Shane Watson reveals how to upgrade your spring wardrobe for just £12

2023-03-20

Follow Kate’s thrifty look at the Baftas: Shane Watson reveals how to upgrade your spring wardrobe for just £12

Kate wore a dress she also sported in 2019 and some £17.99 gold earrings
READ MORE: Princess of Wales’s bold BAFTAs outfit choice proved she is ‘fashion forward’, stylist says

You may have seen that the Princess of Wales attended this year’s Baftas wearing a dress by Alexander McQueen that she first wore to the awards in 2019, this time with an altered shoulder detail, and some gold chandelier earrings that cost £17.99.

That’s a ten out of ten fashion bulls‑eye. She didn’t just look great, she was recycling (big tick) and her knockout earrings were from Zara, not the royal vault, demonstrating she has a beady eye for what works on the night. Clever Kate.

On this occasion, diamond ear candy with the snow white dress and black opera gloves might have seemed a little stuffy; the Zara earrings were spot on and, by choosing them, Kate reminded us that earrings make all the difference.

Earrings and footwear are the easiest outfit upgraders. They can inject glamour, fun, sparkle, sophistication, a blast of up-to-the-minute fashion and colour. They can be wildly over the top without you risking making a fool of yourself.

Earrings have the edge over shoes. They’re always on show, even when you’re wearing a floor-sweeping hem or sitting down at a table, and after quite a few years of disregarding their potential (apart from Zoom earrings in lockdown), they’re back at the forefront of fashion once again.

All those chic understated gold coin earrings and hoops are fine for hanging around the house but the mood is bigger, bolder and blingier. Put away your sparkly studs. Not since the 1980s has a statement earring felt so right.

Starting with the big event earrings, you either suit a dangling waterfall or chandelier earring or you don’t. It’s worth trying on a few — it’s always surprising what suits you. Earrings are one thing you should never buy online.

Earrings have the edge over shoes. They’re always on show, even when you’re wearing a floor-sweeping hem or sitting down at a table. Pictured: Michelle Yeoh at thethe Vanity Fair Oscar Party wearing statement earrings

The rough rule of thumb is the plainer the clothes the fancier the earring can be and the cleaner the neckline, the longer you can go. A one-shoulder dress like Kate’s, a bare neckline or a plain round neck suits long earrings.

You don’t want them fighting with collars or pussybows or, for that matter, necklaces.

Earrings: The new rules

Stick to two colours
OPT for longer cascade styles
Pearl, gold and crystal are going strong
Go for bigger, bolder and longer

With an ornate dangly earring there’s quite a lot going on already, so it’s best to stick to one or two colours. Kate’s Zara earrings have sold out, but for a similar look, try Mango’s crystal and pearls cascade earrings (£17.99) or long gold spiral earrings (£12.99, shop.mango.com).

Sorry to say, those semi-precious stone drops we’ve all been wearing for years are two a penny now. But you don’t have to say goodbye to them completely, just make sure their scale or colour, or both, packs a punch.

Personally, I’m in the mood for something different, and for dressing up I’d go for something like M&S’s zirconia pear drop earrings (£25, marksandspencer.com), or Zara’s big metal dangle earrings inset with rose and green resin (£15.99, zara.com).

If you don’t go big, make your earrings blingy like M&S’s rhinestone mini pear drop earrings (£12.50) — these ones will go with everything.

Talking of going with everything, I still haven’t had nearly enough of irregular shaped pearls on gold hoops — partly because you can wear them with a polo neck and trousers and look like you’re ready for cocktails at The Ritz.

Earrings and footwear are the easiest outfit upgraders. They can inject glamour, fun, sparkle, sophistication, a blast of up-to-the-minute fashion and colour. Pictured: Jessica Chastain wearing sparkly dangling earrings

They’re nothing out of the ordinary at this point but that’s because they work so well – shimmering pearls and gold are particularly flattering to midlife skin and you can wear them in the day.

If you’re tempted, the best of the real pearl styles are from Dinny Hall (£160, dinnyhall.com) or Monica Vinader (£95, monicavinader.com), otherwise & Other Stories does some decent quality pearl drops (£40, stories.com). Go as big as you can afford.

I’ve also got my eye on a pair of Kenneth Jay Lane’s costume jewellery earrings that are a crossover style ie. cocktaily but also fun and wearable in the day.

There are lots of brightly coloured earrings in the shops, including beaded, raffia, resin, enamel and glass styles, but these work best in summer when I’m a big fan of white stones and turquoise.

Check out Pippa Small’s turquoise mountain collection pippasmall.com. No harm in getting in there early.

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