If you suddenly needed to build an everyday, workhorse wardrobe from scratch, you could consider Margaret Howell as a starting point. From the Paris store, which transforms into a showroom on the Sunday of fashion week, the usual rails featured the pieces according to how they were assembled in the lookbook.
Yarn-dyed linen jackets had a relaxed construction, while a deep blue Macintosh trench was crisp and sturdy. Two key colors—crimson and chamomile—stood out as cap-sleeved shirt dresses or else fully coordinated looks (red remained inescapable, especially when done to the max). The studio found fresh interest in a fine ticking stripe from the archives, and there was a bolder blue-and-white “deckchair” stripe that worked well for a shirt-and-skirt combo.
Beyond a premium approach to fabrics—from puppytooth (a houndstooth, only smaller) and lighter weight check wool supplied by Fox Brothers—Margaret Howell’s secret sauce can be found in proportions. Trousers (the label is British, after all) are cut generously without being slouchy; skirts are ample without being boxy. This season dresses introduced more volume, and this is what also gave them a more interesting shape. Even neckties, made from shirt offcuts, had been reconsidered with slightly wider proportions.
Where last season’s newness was shirting thanks to the company’s dedicated London Workroom, this season yielded leather goods named after the Marylebone streets around the store. In a handful of sensible styles (cross-body, tote, satchel), the bags are designed in London and are made in Italy with German, full-grained leather. Silver hardware revisited pieces from the archives. At first glance and touch, they seemed well-suited to the low-key polish that defines a Margaret Howell line-up.
