Tailoring is everywhere this season and - as we're already seeing - next spring, too. But some days you want to look tailored and pretty without working the hard-edged corporate or the groovy ''I'm wearing my boyfriend's gear'' look. Stock up on pieces that are a softer alternative to thesuit - draped and relaxed, they are the modern take on dressed-up office wear.
The Soft Jacket There are jackets and then there are jackets. The square, boxy man-jacket of the 80s and 90s has given way to a far more flattering, womanly shape. This season's jackets are in prettier shapes - cropped, nipped-in at the waist, with an interesting gather or tuck at the shoulder to really give you an hourglass figure, or flared and shaped in a vintage way. They are in prettier fabrics - a tweed, a texture, a velvet, an interesting pinstripe or even a softer draped knit. And they're in prettier colours - a pop of a strong bright, charcoals and greys or warm earthy camel tones. The new jackets have dressmaker details like tucks or buttons or stitching, and are eminently wearable.
Drape and Twist Tunics and dresses are the easiest pieces to wear, especially in fabrics that transition from autumn to winter, day to evening. These pieces are not as embellished as in summer, but their freshness comes from either a clean, sculptural shape or from unexpected drapes and twists. Always try these pieces on in front of a full-length mirror - then arrange the drapes and fabric so that the bulk is not falling just where you don't need it: at your bust or hips.
