The Daily Telegraph from London, Greater London, England • 29

Style on Friday Lisa Armstrong THE DAILY TELEGRAPH FRIDAY, JUNE 7,2013 29 Dyed and gone to heaven ears ago I made a fashion vow any almost "Tomorrow rate) as as is Scarlett momentous another (to O'Hara's me at However I was feeling, I would never wear jeans to the office not fashion enough. A style 1 maven on a groovy mag might get away with ripped denim, but at a newspaper? Computer said no. Thus far, I've diligently complied with this self-imposed denim fatwa. But I might be about to crush this legislation that's the beauty of home-made rules isn't it? The argument for this is: denim is everywhere. Every single woman I've interviewed recently, from Cath Kidston to de la Fressange to Anya I-neverwear-jeans Hindmarch is.

wearing blue denim jeans. Granted, ubiquity is not always a good reason. Not infrequently, it's the worst. Denim was everywhere in the midNoughties. But back then it was schoolof-bleeding-obvious that you couldn't wear jeans to an office where, at any moment, you might run into someone in a suit and tie talking about serious stuff such as Iraq, fiscal irregularities and, er, sport.

Because back then, the ubiquitous denim jean was so low-cut and so tight you couldn't sit down without waving to your kidneys. But now the go-to jean is the Boyfriend, or, as Gap calls its own, the Sexy Boyfriend. Selfridges reports that Boyfriend sales are up 17 per cent on last year. In response, it has just opened a new Denim Studio, with prices that stretch, in the modern denim manner, from £11 (practically unheard of in Selfridges, I wonder if 1 they'll have enough change) to £11,000 (not a typo). So far, I really like Gap's stiff, dark indigo take, and at £49.99 for Japanese denim that's been hand-dyed by monks at full moon, or something like that.

You have to be a serious denim geek to care, but the upshot is to do with oxidisation and allowing sufficient drying time between each dyeing process so the colour doesn't leech in the wash. The upshot is that it looks very smart and is good value compared with designer versions. Luke Leitch The loafer From Norway to Warhol via JFK, how the slip-on loafed into a chap's pantheon all them loafers, slip-ons shoes, completing the big three or men's boat shoe shoes, the laceless of US These slip-on variations brands. of the fundamental footwear genre. Norwegian, all with that tell-tale And oddly, its Big Bang seam around the top of the foot, detonated in an obscure established themselves as Norwegian village.

American classics favoured by Lured by exceptional salmon influentially elegant gents from fishing, foreigners many of James Dean to JFK. them British started visiting In time sharp-eyed European Aurland during the 1880s and companies got in on the act, too. 1890s. Here many bought a There was the Gucci loafer locally evolved shoe, a tough but accessorised with its flashy gold light lace-up that could be horsebit featured here slipped on too, for tramping recently as well as the version around. by Limoges shoemaker An entrepreneurial Aurlander, Weston that became de rigeur Nils Tveranger, started among French teenagers manufacturing them, and by the aspiring to American preppiness inter-war years by which time in the 1960s.

it had evolved into a more In Italy, Car Shoe and Tod's refined, laceless design and pioneered the "driving shoe" been spotted on the Prince of with its bobbly rubber soles for Wales the Aurland shoe had extra pedal grip. become a discreetly worn trophy But the most rarified of all among the well-travelled and (and the farthest removed from wealthy sporting set. its rough and ready Norwegian In 1935, the shoe crossed the origins) was designed by Andy Atlantic, where it was spotted in Warhol and made by Berluti in from Esquire magazine who ARCHIVES- That year, Warhol visited the Palm Beach by style journalists 1962. thought it merited a broader Parisian shoemaker reportedly audience. They approached with Yves Saint Laurent Bass, a Maine shoe and ordered a pair of manufacturer, to create an loafers to his own American version.

design, which he left "I was sceptical," John Bass on a sketch. later said in an interview Slipping in: These had an recounted by Christopher President aquiline toeSurf them Sharp. "I didn't think this type. Kennedy in shape, not would go over, for it looked ghbass.com 1961. Top unlike the a house slipper to be worn right, Sperry prow of a yacht, sperrytopsider.

Topsiders, that ended with a However when the shoe co.uk £85, Bass sudden squaring-off christened the Bass Weejun in sebago.com Weejun at the tip. honour of its Aurland origins loafers, £100; Because came out, Esquire urged readers Gucci.com below, Berluti Warhol failed to overlook its slipper-like Andy loafer £1,350 to leave a delicacy and consider the jmweston.fr deposit, rarified milieu in which it was Carshoe.com owner, the yachtsman Paul Alessandro favoured. "Its importance was Sperry, noticed that Prince never Berluti, the immediately attested by the Tods.com lost his footing on the ice or business's owner and founder, importance of the feet it Berluti.com snow of midwinter Maine. He threw the sketch into the bin. covered: those of prominent examined Prince's paws, then His granddaughter Olga rescued society people, wealthy men, cut an approximation of their the sketch and made them up in sportsmen with reputations for lined and flexibly grippy pattern secret from some scarred good dress." onto a rubber sole with his leather, which (she explained to Aspirational American men pen-knife.

This marked Warhol when he came in to duly snapped up the newly the invention of the collect them) had came from a available $6.50 design. boat shoe cousin to "wayward That same year came a Bass's loafer. so loved the shoes significant parallel A decade later the that he told Berluti: "In future, I development in the company Sebago only want shoes made from the evolution of the which claims to have hide of wayward cows." And the slip-on sparked invented the penny Andy became the defining by a cocker Spaniel loafer entered the design of this swankiest, and called Prince. His market with its "Moc" boat costliest, of menswear makers. 20 Online For the latest tips on trends fashion.telegraph.co.uk Right and royal way to step out t's not often you see the following concepts conjoined in the sentence, didn't the Princess Royal look good on Tuesday? The Countess of Wessex, too that was a lovely dress, if slightly too short and worn with the wrong shoes (strappy with tights: no).

I'm quibbling over details because, as Her Majesty knows, details rule, and because Sophie so often gets it (almost) right. A few minor tweaks and she'd be our best-dressed royal. As for Anne perfect, and in this year's most fashionable combo, icy pink and black. I'm sticking my neck out here, but were they celebrating something special? Into the blue: left to right, Boyfriend denim demands a flash of ankle; de la Fressange; a sharp jacket adds definition; MIH Jeans pre-fall; Charlotte Rampling; Miu Miu summer CUTHBERT MARK SPAROW; KRISTY FEATURES; REX ROOKE TIM FEATURES; REX MCP CAMERON; REGAN However, I suspect neither Gap's, nor anyone else's Boyfriend is truly sexy, owing to some unfortunate legshortening nonchalant looseness properties. that But it's makes thathe Boyfriend ideal for the office, and you look thinner in theory at least.

Also, counter-intuitively, the court shoe that the Boyfriend demands turns it into the epitome of a chic-casual item. It doesn't have to be a high heel, a mid will do. After all, it's not a flared jean, and nor, if I'm wearing it, will it ever be, because flares look terrible on anyone whose second home is not the catwalk. So back to Boyfriends. You could, if you're determined, wear them with flat shoes Vans' plimsolls, for instance.

But be aware your legs may come out a bit stubby-looking and Dexy's Midnight Runner-esque. Or maybe that's just me. I have occasionally seen the combo work beautifully on women with longer legs. Team the Boyfriend with a crisp man's shirt or a crepe tunic and tailored jacket, perhaps one of those comfortable jersey ones from Whistles or Banana Republic and it all starts coming together nicely. Don't forget to turn them up to a length, because just as sexy is over-sold, so the power of a neat ankle is often underestimated.

Brand's Aidan Boyfriend remains one of the most popular styles, despite the £215 to £240 ticket. But as Donna Ida Thornton of jeans specialist Donnaida.com says: "The cost per wear on jeans is really good. They're probably the hardest working piece in your wardrobe." There's no doubt denim's going upscale again, with a concurrent move towards higher waisted styles (which can flatter pear shapes). Harrods is also about to open a new room dedicated to jeans, including a Jeans Therapy service to assist with those inevitable dilemmas. Such as: how do you wear denim when you're past 50? In this, I refer you to the aforementioned de la Fressange, who wears it with nifty dark denim Japanese blazers (you'd think double denim was a real act of kamikaze on a grown woman, but it works), Roger Vivier pumps, glossy clutch bags and a lot of expensive looking jewellery.

Then there's Charlotte Rampling, who makes an oversized denim jacket chic with skinny black trousers, and Michelle Obama (not 50 yet, but a First Lady, which adds at least five years to your age) in a snugly fitted denim dress that shows off all her curves without looking too ta-daaa. That's denim for you: however sharply cut, it won't look too formal; however classic the shape, the denim element will always inject a youthful note. And if you still can't get your head around jeans (although it's just a question of good hair and terrific shoes), there's always Miu Miu's denim pencil skirt, a smash hit with the Voguettes and as at home at a garden party as at Glasto. Princess Royal and Countess of We Sorry seems to be the loudest word ohn Galliano has some of the worst advisers since Judas Iscariot's people told him to hold out for 30 pieces. Galliano may well be truly repentant for previously expressed views on gas chambers and the like, but choosing Vanity Fair for his mea culpa confessional will always leave the public wondering if his greatest regret isn't for his shattered career.

If you're going to plead pressures of fame, don't subsequently broadcast your new humility via megaphone. Galliano would have been much better served by going about the business of rehabilitation diligently and quietly. Silence is golden etc. But weirdly, fashion tends to be terrible at PR. Free tea or coffee at Debenhams Take a break from shopping and enjoy a free tea or coffee at any Debenhams Monday Friday from 2pm Simply show your Telegraph Subscriber Privilege Your choice includes all teas, regular and speciality Card at Debenhams' restaurants or from 2pm, and fruit varieties, black coffee, latte, cappuccino, Monday to Friday to receive your free tea or coffee.

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