In pop-culture terms, we’re emerging from a sexy Q1. First came Heated Rivalry, the spicy ice hockey drama that dropped on 10 January (The Guardian’s review opened with, "I suspect that Chala Hunter is still on a recuperative retreat somewhere. Until about May, I would think. For she was the intimacy coordinator on Heated Rivalry, and she has earned a break.") Next was Wuthering Heights, a film so hot under the collar that, after a screening for her girlfriends, Margot Robbie told Jimmy Kimmel, "It was the most unhinged experience of my life," describing the scene as "20 women frothing at the mouth". Hear that? Frothing.
By the time fashion month arrived, the runways were clearly in the mood. For his first show at Gucci, Demna Gvasalia harked back to the house’s sexiest era under another creative director: Tom Ford. Kate Moss wore the final look, a spangled high-neck column gown, its scooping back revealing a so-called "whale tail", logoed with interlocking Gs, naturally. There were also sculpted muscle tees, leggings with cut-outs on either hip and zippered leather pencil skirts (a slit darting up the left thigh). But whilst the runways dialled up the sex, the clothes outside were more demure—ladylike, even. The vibe wasn’t horny so much as housewifely, with the modernisation of garments such as aprons (courtesy of Miu Miu) and block-heeled pumps (Chanel).
If this sounds a little "trad wife"—the trend for women aspiring to be a traditional, "perfect" homemaker, complete with a certain twinset-and-pearls aesthetic—that’s not quite right. As Linda Cui Zhang, fashion director at Nordstrom, puts it, "We’ve ushered in a more romantic, feminine approach to dressing with spring that echoes the sensuality of the runway season." And, indeed, these echoes were felt on the streets during fashion month, with a sense of "real life" wearability. As Jenny Walton, author of upcoming book Jenny Sais Quoi: Adventures in Vintage & Personal Style, puts it, "Whilst a designer’s vision of a woman might show her at her sexiest, perhaps going to a show in the middle of the afternoon is not when one wants to broadcast their backside to the world. I think in real life, women primarily want to dress in a way that makes them feel comfortable, whatever that means to them."
Outside Miu Miu, Amalie Gassmann wore an outfit that one might consider traditionally ladylike, but not remotely buttoned-up, or (whisper it), boring. Instead, her cut-work lace apron-style top was tied over a sleeveless knit, whilst her skirt, also peekaboo, revealed "big knickers"—a silk pocket square folded over the waistband. It turned the idea of what dressing—or "acting"—like a "lady" entails. (Do you really think such an outfit belongs to a person who’s going to press their husband’s shirts or make sure dinner’s always on the table?) Susie Lau’s look for the Gucci show was similarly demure on the surface, featuring all kinds of ladylike flourishes: a floral scarf knotted under the chin, an oversized corsage and horsebit-embellished pumps, but the logo bag, bug-eye sunglasses and lack of hosiery made the overall picture read as "mob wife" instead of housewife.
All this to say that dressing in this way, almost cosplaying a traditional 1950s style, can be just as fun as dressing sexy, particularly in a season where the silhouettes are overarchingly 'womanly', with just a hint of what you might call frisson. "The peplum silhouette returning as a sophisticated jacket (Liberowe) or top (Ashlynn) signalled a reverence for femininity in fashion," says Zhang, adding, "More structured bags in east-west shoulder (Alaïa) and top-handle shapes (Marge Sherwood) add a feminine gesture to complete the look." Other garments that should be on your mood board include car coats, high-waisted cigarette trousers and pleated skirts, as well as details such as lace hosiery, peep-toe shoes, waist belts and drop earrings. Instead of pairing these all together, however, you should feel at liberty to mix things up.
For Walton, the key is balance. "I wear a lot of vintage, and some of those pieces have a certain 'ladylike' connotation. For me, the trick is to modernise them by pairing them with something a little unexpected. So I might wear a contemporary dress but add a vintage pair of gloves or small purse," she explains. Chloé's jelly mules—a peep-toe, bow-embellished sandal made entirely out of blue-tinted TPU—are her only new purchase of late, an item of footwear which falls "somewhere between a life-sized Barbie shoe and Cinderella’s glass slipper," but which you could pair with a windbreaker-style jacket and knee-length capri leggings instead of a circle skirt.
Ferragamo’s Vara Bow, a shoe line that includes a high-heel stiletto, a low-heel slide, pumps and slingbacks, is described as a design both "elegant and sensual" (Christy Turlington wears the stiletto in the brand’s spring campaign). You could lean into this so-called 'ladylike' vibe or use it to counterbalance baggy tailoring or elevate denim, equal parts comfortable and chic.
That’s the thing about being a "lady": the word means different things to different people, but it always, always, contains multitudes.
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