Julia Zirpel is the co-founder of thewearness.com, an onlineshop for ethical fashion and used to work as a fashion director for several women’s magazines.

Men’s fabrics

We women have been wearing tweed coats, glen plaid jackets, or pinstripe fabrics just like men for at least a hundred years. Marlene Dietrich in her suit is unforgettable.

Nevertheless, we still associate classic English fabrics with men. But they look much better on us! The great thing about these fabrics is they are mostly made of pure wool (dump the plastic), are often still produced very traditionally in Great Britain, and last a lifetime.

Any form works—as a coat, jacket, trousers, or skirt. But be careful: especially with blazers, you should aim for a slightly less-classic cut; you don’t want to have an equestrian style. Oversized cuts look cooler, as if you borrowed it from your own husband or friend. The coat should be long, the blazer casually cut, sleeves rolled up. Anyone worried that this looks not yet “grown up” should pay attention to the fit on the shoulders—if the blazer or coat fits perfectly on the shoulders, even smaller women can wear them long.

When styling, these classic fabrics can handle contrast, e.g. pair patent bootees with a silk, flowered dress, check with check or with a bright color, and obviously with a pair of jeans, regardless of how worn they are. You will notice that, no matter what you combine with classic English fabric, it always remains chic and is always suitable for the office.

Here are four examples: