Have you ever noticed how a lot of the best dressed lists are comprised of people your mom would call scruffy? You know, those twenty-somethings who dress with a bit of bohemian spirit, a rock and roll rough edge and a touch of the scruff about them? The usual suspects of this trend are Kirsten Dunst, Erin Wasson and Alexa Chung: three of my personal style icons.
My mother constantly complains about seeing these ladies in magazines under ‘best dressed’. There is something so thoroughly youthful and modern about this look – something best appreciated by the young and misunderstood by the older generation. Our mothers’ generation were inspired by the put-together elegance of Audrey Hepburn and Jackie O, and lived through chic 1980s power dressing. Instead we have Sienna Miller’s boho revolution and the reinvention of the hippy spirit and boyish chic in Kate Moss’s androgynous style of skinny jeans and tuxedo jackets.
Staples of the scruff style are knee high socks, grand-dad shirts, oxford flats, faded and fraying denim as well as waist coats galore. Dunst is often photographed wearing this entire ensemble, complete with pendants and Rayban wayfarers. Chung’s taste is a little more refined, with high-waisted skirts matched with school boy blazers and shoes, making her pretty much synonymous with dressing-down outfits. Wasson again is different, with a penchant for trilbies and oversized tees over skinny jeans. All three have their individuality intact – the most important aspect of the scruffy look. This look is throwing together timelessly stylish pieces in a street-wise way in order to show personality and creativity.
Even the catwalks are getting in on this look. Balmain’s recent s/s 09 collection embraced it, with his rock-star studded jackets and scruffed up faded denim jeans, topped off with the bohemian’s best friend – the gladiator sandal. Even ripped tights cropped up on the catwalks this season. So what’s so wrong with scuffed shoes and holey tights? It’s fashionable mom!
Becky Cope is a new writer for our blog. We strongly recommend you to check out her blog as well.
