This season’s most useful item, from Tibi, Frankie Shop and Bassike
The return of the ’90s vest is like being reunited with an old friend.
There is a long-accepted fashion rule that if you went hard on a trend the first time around, you leave well alone when it next, inevitably, resurfaces.
It can be a good rule of thumb, especially if Hypercolour T-shirts factored large in your youth.
Despite not being a rule follower in the fashion sense, this was one that I have more or less stuck to. But the return of the waistcoat has finally seen me buckle.
In the ’90s, the waistcoat was one of my favourite go-to wardrobe items. One I stole from my dad’s wardrobe (much to his chagrin), part of a rarely worn three-piece suit. Another was handed over by a then-boyfriend, potentially pilfered from his own father’s wardrobe.
I didn’t ask too many questions, given how enamoured I was of the tailored piece, which long outlived the relationship.
I generally wore them with black trousers or high-waisted jeans and a white T-shirt – easy, no thought required. Just add loafers and Clinique’s Black Honey lipstick and it was peak ’90s.
The waistcoat’s return – from slow creep to avalanche – has had me craving its familiar appeal.
Post-pandemic, shopping has been hard, even for someone who sees everything in their inbox well before it hits the stores. What are we even buying for any more, with the work-life barriers being continually blurred?
On a shopping trip last weekend, I was on the hunt for lightweight trousers for an upcoming trip to warmer climes.
Instead, it was a black waistcoat that all but beckoned me from the rack.
In the change room, it was like being reunited with an old friend. The type you haven’t seen for a decade (or two), but you manage to pick up exactly where you left off.
The outfit I was in was instantly updated when I put it on. With a T-shirt, I could wear it to work. It would make a charming lunch date with jeans for company.
With the right black trousers and a great piece of jewellery, it would work on its own for a night out. And even skirts could benefit from its inherent charms.
In winter, I can wear it over a skinny poloneck – marrying two ’90s favourites once more.
It’s not only like a long-lost friend, but the one who has an answer for all of life’s quandaries.
Taking it to the checkout, I knew that we would have a wonderful synergy for many years to come, well after the zeitgeist is over.
Because great pieces are like great friendships – they go the distance.
Just like rules were made to be broken.
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