Latest news with #ClareHornby
Telegraph
17-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Telegraph
I've dressed the Princess of Wales and Daisy Edgar-Jones – here are my style tips
Although she's sponsoring a garden at this year's Chelsea Flower Show, Clare Hornby, founder of Me+Em, doesn't have much time to plunge her hands into the soil. However, she knows a thing or six about dressing for al fresco events and the UK's rich and varied summer season in general. That's why a growing number of high profile women have come to rely on the brand for exactly this, among them Lady Starmer, Claudia Winkleman, Ruthie Rogers, the Princess of Wales and her mother Carole Middleton, the Duchess of Edinburgh, Lupita Nyong'o, Katie Holmes, Gugu Mbatha-Raw (in her black tuxedo on several occasions), Phoebe Dynevor and Daisy Edgar-Jones. As someone who almost always wears trousers, but has a business selling clothes to women who want (plenty of) other choices, Hornby has adopted an analytical approach to dressing up. Not coincidentally, occasionwear – once considered a fuddy-duddy concept – has become an increasingly important part of Me+Em's business – quite the evolution for a label that began 15 years ago as a source of loungewear but grew by offering a more sophisticated repertoire of designs. Perhaps we're not such a nation of sloppy dressers after all. She's an obsessive cruncher of data, not just the hard numbers of what's selling and what isn't, but of the more intimate, nuanced feedback loop from customers who come into her stores. I'm intrigued to discover how she's cracked some of the more subtle demands baked into our social gatherings. 'Dress codes really throw a lot of people,' she says. Weddings and Royal Ascot can be particularly intimidating because of ideas around propriety. People want to look the part without feeling they're cosplaying. Arms are a great bugbear. 'Some women really want to hide them. Others want to show them off.' One of Hornby's answers to all these conundrums is to play with transparency – just a hint. 'Lace or chiffon, or a sheer sleeve can all look very demure and pretty without being too covered.' Lace blue shirt, £175 and Lace blue A-line midi skirt, £225, Me+Em A grail of modern dressing, it seems to me, is an air of effortlessness. No one wants to look overdone – the blowsy blowdry, obvious make-up, trussed up, ill-at-ease discomfort are the antithesis of everything many stylish women aspire to. Yet some interpretations of effortlessness seem ridiculously effortful. 'Playing with different textures is a big part of putting together an outfit that looks elevated but not overthought.' Not wearing heels if you don't want to is another key to effortlessness. 'I've broken both knees over the years, so I'm obsessed with footwear comfort,' says Hornby. 'We're playing with the fancy flat – a square-toed ballerina because it's flattering and doesn't squash the toes – and a comfortable heel in cork.' Suede square toe ballerina flat, £295, Me+Em; Cork platform heel, £295, Me+Em 'Spend time pinning down those understated but perfect pieces,' says Hornby. Get them right and they're a library you can repeatedly go back to without too much thought. 'Everything has to be spot on. The jersey T-shirt that drapes just right, the sleek tan bag that you can wear with everything, the blazer that's only slightly oversized so it doesn't look silly, the jacket with sleeves that will actually stay up when you push them up your arms.' To this end, she has a jacket for autumn with 'scrunch' built into the sleeves. A former ad executive, Hornby is a dab hand at coining a tagline. Terms like 'Intelligent Design' and the three F's – flattering, functional, forever – are stitched into descriptions on the website. Forever is a particularly bold promise, especially when you're essentially mining fashion – but an important idea when people are spending a major chunk of their budget on occasionwear. So, I'm curious to know whether she thinks brown – traditionally a winter colour (when it isn't being completely ignored, which it was for three decades) – is a keeper or a fizzler? Last year, Max Mara mixed it with white for summer, which looked both earthy and sophisticated. But now it's everywhere, including Me+Em, where it repeatedly sells out. Jersey knot detail dress, £350, Me+Em Linen blend trousers, £250, Me+Em; Leather crossbody bag, £325, Me+Em 'I reckon it's become a classic already,' she says. 'Once you start to explore the chocolate shades, you realise how great they are at grounding other colours. All those fashionable sorbets look beautiful with brown. Chocolate brown holds so many colours. Honestly, it's a game changer. We've contrasted it with orange, purple, black… For evening, it's lovely with gold jewellery or shoes. There's a shade for everyone, and obviously it's much less harsh than black or navy. Jersey off the shoulder top, £85, Me+Em 'Also, fabrications have finally stepped up to meet it. In the past, unless you worked brown with satin or silk, or high-quality yarns, brown tended to look muddy or flat. We've been working with silk velvets, brushed cashmere and fabrics that have a subtle sheen to them. It's beautiful. I've got a brown jumpsuit that I'll wear to weddings with a brown velvet blazer. One of my other wardrobe anchors is a brown trouser suit which I enjoy wearing with matching nails.' We were bound to get to tailoring sooner or later. It's the cornerstone of Hornby's own wardrobe after all. 'I love the idea of one suit you can wear to everything. If I were building a capsule summer event wardrobe, I'd always start with a suit, because it's so easy to build out from there. You can wear the blazer over dresses and the trousers with a crisp white shirt for a cool, evening look, or with a floral silk blouse.' She thinks she'll wear a flared trouser suit in poppy red – with a brown top. Even in the early, more casual days of Me+Em, Hornby and her design team consistently tweaked the trousers, essentially becoming a lab intent on making trousers as flattering for as many body types as possible. That you would never know she has short legs is testimony to their success. What works for her? Raised waistbands. 'They're generally good on most women, with or without a bust.' If you examine many of Me+Em's dresses through the seasons, you'll notice they too have slightly raised waistlines. One of the many reasons for the brand's success is that once perfected, the same shapes reappear each season in different fabrics. And yes, florals are still selling, but the prints this summer are more botanical. Silk hydrangea print dress, £495, Me+Em Peach is proving phenomenally popular both as a background colour and as a solid. This may surprise you if you had it down as a no go for most Caucasian skin. 'In fact,' says Hornby, 'peach is one of those unicorn universal colours that suits everyone. It's unbelievably popular this summer' – possibly because customers are taking advice from the Me+Em sales advisors and teaming it with brown. Tailored front pleat trouser, £225, Me+Em; Lightweight tailored waistcoat, £195, Me+Em Finally, I want to know her biggest challenge to getting dressed up? 'I'm a northerner. I have a big fear of the cold,' she says. 'It bugged me for years.' Then the solution came to her – a cropped shearling cape that elongates legs, works over any silhouette, and doesn't crush your sleeves. 'It's an on-off piece,' says Hornby, meaning it's easy to flip in and out of. The slits allow you to show off the sleeves of whatever you're wearing underneath. 'I wore it to my stepson's wedding last year and sold about ten that day. We've brought it back for summer. It looks cool whether you wear it under tailoring or something.' Shearling cape, £695, Me+Em It's one of those high-priced items that Me+Em keeps in the mix because its customers recognise a piece they'll return to for years. For autumn, they'll be doing another version – in none other than chocolate brown.
Telegraph
20-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Telegraph
I wore this season's white lace blouse five ways – my inner bohemian has been converted
The bohemian revival continues apace thanks to Chloé's catwalk resurgence, guided by creative director Chemena Kamali, and British Vogue declared 'a boho blouse… the trend that's set to dominate spring 2025'. Whether it's a backless dress or sheer skirt fashion designers love to play with diaphanous fabrics but if you're modestly-minded, is it possible to make see-through lace suitable for everyday wear? Beyond designer price-tags, the high street is on board with the white lace look. John Lewis and Marks & Spencer both stock the trend and lace offers the perfect segue into spring, visually and literally. Feeling a light breeze through the gauzy fabric is a balm while the pale shades look airily-appropriate in the sunshine. A lace blouse is also the ideal proposition to update the 'jeans-and-a-nice-top' equation for 2025. Clare Hornby, founder of wardrobe saviours Me+Em agrees. 'The femininity a lace blouse provides acts as the perfect foil to masculine tailoring for events or slouchy denim for am/pm dressing.' I'm almost sold on the style but a sticking point is that true 'boho babes' seem to eschew underwear with their lace blouses… Sienna Miller might be able to win red carpet plaudits wearing a white lace dress with nothing underneath, her modesty covered with just a few strands of honey-coloured hair, but does the trend translate to real life? Namely, can a non-celebrity woman in mid-life make it work? Fran Bacon is a self-confessed 'white blouse addict' and shares styling tips in her Instagram posts. Bacon tells me to try, 'knitwear worn over shoulders – think Eighties style – to add a pop of colour' and also advises the addition of 'a nude vest top underneath. It will give the sheer look with coverage and warmth'. A vest is always a sensible addition but with the catwalk and red carpet iterations of white lace, no slips are to be seen. While keeping true to the trend yet without wishing to get arrested, I plan five ways to wear this season's key white lace blouse using various layers. Demure and mindful is my goal, so my first port of call is Marks & Spencer's lingerie department. My quest to find something more substantial than bra-free, yet more carefree than a camisole, leads to their non-wired bralettes, £22 for three. Boho denim Blouse, £69, And/Or at John Lewis; Gilet, £35.99, Zara; Skirt, £99, Karen Millen; Shoes, Alex's own For my first outing in white lace I start with a poet-sleeved blouse from And/Or at John Lewis. The detailing is heavy – I've seen skimpier T-shirts – but I team it with an embroidered gilet and swishy denim skirt. When you choose your lace, shopping in real life is helpful so you can clearly see the level of sheerness you will be dealing with. Note that guipure lace has the most dense fabrication, with fewer bare patches, and a substantial feel. I definitely feel like I've ticked the boho mood of the moment without looking like I'm Ibiza-bound (I'm actually browsing the veg stall at my local market…) Add a knit vest Blouse, £39.50, Marks & Spencer; Knitted vest, £75, Albaray; Chinos, £76, Boden; Boat shoes, £45, Marks & Spencer; Scarf, £4.99 for pack of three, Amazon For coffee with friends in the garden at Soul Cafe I choose Marks & Spencer 's ruffle blouse. The deep v-neck is accented by frothy ruffles which drape just-so to hide the model's nipples online. However I need more than a ruffle so add a chunky knit vest from Albaray in this season's most on-trend tone of butter yellow. The necklines clash slightly, so the ruffles stay tucked in. Although I'm sipping a mocha, this top would be beautiful to wear for cocktails. Of course these sweet blouses will all work with jeans, but taking it one step away from the obvious, I try this look with chinos. The combo of tough khaki, sunshine colour and delicate lace has me smiling. I swear I have more doors held open for me as I make my way through town. Styled with a mini dress Blouse, £175, Me+Em; Dress, £150, Sezane; Shoes, £35, Marks & Spencer Emboldened, and while the sun is still shining, I layer my next lace blouse with a mini-dress. Me+Em 's off-white lace blouse comes with a camisole attached, making it a practical choice, and I remember Clare Hornby's wise advice. 'Whenever we're building or styling outfits, the key to maintaining a modern feel is contrast, whether that's through texture or shape. A lace blouse can deliver on both fronts.' So the structure of the shift dress, combined with the delicacy of the lace, is a stylistic yes. (Although I wish I'd added another layer of fake tan to my pasty legs on their first outing this spring…) Try it with a suit Blouse, £110, Sezane; Blazer, and matching trousers, £427, Kipper; Shoes, Alex's own The lace blouse has definitely been a daytime success, so I decide to style it after dark. Nodding to the Seventies' origin of bohemian style, I choose a caramel-brown corduroy trouser suit to offset Sezane 's high-necked lace blouse, for a trip to the theatre. A pair of white heels – one of spring's other key updaters – keep the look contemporary, rather than retro. While I chose the blazer for it's enveloping properties, I slip it off for interval drinks and don't feel indecent. This lace blouse has a high neck and pleasingly substantial pattern that feels special enough for a night out without being as naff as a sequinned top or jazzy lurex jumper. An evening look Blouse, £170, Reiss; Skirt, £815, Lisa Redman; Shoes and bag, Alex's own Evening is where the white lace blouse shines, so for my final look I abandon the need for a comfort layer and choose a fine leavers lace-style top from Reiss with flouncy bell sleeves. I add an opulent ball skirt for a black tie dinner and am thrilled to see I'm the only woman not wearing a dress. Switching to separates is a clever way to get more mileage from an individual piece, rather than wearing a one-piece you might only wear once. I approached the white lace blouse trend with trepidation. I've seen that not all catwalk trends convert to wearable wardrobe staples, however enticing… Yet white lace blouses are brilliantly versatile, switching smoothly from daytime looks to after dark. Add one to your wardrobe to refresh your staple pieces with a contemporary update – without looking so trendy they'll date in weeks. Inhabiting the sweet spot between dressy and dressed-down with insouciant ease, my inner bohemian is converted to the charm of a white lace blouse.
Telegraph
07-03-2025
- Entertainment
- Telegraph
The spring jackets that look as good with jeans as with a cocktail dress (from £35)
Say hello to the ultimate can-do piece… In checked tweed over a cocktail dress? Tick. Slung casually over a crisp white shirt and jeans? Perfect. This spring, a boxy jacket is coming your way in everything from suede to classic Chanel-esque bouclé. The boxy bouclé jacket has been synonymous with French style since Coco Chanel debuted it in 1954. It was, she told press at the time, designed to offer ease of movement. The relaxed shape was elevated by gold buttons and a braided trim, and proposed as a piece to be worn with a matching dress or skirt. Today it remains one of the building blocks of a modern wardrobe. It's a template that's been imitated, reworked and reinvented by high street and designer brands alike, but it remains the kind of thing that we buy in the hope that it will lend our outfits a little je ne sais quoi. It's a piece that has endured because it is useful. It has a place in both smart and casual contexts, as chic slung over a pair of jeans as it is draped over the shoulders with a cocktail dress. At a time when oversized, androgynous separates are the calling card of the fashionable woman, a boxy jacket injects some structure and femininity without being too heavy-handed. The nubby finish of bouclé (looped yarn) also adds a rich textural contrast with other wardrobe staples such as denim, cashmere or cotton poplin. Of course, just because it's classic doesn't mean that a boxy bouclé jacket is necessarily for you. For some, the traditional iteration will always remind them of their mother or grandmother, and not necessarily in a good way. They should look instead to something like Me+Em 's bouclé bomber, with its varsity collar and white piping, which is a grown-up yet contemporary take on the idea. 'Where the bomber jacket is typically a more casual piece, using a richly textured Italian bouclé helps to elevate it and allows for customers to style it up or down depending on the occasion,' says Clare Hornby, the founder and chief executive of Me+Em. 'This makes it a really versatile, hard-working item to have in your wardrobe.' Or maybe it's bouclé and tweed that turn you off. Instead, find that boxy shape at Jigsaw, but rendered in blush-pink leather, or at Massimo Dutti in a bitter chocolate suede. Fabienne Chapot has married the smart and the casual in a denim tweed – pair with the matching trousers for a cool, contemporary take on the suit. If in doubt, keep it simple. Toss it over a plain white tee or a crisp, untucked shirt. Team it with jeans and trainers. Button it at the chest and let the bottom swing out to create an A-line shape. The key is not to be too precious about it – whether it's Chanel or good old Zara.
