Pull the wool over your thighs

The sweater dress is making a welcome comeback. Picture / Reuters

The dress has kicked off its long-held flouncy, feminine and predominantly chiffon-concocted appearance in favour of a heavier, textured, knit creation.

The sweater dress is making its mark across big-name runways - at Alexander McQueen, Giles Deacon, Jean Paul Gaultier, Christian Dior, Paul Smith and Stella McCartney.

And those wincing while recalling cheap frocks accompanied by waist-cinching belts, crimped hair and boots, should rest easy. It isn't the 80s era that this style is reviving.

That's not to say that some in the 80s didn't do this pull-on fashion justice. Think rebellious Siouxsie Sioux-era kids wearing baggy sweater dresses in funereal hues over thick black tights. Or picture Blondie in her loose-fit jumper dress dropping seductively from the shoulder as she pouted through a mess of bleached blonde hair.

And that's the insurrectionary vibe that John Galliano at Dior is giving off, with his black-and-white hooped, loose-fit and laddered V-neck.

Averyl Oates, Harvey Nichols' buying director points out: "While Galliano's take on this style has a subversive feel, the monochrome stripes and floppy leather cap places the look firmly in the 60s."

Thankfully, this time round, the 60s look isn't quite so Barbarella-literal, with the white patent boot firmly relegated to 60s-themed shindigs.

"It's almost as if the previous take on the 60s came around too early," muses Oates.

"Now, it feels right because the look isn't costume, it's modern. It's sophisticated and subtle."

And designers have acknowledged the genre's various style movements: from the figure-defining calf-length sweater-girl look, to the mini-skirted or Mod-ish A-line cut.

Those unnaturally stick-thin of frame can afford to don the chunkier-knit interpretation, although caution should be taken with mohair for fear of creating the stick-of-candy-floss look. If your body contours are not a point you wish to highlight, then the A-line with fuller sleeve would suit.

There's no denying that this winter-snug dress is all about the body, and that's why Oates is adamant that the most important accessory for it is underwear. "There's no getting away with ill-fitting undies with this garment," she says.

Mercifully, we don't have to go down the conical bra-and-girdle route of yesteryear. A properly fitted bra and support tights should be just fine.

What is strikingly different about the sweater dress compared with recent frocks is that, although the emphasis is on the body, it's not a garment that exposes. In fact, it does a good job of covering up flesh.

Adds Oates: "I think it is a significant change in fashion's mood. The look is neither sombre nor gothic.

"It's not severe but there is a more serious mode coming through, and this is the start of it."

- INDEPENDENT