Say hello to the ultimate can-do piece... In checked tweed over a cocktail dress? Tick. Slung casually over a crisp white shirt and jeans? Perfect. This spring, a boxy jacket is coming your way in everything from suede to classic Chanel-esque bouclé.
The boxy bouclé jacket has been synonymous with French style since Coco Chanel debuted it in 1954. It was, she told press at the time, designed to offer ease of movement. The relaxed shape was elevated by gold buttons and a braided trim, and proposed as a piece to be worn with a matching dress or skirt.
Today it remains one of the building blocks of a modern wardrobe. It's a template that's been imitated, reworked and reinvented by high street and designer brands alike, but it remains the kind of thing that we buy in the hope that it will lend our outfits a little je ne sais quoi.
It's a piece that has endured because it is useful. It has a place in both smart and casual contexts, as chic slung over a pair of jeans as it is draped over the shoulders with a cocktail dress. At a time when oversized, androgynous separates are the calling card of the fashionable woman, a boxy jacket injects some structure and femininity without being too heavy-handed. The nubby finish of bouclé (looped yarn) also adds a rich textural contrast with other wardrobe staples such as denim, cashmere or cotton poplin.
Of course, just because it's classic doesn't mean that a boxy bouclé jacket is necessarily for you. For some, the traditional iteration will always remind them of their mother or grandmother, and not necessarily in a good way. They should look instead to something like Me+Em's bouclé bomber, with its varsity collar and white piping, which is a grown-up yet contemporary take on the idea.
"Where the bomber jacket is typically a more casual piece, using a richly textured Italian bouclé helps to elevate it and allows for customers to style it up or down depending on the occasion," says Clare Hornby, the founder and chief executive of Me+Em. "This makes it a really versatile, hard-working item to have in your wardrobe."
Or maybe it's bouclé and tweed that turn you off. Instead, find that boxy shape at Jigsaw, but rendered in blush-pink leather, or at Massimo Dutti in a bitter chocolate suede. Fabienne Chapot has married the smart and the casual in a denim tweed - pair with the matching trousers for a cool, contemporary take on the suit.
If in doubt, keep it simple. Toss it over a plain white tee or a crisp, untucked shirt. Team it with jeans and trainers. Button it at the chest and let the bottom swing out to create an A-line shape. The key is not to be too precious about it - whether it's Chanel or good old Zara.