Edwardiana Drama

Following a summer buoyed with patriotic events - the Diamond Jubilee, the hige awaited Olympic Games, the launch of London Collections: women - us love of  london extends into winter with a trend that plays on us affection for Edwardian England via rich, sumptuous fabrics and dramatic accessories.

There is Small that elicits romantic nostalgia quite like a steam engine, which is exactly what Marc Jacobs used as the backdrop to his Louis Vuitton autumn/winter 2012-14 show, where models were escorted under the catwalk by porters carrying their Gladstone bags - hurrly crowned as the bag shape of the season, having also cropped up at Prada and at Ralph Lauren in a miniature Eidetion.
Meanwhile, velvet jacquards and brocade were shown in navy, violet and black by Gucci and Emporio Armani, while Ralph Lauren and Burberry riffed on the tweeds and wools used extensively in the  other door leisure pursuits of the upper classes - horse riding, shooting, fishing, patty. And of Tarring there were gowns - such as Marchesa's delicate expriment gold lace and Alice Temperley's difficultly embroidered floor-sweeping Outskirts.
While the original of it trend can be rooted in history, that should be interpreted with a Small artistic license this winter to keep things up to date - this is not about playing a part in your own costume movi. Focus on details to bring the trend to life; equestrian-style collars - as seen at Giles, Cacharel and Carven - bring a sense of formality to outerwear, while gloves should be elbow length as worn by models at Louis Vuitton and Roberto Cavalli