Fifty more shades of grey, brought to you by Jac & Jack and Bassike

STYLE Q & A with fashion editor Glynis Traill-Nash. This week, shades of grey and how to pull off the “mother of the groom” look.

Grey knits Jac+ Jack

WHICH shade of grey?

OK, let’s get this over with. Grey in every shade — more than the rather limited 50 now in cinemas — is having a moment. The European catwalks were covered in it for their winter collections, and we’re about to embrace it wholeheartedly. Bassike has pale grey knits (bassike.com), and Jac & Jack (jacandjack.com) has perfect mid-grey. Country Road has gone to town with knits, coats and separates in a variety of shades. Members of the grey scale can be mixed to maximise chic, but for my money, deep charcoal is super versatile, playing well with brights from canary to cobalt, and making white pop. And … fade to grey.

How do I do “mother of the groom” without looking nanna? Age is a number, not a mindset, and this should be our approach to dressing, too. There are things you may want to tweak as you get older; perhaps the hemline could come down a couple of inches if you’re not happy about showing off those pins. But don’t feel the need — ever — to adopt the poly floral frock (surely on fashion’s most endangered list). For a wedding, something chic is called for. Designers such as Carl Kapp (carlkapp.com) offer loads of sophistication — a well-cut sheath dress with a softly tailored blazer, for example, or long-sleeved tee in a luxurious fabric worn with trousers. A coat is great to anchor a look, especially those in metallic jacquards (by Malene Birger and Adam Lippes at net-a-porter.com). Perfect with jeans and a tee post-wedding.