The Style Agenda: 10 Ways To Get Ahead On The New Season

As autumn approaches, bringing with it a host of box-fresh ideas set to transform your wardrobe, Vogue rounds up the style rules for the season ahead. From the perfect animal-print trench coat to the new stacked mule, these are the autumn/winter 2018/2019

2018 trends to buy into now and wear later.

1. Paco Rabanne — Paco Rabanne’s girl has long been wedded to a glistening after-dark dress; now, it’s the unexpected daylight appeal of metallic medallion panels with wool that’s impossible to ignore.
*Cardigan, £460; sleeveless knit top, £930; skirt, £2,350; slides, £420, all Paco Rabanne. Hoop earrings, from £100 at Jennifer Fisher.*

2. The scarf-neck blouse
Fashion is in a generous mood: capitalise with a lavish neckline and dress your throat with a jaunty knot.
Ellery Salvador neck-tie blouse, £485 at Matchesfashion.com.
3. The perfect shade of yellow
Sunny Delight-yellow is the ultimate mood enhancer. Wear it head to toe – with a splash of optic white – and consider it therapy for those inevitable post-holiday blues.
Lemaire autumn/winter 2018.
4. The skirt suit
A skirt suit is strait-laced by nature, but cut long and lean and rendered in sumptuous blush wool it becomes a wild-card wardrobe entry. Take it out for a spin with a vampy pump.
Gabriela Hearst autumn/winter 2018.
5. The pendant necklace
Seventies disco chains have the edge on chokers. Pair with bitter chocolate or chestnut brown à la Chloé, for instant sophistication.
Necklace, £660 at Chloé.
6. The shoe-string belt
We challenge you to come up with a neater way to a waist than a quick double knot on a pair of shoelaces. That thrifty feeling has never felt better.
Acne Studios autumn/winter 2018.
7. The croc bag
Not real crocodile, mind. There’s just one rule: the dinkier the better.
Leather bag, £396 at Rejina Pyo.
8. The stacked mule
If shoes are the new bags, then Gucci’s mules are the “it” hit of the season. Style them with louche suiting or a pleated skirt.
Leather mules, £620 at Gucci.
9. The cardigan coat
Doesn’t a body-cocooning cardi look right again? And, more importantly, doesn’t it look easy?
Chanel autumn/winter 2018.
10. The animal-print trench
Animal print has a gauche, wayward energy this season; rein it in with a subtle trench coat template that is fluent in ladylike complexity.
Wool coat, £1,025 at Sykes.