Are pleats for schoolgirls and are they more hip than hipster?

Box pleat, knife pleat, accordion pleat, inverted pleat, there’s plenty of choice, and yet pleating brings us back to the notion of school girls and 1970s secretaries. Frockadvisor shudders with schoolgirl recollections of pleated gabardine wool, damp from the rain and perpetually either too long or too short, depending on the cycle of newness of the uniform. And from somewhere, we dredge up memories of Saturday night sit-coms, heroines clothed in sludge brown tones and high flammability, and always pleats of some description.

It is now spring summer 2014, and pleats mean something very different. In fact, it can mean a few different things. There is a gossamer lightness to the offering, gone is the heavy unyielding fabric and hip-magnifying harshness, instead we are met by a fantastical proposition. From flapper pleats with a Just in Case drop-waist dress at Elaine Curtis to the magical lightness of chiffon pleating by Hoss Intropia. A graduated knife pleat skirt in pastel tones and/or metallic tones, skimming the mid calf is a perfect trend collision, as seen at Proenza Schouler. For some, the totality of billowing pleating may set teeth on edge and the notion of an undulating trail of chiffon is more romance than can be stomached. A much more forceful line can be achieved with a graphic box pleat, such as this block dress from Alice & Olivia at Harvey Nichols.

Is neon the preserve of club kids and

80s throwbacks, or can I wear it too?

Neon takes colour to a level of higher consciousness. It is a zen experience of mind-altering magnitude, it screams “Notice Me”, it takes no prisoners and yes there are connotations of rave culture, but neon, right now, is so fashion hot. It’s almost as if time alone has bestowed upon it an honourable maturity.

Frockadvisor knows that many of you will be moving to flick the page right about now, but wait, there is a place in your world for neon, but only on your own terms. The trick is to understand that the power lies with you. If you thought it was impossible to be both avant garde and a classicist, think again, Louise Kennedy’s luminous pink coat proves that one can have an elegantly shod foot in both camps.

The beauty of neon pink, the most forgiving of the set, is that it works so well on all skin tones, from alabaster through to the darkest tones. As for the rest of the gang, it is simply made up of the spectrum of highlighter pens. Coral is one of the friendliest tones to sport across the board, with orange and blue close runners up. At the more challenging end of the scale, yellow and green can make uncomfortable partners for many with paler skin. That said, once the colour injection is taken away from direct skin contact, frockadvisor gives you carte blanche to accessorize at will.

For more advice see frockadvisor.com