Kitting yourself out for the 2017 Autumn Season

Now is a good time to quickly get the warmer clothes that you own out of your wardrobe and double-check whether it all fits. It is already getting chilly, so you do not want to leave it too much longer to prepare yourself for the colder Autumn months. Once you have done this you will be in a position to make a list of what you need to buy and go shopping. Most retailers are already stocking autumn coats, jumpers, boots and shoes. If you go shopping now, rather than leaving it for a few weeks, you will get the best choice. Usually, the best items sell out quite fast, so shopping sooner rather than later for what you need really is the safest option.
Photo credit Alex Wing

Coats and jackets

This year, there is a particularly good choice of coats and jackets available. A lot of designers have taken classic coat cuts and had a little fun with them. Combining the old with the new has produced some really great results. For example, traditional parkas that are made from bold floral fabrics.

Kitting yourself out with hats and scarves

However, if you do opt to buy one of these unusual jackets you may find it quite hard to buy a hat and scarf that matches. Fortunately, items like this are not hard to make yourself. In fact, making a scarf is a good first project for someone who is new to knitting. If it comes out a bit wonky it does not matter. No one will really notice when you are wearing it under your new coat or jacket.
Photo by Kelly Sikkema

Jumpers and cardigans

If you are more experienced you may want to have a go at knitting yourself a jumper. There are some really good patterns around for knitwear items. However, if you want a coatigan it might be worth buying one instead. The fact that they are as long as a regular coat means that knitting one could take you a few weeks. Often, it works out cheaper to buy large of items of knitwear from the shops rather than make them yourself.

Jeans

It is always worth having at least one pairs of jeans in your wardrobe for the colder months. These versatile items of clothing are ideal for keeping you warm so that you can continue to enjoy outdoor events and activities through the colder months.

This year, many fashion designers have been inspired by the fashions of the 80s. That means that the jean cuts are a lot looser than they have been for the past few years. Today’s, high-waisted tapered jeans are really comfortable to wear as well as looking great. They look just good worn with a t-shirt and a homemade jumper, but work just as well when paired with a suit-style jacket.

Dress trends for 2017

If you prefer to wear dresses, you are in luck, this year. Many of the warmer fabrics are back in vogue. Jersey is a particularly good option for the autumn. It is soft and comfortable as well as lovely and warm.

For a special event or party, a nice velvet dress is perfect, and they are more widely available than they used to be. However, you do need to be careful how you take care of velvet clothing. This short video tells you all you need to know about caring for this lovely fabric.

Button styles through the ages

According to one historian, the first recorded use of buttons was for ornamental purposes, rather than practical, similar to some upholstery buttons we see today.

Buttons date back to prehistoric times, and were originally fashioned from materials such as shell, ivory, bronze, gold argent and even bone. As far back as 1600 BC, buttons were found to be a luxury garment decoration which adorned kings of Mediterranean civilisations such as the Greeks.

Look at this prehistoric stone button with its hole pierced for suspension purposes. It is thought to date back to 5000 BC, and was discovered in the Syrian, Anatolian region of the Middle East.

The Middle Ages saw the introduction of a flatter design, often decorated with stones. By the time of the Crusades (1200 AD), it had become common to wear clothes closer to the body, meaning the practical use of buttons came to the fore. Some medieval buttons were made from cloth, and others from metal. Usually this was determined by the status of the wearer.

These viking buttons are demonstrative of the geometric style of patterns that were common at that time.

Fast forward to the 1500s, and there is evidence to suggest that covering buttons with fabric became a popular practice. During the Renaissance, buttons, often decorated with jewels, commonly adorned hats, sleeves and shirts of the wealthy, while the lower classes were more likely to wear buttons manufactured from wood, copper or leather. Whatever the material, it is clear buttons were very much the thing to wear during this period!

With the dawn of the Industrial Revolution, button styles changed with the introduction of machinery capable of mass producing products. This is widely acknowledged to have led to a decrease in quality in button manufacturing, but someone who wasn’t short of quality buttons was Queen Victoria herself. The buttons she wore in mourning after Prince Albert’s death in 1861 were seen as being held in such high regard that they were widely copied for years afterwards, usually using black glass instead of jewellery. The style is still copied today, as shown by this collection sold by a US retailer.

Moving into the modern era, the style of buttons becomes more complicated. With so many waves in retro fashion, the button has retained the decorative use of old, but there is no predominant style. Buttons are also still essential practical items which are very much here to stay.

For more on buttons, click here