One of the boys

DEIRDRE MCQUILLANhangs out with the cool Kooples

A VERY TRENDY STYLIST with Elle magazine in France first told me about The Kooples two years ago, when the French brand made its appearance in Paris. The company was started by by three brothers. Its ultra-cool androgynous looks and slick campaign, based around hip couples each wearing much the same thing, combined to turn it into an overnight success. Boyfriend jackets, slightly preppy blazers, lots of skinny trousers and the odd dandyish detail, such as a waistcoat with watch chain, were modelled on real life rock’n’roll types – most, if not all of them, young, beautiful and very, very slim.

This winter’s crop of boyish trousers and boyfriend cardigans echo the continuing his’n’hers trend, matched with reworked takes on duffel coats, peacoats and other familiar male classics. It’s extraordinary to see quilted coats and lookalike Barbour jackets going the way of Hunter wellingtons and even featuring in chain stores such as Penneys this season. Even Chanel’s winter collection, with its slouchy tweeds and pussy-bow shirts, gives the gamine look a cocky street-edge.

Plaid hoodies, a staple in Topman, are great for casual weekend wear and are more affordable alternatives to the avant garde shirt dress shown here. The same can be said for long, bright cardigans in soft cashmere mixes, such as those made by Lucy Downes of Sphere One (or Edmund McNulty at Gentlemen Please in Blackrock). A contrast leather belt adds a touch of military severity to a collarless grey coat, while a duffel with sheepskin hood, collar and cuffs, borrowed from the boys, cuts it for chilly wintry days.