Jess Cartner-Morley on fashion: this season’s vibe is lady who lounges - not lunches

Think boucle jackets with low-waisted jeans, silk blouses with masculine trousers, pencil skirts with wellies …

It always makes me feel a tiny bit queasy when looking “ladylike”, as a trend or a vibe or whatever, comes into fashion. How does it make sense to spend our hard-earned paychecks cosplaying as women of lunches and leisure?

You can’t deny these clothes are cute, though. A boucle jacket can make you feel as if the Eiffel Tower might come into view around the next corner, even though you are in the wrong country. A mini-heel lets you imagine you might be having a glass of sancerre with your lunch, when in reality a can of San Pellegrino is as exciting as it is going to get. There is an air of gentle charm, of courtesy, to lady-adjacent style that can take the edge off a tough day.

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‘Children are naturally drawn to beauty’: the head of the ‘fake’ Issey Miyake preschool on their pleated uniforms

Ms Lam Montessori’s head of school reveals teachers wear a different Japanese designer after their chic clothes drew online envy

“Does anyone know what the deal is Ms Lam Montessori … and why all their employees wear Issey Miyake … every day … I’m confused and a bit jealous,” asked one commenter on the Williamsburg subreddit last week, sparking a unexpected viral moment for a chain of Brooklyn Montessori preschools.

The poster was responding to photos on the Montessori’s website of the teachers’ uniforms: raspberry, cobalt and apple green dresses in plissé fabric. They appeared to be from the Pleats Please line by Japanese designer Issey Miyake. It seemed an avant-gard choice for staff posing in front of the abachi and blond wood toys of their preschool classroom.

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Check the waistband – and beware sneaky jargon: the expert guide to buying clothes that last

Should you look for French seams or overlocking? Is dry-clean only a red flag? And how do you spot quality when shopping online? We asked the pros

• How to make your leather last a lifetime

Take a look at the outfit you’re wearing now: how many times have you worn each item? And how long have you had them? Just over 10 years ago, Eco-Age founder Livia Firth and journalist Lucy Siegle launched the 30 wears challenge to encourage people to buy clothes they would wear at least 30 times.

The 30 wears challenge is a great concept. As a journalist interested in sustainable fashion, I’ve enjoyed applying this rule for years and found the goal can often be surpassed, but with one proviso: clothing must be chosen carefully. The goal is only realistic if garments are of good enough quality to stand up to repeated wear. So, how do you know if your clothes really are well made? Does it mean you have to spend a fortune on them? Do you need to know the difference between a French seam and an overlock seam? And how can we judge clothing quality before buying if we are, like 37% of Britons, getting most of our clothes online? I spoke to experts to find out.

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Jess Cartner-Morley’s October style essentials: glam jeans, an irresistible coat and my shoes of the year

Ready to fall back in love with getting dressed? Our fashion expert’s favourites bring layers, colour and just the right amount of drama

• The best women’s autumn wardrobe updates

October is when getting dressed starts to get interesting again. It is not yet cold enough for the full swaddling, but there is bandwidth for layers, texture, colour, a little drama. This month’s edit has all of the above. There is an irresistible coat, a tomato-red jumper to wake up everything you already own, and the bag I think may be the answer if you want something roomy that still feels neat. Also, stirrup leggings!

Elsewhere, I’ve finally located the right sheer shirt for anyone ready to dip a toe into transparency, some extremely glamorous Marks & Spencer jeans and a lovely ring that looks much more special than its price. And because October is also the month when staying in starts to sound as appealing as going out, there are candles for the kitchen table. A sensible autumn shopping list, but with a little soul.

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‘People sell their best stuff on Vinted’ – how charity shops became a dumping ground for unsellable clothes

Swamped with ‘daily avalanches’ of soiled items and poor-quality fast fashion, secondhand stores are in crisis. What went wrong with people’s good intentions? And is it possible to donate more effectively?

The small stockroom of St Raphael’s Hospice charity shop in Cheam, south London, is rammed with donations. “On average, we get 30 to 50 bags a day,” says Caroline Worley, the commercial manager, “but it’s not unusual to receive over 100.” This might sound like a good problem to have, but the sheer volume of stuff is the shop’s biggest challenge. “Sometimes, there’s only [enough] floor space to tiptoe,” says 48-year-old store manager, Colin French.

Rummaging through the donations, it’s clear that much is unsaleable: a smelly, soiled bathrobe, tatty trainers, heavily bobbled jumpers, old socks, an empty Swarovski jewellery case. “Absolutely typical,” says Worley. They’re also overwhelmed with deluges of low-quality fashion – a shift in donation habits that accelerated during Covid, because, says Worley, all that time at home enabled people to sell their best stuff on Vinted.

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