Trends 2009 ii. Tough

Tough

"This look mixes the edgy and the femenine. The focus is on durable, hard-wearing, no nonsense materials such as leather and ripped or shredded denim. The details are borrowed from bondage - studs, zips, buckles, traps, heavy chains or feathers - but the overall look is more cool than kinky."

HOW TO WEAR IT

• A pair of leather leggins instantly toughens up your look. Wear with a long tee and killer heels, as seen as Emilio Pucci, above.


• Invest in a leather coat or biker jacket.


• Evening wear gets a tough makeover with leather cocktail dresses and bustiers.


• Accessories are an easy way into this look. Bold, oversized metal cuffs and heavy chain necklaces give any outfit a tough edge.

HOW TO GET THE LOOK

1 Studded cuff, £18, from H&M. 2 Zip corsage, £25 from Dorothy Perkins. 3 Leather pencil skity, £89, from Mango. 4 Zip-fronted ankle boots, £575, by Alexander McQueen. 5 Zip bustier, £25, from Dorothy Perkins.

All above images and text: The Sunday Times Style magazine

MY HIGH STREET PICKS

1 Tall Asymmetric Frill Zip Vest, £28, Topshop. 2 Studded Waist Detail Bandeau Dress, £32, Mango. 3 Knitted Stud Top, £35, Topshop. 4 Small stud cross body bag, £24, Urban Outfitters. 5 Multi Strap Platform Gladiator, £39, Nine West. 6 Grey stud bracelet, £5, Peacocks.

Sometimes catwalk trends are hard to emulate without looking outlandish or eccentric - not that this is a bad thing, but it simply isn't everyones cup of tea. This trend is very versatile and can be worn and adapted by anyone. You don't have to go all out to acheive it, nor do you need to spendspendspend. A few accessories are all you need to give your outfit a "tough edge".

The greatest thing about this look is that it is so easy to do it yourself. You could buy studs (ebay or here) and re-fashion your existing clothes (or bags, belts, shoes, hairbands...anything!), shred a pair of jeans or strategically sew some zips into a tee shirt.

Here are some great DIY Tutorials I found:

Images: Park and Cube

Alexander Wang style studded bag and shredded jeans at Park and Cube.

Images: Maison des Rêveries

Balmain style studded blazer at Maison des Rêveries

I'm going to try and stud an old leather bag I have but haven't gotten round to doing so yet. Hopefully will post my attempts in the upcoming weeks.