Eugénie Trochu is a Who What Wear editor in residence recognized for her transformative work at French Vogue and her Substack e-newsletterthe place she paperwork and shares new traits, her no-nonsense method to style and model, plus different musings. She’s additionally engaged on her upcoming first guide that explores style as an area of reminiscence, projection, and reinvention.
There are items that style retains attempting to make occur, season after season, as if the whole trade had been gaslighting us into believing they make sense. They seem on runways, in lookbooks, on stylists’ temper boards, and each time, I attempt to think about a life during which they’d be sensible. Every time, I fail.
Here are a number of which have at all times left me puzzled, and what I’d put on as an alternative.
1. The “No Pants” Trend
Otherwise often known as going out with out trousers. It’s additionally known as the “underwear trend,” or, for the courageous, Miu Miu’s model of braveness.
The concept? Throw on an oversize shirt, a chunky sweater, an enormous blazer, and beneath, virtually nothing. A pair of briefs, a micro-short, a “statement.”
I attempt to preserve an open thoughts. I’ve at all times defended private expression via clothes: kitsch, oversize, clear. Why not? But there’s a degree the place creativity turns into a query of climate, and the climate has by no means endorsed the disappearance of pants.
The motion supposedly began at Miu Miu, then unfold via a number of celebrities with 1.2-meter legs. On stage or in photographs, it really works: It’s daring, slightly conceptual, a kind of physique manifesto. But in actual life, the impact is much less provocative than alarming. And maybe you appear to be somebody who left residence in a rush.
What I’d put on as an alternative: an ultra-short, completely reduce pair of shortsvirtually like reimagined underwear however worn as actual clothes. Or, my signature selection, a miniskirt.
On high, I’d go for a structured blazer or an oversize sweater to stability the proportions. Still brief, nonetheless daring, however worn as a silhouette not as a dare in opposition to decency.
2. Sheer Skin-Tone Tights
Honestly, I’ve by no means understood them. And but I really feel like I see them on daily basis. They shine, they snag, they yellow, they reduce the leg on the worst attainable spot, and above all, they go along with nothing. Sheer tights are the final word failed compromise: too chilly to go bare-legged, not assured sufficient for actual tights.
Let’s be sincere. Either you make an effort, you’re chilly however you commit, with an extended coat, a shawl, one thing deliberate, otherwise you put on trousers. There’s no in-between. Sheer tights are pure ’90s nostalgia, that barely outdated concept that you just needed to “even out” your leg tone like basis. Today there are a thousand methods to put on a skirt with out that unusual beige no-man’s-land.
What I’d put on as an alternative: Personally, a pair of very superb black Wolford tights or fishnets. And for others, coloured tights : plum, forest inexperienced, midnight blue. Bold, graphic, joyful. A strategy to present your legs with out pretending they’re Pantone shade “human skin.”
3. Rain Ponchos
I imply these large, oversize ponchos, often navy or khaki, that bloom the second it rains an excessive amount of, with their large hoods and flapping sleeves. I perceive the thought in case you’re biking, in case you reside in Copenhagen, you probably have that easy Scandinavian practicality. But in Paris, truthfully, I can’t.
Let’s be actual. Most of us don’t really bike below the rain. We do taxi-to-work, metro-to-work, or run from one assembly to a different with a espresso in hand. And in that context, the rain poncho immediately turns into a transportable tent. Maybe sensible, however not precisely flattering.
What I’d put on as an alternative: An actual stunning trench coat, clearly. There’s nothing extra elegant within the rain. It’s the form of piece that ages effectively, softens, positive aspects character, and at all times carries that ’70s-British-movie vitality. Over it, a superbly fitted cap to defend your face slightly and add a casual-chic notice. And, in fact, an ideal umbrella.
I have a small obsession with resort umbrellas, the type you “borrow” (or preserve by chance) from the exit of a grand resort. They’re heavy, stable, discreet, and they immediately give the impression that you realize what you’re doing in life. Otherwise, a tiny black umbrella, ultra-strong, the type you overlook in your bag till it saves your outfit.
The profitable trio stays the identical: trench coat, cap, umbrella. Neither folklore nor sport gear. Just a civilized strategy to face the rain.
Friend Paris
Green Nylon Ami de Coeur Stud Cap
Ralph Lauren Purple Label
Embroidered Twill Baseball Cap
4. Color-Block
I realize it’s a pattern lots of people adore. And on some, it’s gorgeous: daring harmonies, excellent layers, that stability between mandarin orange and aubergine purple that solely a very educated eye can pull off. But me? I’ve by no means understood it.
Full-on color-block, purple, pink, apple inexperienced, royal blue, at all times makes me really feel like I’m watching a marriage between a Pantone chart and a firework show. I admire it, however I don’t relate. I really feel like I disappear inside all that shade, like I cease present beneath. And let’s be sincere; when it’s even barely off, color-block can go from fashionable to “bourgeoise on acid” very quick.
I know there are guidelines, supposedly: “cool” palettes, “warm” palettes, theoretical contrasts that work superbly on paper. But in actual life, it’s all a bit too mathematical for me.
What I’d put on as an alternative: One robust shade, punctuated by neutrals. A purple pair of trousers with an ivory sweater. A royal-blue coat over an all-black outfit. A contact, not an explosion. True model is figuring out when to cease earlier than you begin wanting like a crooked Mondrian portray.
5. The Balaclava
The balaclava, the balaclava, the balaclava. Even the phrase makes me tense. It’s purported to be stylish now that style calls it a balaclava, as if a fancier identify may change actuality. But no. It’s nonetheless a balaclava. And I simply don’t get it.
I realize it appears to be like nice on some individuals, superb options, sharp cheekbones, enigmatic profiles. On them, it’s Russian spy on vacation in Gstaad, slightly arty, slightly style. But on most of us, let’s be sincere, it’s a knitted catastrophe. A face compressed in a wool tube, cheeks squished, brow unsure. Nothing breathes, nothing flatters.
And let’s be actual; it’s a garment of suspicion. You by no means fairly know if the particular person sporting it simply left a runway or a theft. It’s not the vibe I’m attempting to undertaking, personally.
What I’d put on as an alternative: A beanie and an enormous scarf wrapped generously, or a wool collar you pull over your head. It retains you heat, frames the face with out trapping it, and retains that cozy, nonchalant vitality.
6. The V-Neck
The V-neck is a thriller to me, and not the great form. A limp neckline with no clear intention, not sure whether or not it needs to be stylish, informal, or simply drained. I’ve tried to love it. I can’t. Over a shirt, it’s a catastrophe: It shortens the road of the neck and offers pure “Sunday dad.” And but, apparently, it’s the pattern of fall/winter 2025–2026, noticed in all places, even at Fendi. Well, no. I can’t.
What I’d put on as an alternative: There’s one exception—with a white T-shirt beneath. That tiny element adjustments every little thing. It provides distinction, construction, a little bit of layering that visually shifts the entire thing. The white T-shirt frames the neckline, brings mild again, and offers some spine to a sweater I thought was a misplaced trigger. It’s wild how one tiny adjustment can utterly remodel a bit.
Suddenly, the V-neck appears to be like cool once more, virtually classic, a bit intentionally relaxed, with out that dad-chic stiffness I can’t stand. Proof that generally, all it takes is one element to avoid wasting a complete pattern from itself.
Friend Paris
White Wool Ami De Coeur V Neck Sweater
Cou Cou Intimates
The Baby Tee Regular White
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