Bazaar UK's fashion director, Avril Mair, answers your style conundrums

The trends in fashion keep changing like the weather. But trust the expert, Avril Mair, the fashion director at Harper's Bazaar UK to be one of the most trusted names in the business. Here she answers many of your doubts about all things style and fashion. 

I’m sure the sensible way to shop is to invest in a winter coat ready for autumn, but it still feels far too warm to be thinking ahead. Can you suggest a purchase that will fulfil my summer-induced urge to ‘buy now, wear now’ while also seeing me through to the cooler months? 

I’ve just come back from a world tour of cruise shows and my style takeaway is that everyone’s wearing a khaki utility jacket. On women from Dior’s elegant PR director, Sydney Finch to its designer, Maria Grazia Chiuri and her daughter, Rachele in Mexico City, not to mention, er, me, everywhere, they were thrown over sun dresses and evening gowns, a shorthand for just-dressed-up-enough chic. Mine is vintage Valentino, hunted down via Vestiaire Collective, which is a good place to look. If you want new season, Celine’s is simple and Toteme has a great one with cargo pockets.

Can you recommend the best T-shirt to go under a jacket for work? 

No matter how rich you might be, nobody needs a £300 (₹31,000 approx) dry-clean-only T-shirt. Look instead on the high street, where COS, Arket and Uniqlo have a cotton or linen-mix version to suit everyone. You need a certain weight of fabric and it has to be whiter than white. Avoid a high crew neck if you’re curvaceous; instead, find one that shows your collarbone (the jury’s out on a V-neck). If you like a looser fit, look in the men’s department. And if you do want to spend more, try Joseph or Sunspel.

I don’t want to ditch my entire wardrobe every season, but I do want to look like I understand fashion and am aware of trends. What can I buy to make me look au courant for A/W 23?

Accessories are always the way to update a look. Sometimes just a change of shoe can make everything feel fresh and new, particularly if it’s a bit unexpected or, as fashion folk like to say, ‘off’. This season, you want something silver and shiny: don’t let me stop you if you think you can carry off metallic leather trousers, but otherwise Alaïa’s studded ballet flats—an update on spring’s sell-out style—are so hot they have a waiting list already.

I have the budget for a new handbag but I don’t know where to start: it needs to be functional but also chic, and still look good in years to come. 

It’s no surprise that female designers are leading the way when it comes to creating bags that marry style and substance. From Chanel’s Virginie Viard to Toteme’s Elin Kling, these working women understand the need for a tote that holds a laptop but can be carried from the office into the evening. Maria Grazia Chiuri’s update on the iconic Dior Lady bag—the 95.22—is timeless but also absolutely modern. Tellingly, it’s modelled in the advertising campaign by women who also embody the idea of style and substance, from the avant-garde choreographer Sharon Eyal to the writer Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie.

I find summer party dresses a bit flimsy and forgettable–can you recommend something chic for after dark? 

A white tuxedo is the height of nonchalant, androgynous glamour—and who doesn’t want to channel a bit of that? Raey’s belted oversize version is on my wish list—it looks shapely and sexy worn over bare skin.

This piece originally appeared in the September 2023 print edition of Harper's Bazaar UK.