Back To School Style From Around the World
September should be re-named fashion anxiety month. Whether you're transitioning into your fall wardrobe, dressing up for fashion week or just sad to part with your summer staples, most people are thinking about their style more than usual. It reminds us of when we were heading back to school after the long stretch of summer vacation, thinking about how to most impress our classmates. We asked the fashion insiders at LookLab to show us their "back to school" style if they had to return to alma maters today.
Filio Metsi lives in sunny Athens, Greece, working as a fashion editor for an online luxury boutique and runs (mostly in heels) the blog All you need is style. For fall she's wearing long, cozy sweaters with a sporty luxe attitude, plexiglass details in accessories and a massive mix of patterns — from pastels to brocade and everything in between. She also plans to channel her inner Gossip Girl. Her two-toned sweater dress is paired with a polka dot mini skirt to add a playful, girly twist. For that extra wow factor, she lets her newly acquired Oscar De La Renta plexiglass booties do all the talking. As for accessories she kept them minimal and stacked a bunch of clear bangles to match her shoes, for a stylish equilibrium.
Alexandra Osina is a freelance stylist based in Moscow. She built her look around a mens' shirt, which provides a bold statement. The Oxfords and sweater complete the preppy fall look.
Suzanne van der Molen, a stylist from the Netherlands, loves to feast on fashion. This fall most certainly won't be an exception. Right now monochromatic and digital prints are everywhere and she incorporated this trend into her look. The cape she's wearing is two trends in one: burgundy is the go-to color this fall and the cape falls into the equestrian look we've seen at Hermès and Balenciaga. She added some gold and silver jewelry, with an unexpected touch of hot pink agate, as well as a sleek and sophisticated Celine purse.
Sacha Harrision is a London-based freelance stylist and creative director of online magazine Rookie Creative. When she was still in school she mostly wore baggy boyfriend jumpers, denim skater jeans and Adidas pop up trousers. She's parted with her tragic fashion faux pas of the past, but there are some general preppy basics that she still adheres to, like wearing blazers, crisp shirts, socks (the geekier the better!) and backpacks. She found this Timberland backpack in a vintage store in Rome. "It has a thick zip and metal lock...so all the bullies can't steal stuff," she says.
Hannah Bhuiya is a stylist and fashion writer based in Paris and London. She loves the school-girl-meets-Parisienne look. For her fall look she's rocking an authentic boater which she bought in a hat shop in the Marais in Paris. The rest of the outfit, barring the shoes, is all vintage — she's a vintage consultant for Atelier Mayer, The shoes, patent burgundy loafers, were purchased at the shoe department at Selfridges London, a place she has whiled away hours and hours on the hunt for fashion treasures.
Clara Gold is a fashion stylist born and raised in Toronto. Clara divides her time between being a stylist and running a new boutique, Life of Manek, working as the manager and buyer. "I'm sticking to the classics for this Fall 2012... Leather, denim and stripes. My look is always a little bit '80s teenager meets Parisian chic," she says.
Martina Martiala is a Finnish stylist, designer and co-Founder of Nordic Wardrobe. She loves layering and combining shorts with big chunky knits, as seen here in her look. "A statement necklace adds that little extra something to an everyday outfit," she says.
Savannah Barthorpe is a fashion stylist and founder/editor of online magazine Fashion Clocking. She describes her look as "eclectic glam." After a childhood spent in Africa, she traveled extensively before making London my creative base. "I’m lucky to have lived in different cities around the world and to have known many inspirational people who sparked my love of fashion and art," she says. To her it all goes back to a classic Chanel suit her mother owned and the portrait of Coco on her bedroom wall. Hence the timeless, classic black and white outfit, featuring a blazer, a white shirt by Vivienne Westwood and shoes by Miu Miu.
