Victorious Victoriana

A/W Trend: Victoriana Blouses

Fashion is notoriously nostalgic, and this season is no exception, with designers taking a trip down memory lane to 1835 England. The romantic Victoriana trend is high on drama this time round, with chin-grazing collars, floor-trailing skirts and beautiful billowing shirt sleeves, all of which can be dressed down for the office or given a spunky edge with attitude-ridden accessories. While most of us contend with the daily hassles of crowded calenders and too little time, it’s nice to inject a little romance back into our lives. But as the saying goes, “less is more”, and this season wardrobe basic, the blouse is back. It's autumn's most versatile piece, and no doubt will be your best buy all season.

On the catwalk, designer’s soft spots were seduced by old romantic novels and photographs, with Victorian nuances putting a fragile accent on a normally androgynous basic. Stefano Pilati at Yves Saint Laurent created silk shirts, with early Victorian style sleeves, strong buttoned-down collars and delicate pin tucking. He overturned the fragility by putting his gang in strong femme fatale black bobs and dominatrix style patent booties. Likewise at Givenchy, the collection had a dark, romantic and faintly goth aesthetic, with the blouse varying in design from frothy blouses in chiffons to crisp white tuxedo-style shirts. For those with a fear of frill, there were fuss-free options at Prada and Moschino. With ornate deep cuff blouses at Prada and at Moschino, pinafores over shirts made way for vivid imagery of Victorian school children.

In a season that has embraced proper grown-up clothes, the kind of functional stuff we call “investment dressing”, look to the blouse for encompassing the deadly combination of power and femininity and dig deep for classic items from Vivienne Westwood and Burberry Prorsum.