Describe your style in one word… It’s hard, isn’t it? Some days you’re minimalist, and others you’re all about prints. Your personality can’t be reduced to a single word, and your style shouldn’t have to be either. Thankfully, these days, designers get it.
Take, for instance, the Coach 1941 Spring 2017 collection, which featured rebel girl gangs wearing studded biker jackets, plenty of fringe, and Elvis motifs mixed in with softer elements like prairie dresses and rose embroidery. Perfectly balancing both edgy and genteel sensibilities, the collection sends a message that a woman can embrace being both a rebel and a romantic.
Brighton-based fashion blogger Hannah Crosskey of A Fashion Fix can get on board with that: She keenly remembers expressing herself through her unconventional fashion choices as far back as her primary school days. "I remember wearing a floral maxi skirt under a red satin maxi skirt,” she recalls. "It sounds awful to describe, but oddly everyone loved it; I think because dressing like myself was quite a confidence booster.” Still skilled in the art of layering, today she’s showing us how to style edgy, feminine pieces together in some truly daring, expressive ways.
Ready to make a sartorial statement of your own? See the collection and how Crosskey styles it below.
The secret to making particularly edgy and feminine pieces work together in real life? Confidence, of course! "Confidence allows us to do and wear anything,” Crosskey says. "As long as you feel confident in the clothes you’re wearing, you’re going to feel good about the look.” Forget the conventional rules when it comes to outfit formulas, Crosskey says, and find your own perfect balance by experimenting with mixing and matching pieces that feel right to you.
You just saw how Crosskey wears her studded moccasins with a floaty skirt, but they also pair nicely with frayed-hem jeans.
There’s something undeniably statement-making to Crosskey in the juxtaposition between feminine and edgy. "I think it bridges the gap between genders and promotes gender fluidity,” she explains. Here, she wears a green parka with an unexpected flower-decal bag. "The handbag itself is an amazing boxy shape in black leather, and the addition of the pink and black florals introduces a romantic edge,” she adds.
Are you as into this handbag as Crosskey is? While she carries hers while wearing a casual pullover, it also looks great with silk pyjama-style blouses.
For Crosskey, Coach 1941’s Spring 2017 collection conjures up the groundbreaking, free-spirited spirit of early rock ’n’ roll. And who’s more rock ’n’ roll than the king of rock? In true Coach fashion, this Elvis pullover is finished with floral embroidery, hearts, and studs. Because in the words of The King, "Let’s rock, everybody let’s rock.”
Another take: If you’re ready to rock, wear this pullover with leather skinnies and a varsity jacket.
How do you express yourself through your clothing? Tell us in the comments below.