Just spottted. It's the 1980s. Again

Looking Our Best has it on good style authority that the decade that put the nasty in Dynasty is one of the retro trends this Autumn. Tsk. It’s enough to make us feel old.

LOB vividly remembers the fashion horror of those neon hued, big shoulder padded days,  and greets news of a revival pretty much the same way that a Ryanair cabin crew member might on hearing that Gerard Depardieu has booked another flight to Dublin. One strong look from the early 1980s that baby boomers will recall is leopard print, mainly in sweaters, shirts and jackets and teamed with leather skirts or ski pants (yes, unfortunately).  Although LOB has always been of the opinion that leopard print looks best on the leopard itself, she concedes that it has abiding appeal for many of her stylish sisters.  To avoid referencing Corrie’s Bet Lynch, the trick is to restrict the autumn wardrobe to just one or two pieces. LOB’s prowl through the new season’s collections has spotted variations on the big cat trend that are flattering for grown-ups, such as this leopard print wrap dress from Hobbs (€100 approx) pictured above.  Alternatively, these L.K. Bennett sling backs

could be just the thing for stalking in while also updating a favourite LBD. (Although the hefty price tag - €255 approx will have you needing to sit down again).   The Hepburn bag by Aspinall is equally gasp inducing in price but rather, er,  purr-fect.

So, 80s leopard print? Maybe. Leg-warmers? No way. Not even if they keep the chilblains at bay...

Ultra Stylish Person of the month   .... 

Looking Our Best is acutely aware that citing Helen Mirren as a stylish role model for women of a certain age is now a right royal cliché. Especially in the tabloids, bless ‘em, where they love proclaiming her with headlines of dubious complimentary worth such as ‘oh look, she can still wear a swimsuit even though she’s got a bus pass’. Alright you red tops, lets be ‘aving you – as DCI Jane Tennison might say. Because the Prime Suspect star and woman who played The Queen with even more imperious majesty than Liz the second herself, is a grown up USP for much more than being able to get in and out of a swimming pool at age 66. Rumour has it that when she makes one of her frequent and dazzling appearances on the red carpet, she’s not necessarily advertising a five-figure sum gown for some designer, either.  On one occasion, when the zip broke on her couture get-up, she reputedly wore a £7 thrift shop dress kept on standby.  "I love second-hand shops," she has been quoted, adding,
"Or I make my own clothes because I've never found the kinds of things I liked. My mother taught me how to work a sleeve." Truly, when it comes to looking a million dollars on a tight budget, there is nothing like a Dame ...

Words of the style wise .... 

Speaking of 80s fashion, and women who can still rock a leopard print jacket, LOB can’t wait to have a read of The World According to Joan. In a new book, the inimitable Joan Collins (78),  has decided to reveal her style and beauty secrets to a breathless nation with all the accepted grouchiness that is one of the joys of ageing.  Whatever of the big shoulder pads, our Joanie has no time for big waistbands, with the alarming warning that the overweight “are digging their graves with their own teeth." Eeow.

Pulled over by the fashion police ...

LOB is loving the re-run of Danish thriller The Killing (Forbrydelsen) nightly on BBC4, just ahead of the new series. We now know whodunnit, while Sofie Grabol, who plays unflappable leading investigator Sarah Lund, has also explained the mysterious appeal of her rather homely woolly jumper – an unlikely fashion trend.  “Everybody wanted that sweater," she told The Observer. "The company in the Faroe Islands couldn't keep up. We had a costume meeting and I saw that sweater and thought: 'That's it!” The reason it's so perfect is because it tells so many stories. It tells of a person who doesn't use her sexuality – that's a big point. Lund's so sure of herself she doesn't have to wear a suit. She's at peace with herself." Just the thing to stay warm while running through that bleak, November landscape.