Deb's sewing basket

American Clothing Influencing British Style

The Scruffs Have It
Brits have a very exact style we are always told, a shabby chic eclectic style but are we being influenced by the wholesome all American look that seems to be gaining popularity?

The Franklin and Marshall college style is blooming in the European market it is a more casual look than has been previously seen but it still has a very clean well put together look. So why is this look doing so well in the UK, where looking good is not part of everyday life, unless it involves stripy shirts and bow ties that is.

The British approach to colour co-ordination has been a much more throw on clothes and see what happens. Is this really the case? In truth it takes just as much effort to create an uncoordinated look. The scruffy hair unquestionably takes a long time to get that look just right, girls mess their hair up and often clip it to one side and boys spend hours in front of the mirror with their pots of gel messing their hair up. That oh just this old thing has certainly become the look of choice with brands like Jack Wills profiting by using lumberjack shirts and tracksuit bottoms in their collections. They have a similar style to Abercrombie and Fitch and Italian Brand Franklin and Marshall are the new kids on the block with the American collegiate style.

A New Wave of Sports Clothing
The things that epitomise this look are polo shirts, hoodies and tracksuit bottoms, it is a very clean cut look, until the Brits get their hands on it that is. Wearing baggy tracksuit bottoms with messy hair even the Italians can’t stop us from turning their carefully created Franklin and Marshall hoodies into a scruffy item of clothing.

Even those who have hardly ever been by a sports field apart from at school are embracing this type of Franklin and Marshall clothing. Is it the comfort factor or is it simply the style that people are getting all excited about? It cannot be argued that wearing trackie bums and a tshirt is very relaxing but not a smart way of dressing.

With this return to the clean cut look of  Franklin and Marshall how have the Brits welcomed this style?  Well they have made it as messy and British as they could, tracksuit bottoms are worn very baggy and if possible ripped and messed up around the bottom. Hoodies are worn until they are falling apart preferably with a few holes and shirts are not ironed! Well we couldn’t break the habit of a lifetime and look smart. A foppish dandy style is favoured by Brits, it must be something to do with the general psyche of people who live in the UK, we like things to be fuzzy around the edges. So why are we so happy to embrace the Franklin and Marshall sports look? I think it must be the slightly slouchy aspect of wearing essentially pyjamas and getting away with it because it is thought to be a look rather than being lazy!

It seems that we are happy to take the clothes from designers like Franklin and Marshall but we like to add our own type of washed out messiness to them in order to make them become more eclectic

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