t this time of year, my job is mostly banging on about jumpers. Season of mists and mellow fruitfulness and merino sweaters, as Keats would surely have written had he been on Substack. Cosiness is next to godliness.
I can worship at the altar of cashmere with the best of them. I can extol the virtues of a sweater in tones normally reserved for fine wines and newborn babies. But today I have a rather different proposition for your autumn wardrobe. The best fillip for your shoulder-season style is not a thick layer, but the opposite. What you need to lift your look right now is something flimsy, flirty, with an edging of lace. A sorbet-coloured lace-edged tank top that is virtually a camisole. A slinky black slip skirt with a lace hem. Something with a frill, that has the thrill of lingerie.
Not on its own, obviously, or you will catch your death. You are going to wear your lacy little whatnot and then you are going to partly cover it up by wearing something on top, and this is the whole point.
Let me explain. Lace is beautiful, and rich in romance and storytelling – it is the stuff of weddings and funerals, after all. But it is also about sex. And sex appeal is key to what is excellent about lace. This is self-evidently useful if you are dressing for a date. But here's the funny thing: oddly, it is also true if you are dressing for a meeting. Not because you are trying to get off with your colleagues (none of my business, obviously, but people are touchy about that kind of thing these days, so maybe don't?) but because lace reminds people of lingerie, which reminds them of skin, which reminds them that you are a human being. And reminding other people that you are a human being with flesh and blood and feelings is surely helpful in almost any interaction.
In summer, when you aren't wearing very much, lace can be a bit too straight-up saucy. No slut-shaming here; it's just that I think many of us would like our vibe to land somewhere a little more subtle. Which is why this time of year, when you can slip a lace-edged camisole under a light jacket, or team a lace-trim skirt with a chunky sweater, is the best time to wear lace. You get a wink to the knicker drawer without putting it all out there.
Miuccia Prada is the queen of this. At Miu Miu's autumn show, amid the sensible coats and pencil skirts, there were peachy little camisoles and filmy dresses with scalloped underlayers. None of it felt especially come-hither. The lace was decently chaperoned by its accoutrements. Worn with proper skirts, coats and gloves, it looked less like undressing than an intriguing chink in the armour.
At Saint Laurent in Paris, barely there lace skirts were balanced by teddy-bear plush faux-fur jackets. At Khaite in New York, flutters of lace came spliced with leather jackets or trousers. This sort of mismatch makes lace sing. Lace with more lace is lingerie; lace with something that looks capable of surviving a motorcycle accident is an outfit. Alexa Chung has long understood that a bit of lace becomes infinitely cooler when you put a buttoned-up cardigan on top.
The key phrase here is a bit of lace. We are not going full Miss Havisham. You don't want to look as though there's a wedding cake waiting for you in the next room. A couple of centimetres peeking from beneath a jumper is plenty. If you're wearing a deep V-neck sweater, a lace-trimmed bra that accidentally-on-purpose is just visible at the neckline can be excellent. The point is the contrast: wool and skin, sensible and suggestive, covered-up with a wink to being the opposite. Knitwear will get its flowers soon enough, when it is too cold for leaving buttons undone. But in these last moments before the sun disappears till March, let a bit of lace shine. Keats had beauty and truth. I'll settle for cashmere and a glimpse of a fancy bra.
Styling: Melanie Wilkinson. Model: Moli at Milk. Styling assistant: Charlotte Gornall. Hair and makeup: Sophie Higginson using Davines and Dr Sam's Skincare. , £119, Daisy. , £55, Marks & Spencer. , £55.99, , £29.99, both Mango. l Antwerp.