feels we just stepped into 2012 the promise of autumn is already in the air and Melburnian women will be faced with the enormous challenge of teaming loose, flowing outfits with Melbourne’s typical gusty autumn weather.

Your tight neon dresses from summer can be discarded but hopefully you saved the sheer burgundy shirt purchased at the beginning of last year, as fashion trends from 2011 will reappear this autumn.

Many autumn fashions are elegant and offer a relief from the minimalistic summer clothing – typically reserved for scorching days at St Kilda Beach, and this year will be no different.

Melbourne stores, such as Forever New, will replace the reds, floral and bright blues of summer with flowing teal and burgundy and we can expect to see gold everywhere.

Boutiques will again offer animal print, as they have for the last few years, however, the leopard print, which decorated just about every Melbourne woman in 2011, will be replaced with a sleek and chic snakeskin print.

The wide-leg pant we wore last winter will also step out in 2012.

You don’t need to be Giselle Bundchen to pull off this trend as the wide-leg pant flatters most body types.

Until winter hits, these pants can be paired with a light sheer blouse and a comfortable wedge heel for a casual occasion or dressed up with gold accessories to create something a little more haute couture.

As we move into late autumn the rounded  ’60s collar, reintroduced last year by Louis Vuitton, will again be a key fashion trend. Matched with a pair of soft jeans and last season’s wedges this trend flaunts casual sophistication.

You won’t have to be a millionaire to afford elegance this autumn. Reacquaint yourself with those items you threw to the back of your wardrobe last September, team them with gold accessories and, now that it’s physically possible, breath a sigh of relief that you’re no longer wearing a fluorescent green “body-con” mini.