This “Old” Trend Is Suddenly So Popular Again

September 30, 2021 at 08:00AM

Social media has changed the rapidity of trends. Traditionally, new trends would start and end with each passing season. Now, however, with the world at our fingertips, trends can be born quite literally overnight. All it takes is for a celebrity to upload a snap of their latest outfit or an influencer their new purchase, and you’ve got the fashion equivalent of a domino effect. As such, it takes something pretty special to withstand the turnover, which makes what we’re going to discuss today all the more impressive indeed.

The bouclé trend has lasted not just a year, not just a decade, but over 60 years. The fabrication, woven from a specific type of looped wool yarn and derived from the French term for “ringed” or “curled,” has become synonymous with high-end style. And though it has been used to create clothes and furniture for centuries, it was arguably Gabrielle “Coco” Chanel who put it on the sartorial map.

Inspired by menswear tailoring, Chanel created the first iteration of her iconic bouclé jacket-and-skirt set back in the 1950s, and it has been considered one of the chicest things you can wear ever since. There might be a certain wealthy-French-woman air about bouclé, but through the years, fashion types have found fresh new ways of integrating the fabric into their wardrobes, wearing it in jacket form with their jeans or by way of a skirt offset with a silky camisole, thus cementing its status as a classic fashion investment.

We couldn’t help but notice just how many people have been wearing bouclé over the past couple of weeks, and we don’t think it’s a coincidence. In fact, upon further inspection, we realised the new-in sections of our favourite websites are flooded with bouclé textures, meaning it is already shaping up to be one of the biggest trends of autumn 2021.

If you’re looking for a new way to style your existing bouclé wares or fancy getting in on the action, scroll on to see how those in the know are wearing the iconic fabric, and then shop the best pieces to buy now. 

Next Up: 5 of the Coolest Women Just Shared Their Autumn Shopping Lists With Me

Author Maxine Eggenberger | Whowhatwear
Selected by CWC