I know it’s v uncool to have regrets, but I do have one, and that is never having got the hang of red lipstick. I would so love to be that woman, the one who wears red lipstick. Such an instant, chic style signature. I never got the knack of applying red lippy without smudging it or chewing it off, and never felt comfortable with what I look like wearing it. But I love it on other people.
So I was thrilled to notice a new styling trick that I want to share with you today. I first spotted it among fashion audiences at shows in Paris and Milan earlier this autumn, and since then I’ve been seeing it out and about in London. A pop of red, it turns out, doesn’t have to be a lipstick. If a swipe of Mac’s Ruby Woo or Revlon’s Fire & Ice isn’t your thing, you can reach for a red shoe, or a red bag, or a red sock.
A pop of red anywhere in your outfit has the same effect as a red lip. It adds an upbeat note, without making you look in any way less serious. It enhances both glamour and gravitas, which is an excellent combination. The pop of red has always been around – a classic fire-engine-red manicure, the red flash of the sole of a Christian Louboutin shoe – but this year, it has caught fire.
The reason that red accents are popping off right now? Quiet luxury, in all its neutral-toned, spenny-blank-canvas glory. Just as a red lip is the ideal foil for a classic LBD, a flash of red works particularly well played off against a minimalist outfit.
This is why it is relevant that I first noticed the pop of red as a fashion power move at a show by The Row in Paris last year. The Row sells exquisitely made, incredibly chic clothes that are phenomenally expensive. Believe me, you don’t even want to know just how expensive, but it doesn’t actually matter, because the most important function of The Row in fashion is less as a shop and more of a kind of high church of good taste. Is there a fashion equivalent of having moral authority? If there is, it belongs to The Row. Anyway, at this show, the whole collection was black or white or shades of grey or beige, except for two flashes of red.
After that, pops of red kept popping up all around me. A classic trenchcoat with a red shoulder bag peeking out from under one arm. Jeans and loafers with a red sock that winked from across the street. A low-key trouser suit worn with a red sweater draped over the shoulders. A red polo neck sweater under a neutral crew neck, for a regal stripe of crimson at the throat.
There is only one rule for making it work, and it is both simple, and simple to remember. The rule is: keep it simple. That goes both for the red accent piece, and also for the rest of your look.
So for your redness, we’re not talking about a big shaggy red faux fur coat, or a frock plastered in sparkling red sequins. You want something subtle, something that flirts rather than throws itself at you. So, for example, my shoe happy-place right now is pancake-flat red Mary Janes by Charles & Keith: its plain, almost school-shoe shape is pleasingly unexpected with dark pleat-front trousers or white jeans. For maximum impact, keep the rest of your clothes quiet, too. Not just a soft palette, but no prints or logos, and a cut that allows fabric to fall in a natural drape, rather than one engineered to cinch your waist or exaggerate your shoulders.
Red lipstick has always been a chic way to sign off in style. And if you apply the red lipstick principle to your outfit, it won’t even smudge.
Hair and makeup: Sophie Higginson using Ouai haircare and Tom Ford beauty. Model: Marie at Milk. Shoes: Penelope Chilvers. Blazer: Hush. Jumpsuit: by Norma Kamali from Matches Fashion. Earrings: Maanesten
