I’m going to tell you something now which you are going to find very hard to believe, but just take my word for it, because I promise you I am right. What your spring wardrobe needs is a pair of Rupert Bear trousers.
A New Style Of Trouser is a phrase to strike fear into all sensible hearts at the best of times. No one in their right mind wants trouser shapes to change. It takes ages to get the hang of wearing a new style of trouser, whether that is skinny jeans or smart track pants. It impacts on what shoes look right and what coat works. Once you have got the hang of how to wear a certain style, doing anything differently seems daunting and just too much of a faff, which is why half the world is still wearing skinny jeans a good decade after fashion pronounced them dead.
And besides, Rupert Bear? Seriously? Rupert Bear was never one of the cool kids, even in the cartoon world. He wasn’t punk like Dennis the Menace or Belgian like Tintin. He was a total square. I mean... he’s called Rupert. And yet, his trademark check trousers are totally happening this season.
The checked blazer has been a fashion look for two years now. It turned up one season as an amusing new trend and then stuck around because it made itself useful. It works over midi-length dresses in print or colour; it works with high-waisted jeans and a T-shirt. It looks smart but it doesn’t look stuffy. The matching trousers, however, haven’t proved as popular so far, because checked trousers are – well, they are a bit Rupert Bear.
But instead of checks being phased out of fashion, they are getting bigger. The polite Prince of Wales blurred-grid kind is being overtaken by bold windowpane checks. Grey is being superseded by colour. And the check isn’t just for a coat or blazer any more – it’s for a skirt, or a dress, or ideally a pair of fitted and high-waisted trousers.
Another thing that Rupert Bear got right, style-wise, is what to wear with these trousers. A block-coloured sweater is all you need. This camel crewneck is one of mine, from M&S, an old faithful that I know has my back and so rely on to pair with a more outlandish bottom half. The shoes are mine, too – but in a colour I’ve borrowed from Rupert’s favourite jumper. Didn’t I tell you he was a style icon?
• Jess wears trousers, £59, stories.com, with her own jumper and shoes.
