INSTEP Magzine

The cover of the latest issue of French Vogue captures the mood to the letter: blue-collar workmanís vest and faded jeans, accessorised with gilt-chains, pearls, camellias and the ubiquitous tweed jacket.

The photograph heralds an issue that celebrates the ongoing allure of 'Coco' Chanel, 100 years after she first began selling hats in Paris. But it is also an apt metaphor for a particular way of dressing that has been gaining currency in the last two or three seasons.

It started out as 'boyfriend jeans – the baggy, saggy, denims that were designed to look as if youíd picked them up off the floor of your boyfriendís bedroom.

After the jeans, came the 'boyfriend cardigan' – infinitely more alluring than that bobbly, comfy, old woolly worn by Rex Harrison in My Fair Lady, but masculine in origin, none the less.

The latest hot ticket to pinch from his wardrobe is the blazer. Ideally, it should be a little oversized, the better to emphasise your fragile female frame in contrast to the broad musculature of the manly shoulders for which it was designed in the first place.

It is ironic that 'boyfriend dressing' should be one of the key trends of 2009 on the centenary anniversary of Chanel, for it was the legendary designer herself who was the originator of the trend - when she borrowed the fishing tweeds of her then-boyfriend, the Duke of Westminster, and dressed herself up as a country squire-ess in Scotland – in the mid-1920s, when all around her society ladies were going gaga for the fringed Charleston chemise-dress.

But Chanel was an early believer in borrowing from the boys. As early as 1910, she had been photographed with the ballet dancer and choreographer, Serge Lifar, the pair in identikit sweaters tucked into 'Oxford bags', belted at the waist, which was almost unthinkable for the time.

'Boyfriend dressing' is one of those fashion fads that separates the candy girls and diva-dollies from the cool chicks. For every 'Coco' - or Marlene or Katherine Hepburn - who could so effortlessly pull off the look, there were just as many for whom the style simply would not work, such as Marilyn Monroe or Brigitte Bardot.

Today is no different. It is hard to envisage Cheryl Cole being terribly excited, any more, about getting into Ashley Coleís trousers, while Scarlett Johannsson, Dita Von Teese, Courtney Love and Gwen Stefani appear totally unphased by wearing the pants, whether it's in a relationship or out shopping. And Madonna, with her baker-boy caps, braces and Chaplinesque trousers, Kate Moss in her waistcoat and shorts, and Agyness Deyn in her Trilbys, T-shirts, big blazers and 'poor-boy jeans' are all trailblazers for the art of boyfriend dressing.

Getting it right:
Mix tough and tender: Offset the manly charms of a blazer with a romantic poetís shirt or bow-trim blouse
Play with contrasts: Braces with a bellboy jacket and skintight T-shirt
Add attitude: Roll-up trouser bottoms to show off your most decorative footwear, wear wristloads of cuffs and push up your sleeves, Miami Vice-style
Strut in the highest heels you can master; they'll add wiggle to your walk
For a slouch-chic approach, accessorise with pumps or lace-ups
Keep your look natural: Big hair, panda eyes and fake-tan are a no-no.
-- Hilary Alexander for The Telegraph