Shopping new trends is so last season...

Maybe in a perfect world, we’d all be immune to trends. But when you love fashion, it isn’t always easy to muffle the siren call of the catwalk with a wardrobe of ‘timeless classics’. Culture changes, influences evolve, the collective mood shifts... and sometimes you wake up with a style itch that has to be scratched. We’re only human.

Luckily swapping and sharing can satisfy those trend cravings without buying anything brand new. Plus, when you step away from the high street and delve into other people’s wardrobes (or even your own) you realise just how many of those new season ‘must-haves’ have been recycled and rehashed by fashion since time immemorial. There are no brand new ideas, only new owners and new ways to wear them.

So from sharp tailoring to swingin’ trims, here are five trends for AW20 that we’re borrowing, swapping and loving right now – all without buying a thing.

Suits you

Just because you’re WFH, doesn’t mean you can’t suit up. From silk pyjama shirts to button-down jumpsuits to blazers over our sweatpants, we’re power dressing for the new normal with a nod to the old boys’ club.

Mixing tailored separates with soft, slouchy and feminine accents is a great way to get more wear out of a statement suit, while nothing sharpens your mood for a Zoom call like a strong lapel or a perfect trouser crease. The brief: 40s Katharine Hepburn, 80s David Bowie, 90s Hilary Banks and right-now Janelle Monae.

Red alert

All those years of millennial pink have left us hungry for a bolder hue – so as the temperature drops, we’re turning up the thermostat in our wardrobes. But forget the Chris de Burgh clichés; red can be as playful and contemporary as it is sexy and powerful. And don’t limit yourself to lipstick and shoes – we especially love colour-blocking bright red with pink, orange or even more red, for a quick hit of sartorial confidence. You’ll look, as the kids say, fire.

Balloon drop

There’s no missing them. From a gentle prairie puff to a dramatic, accidentally-dip-it-in-your-soup balloon, big sleeves are blowing up right now. Once we stepped off the pavement to maintain social distancing; now it’s to make room for our arms.

Some of the biggest, airiest examples around are on vintage tops and frocks – search Ossie Clark, Jean Varon and Biba for inspiration – but almost every era has toyed with statement sleeves, so there are plenty of different styles floating around out there. Layer them under sweater vests (another AW20 mood) and short-sleeved jumpers to bring those balloons back down to earth.

Reality check

Picnic weather might be over, but our love affair with gingham is going nowhere. In fact, it’s being joined by houndstooth, window pane, heritage tweed and more plaid than a Bay City Rollers tribute act.

Checks have pretty much never left the fashion radar, which means there are decades’ worth of different styles out there to swap and borrow. So tart(an) yourself up with a glorious mishmash of prints, find out how surprisingly versatile Rupert the Bear trousers can be, and test-drive a Clueless-style kilt co-ord. Did we say ‘share clothes’? We meant Cher clothes.

Fringe benefits

Just like an autumnal roast dinner, sometimes the trimmings are the best part. And while marabou feathers, pom-poms and faux fur all have their place, fashion (like so many of us, as soon as the awkward hair grip phase is over) will always go back to a fringe.

Borrowing a spectacular fringed piece for a special occasion instead of buying it just makes sense. But think beyond the festival field and try incorporating fringing into your everyday wardrobe too – from macrame jumpers and tasselled biker jackets, to flapper dresses just crying out for a kitchen disco. If ever there was a time not to save our swishiest pieces ‘for best’, it’s now. Plus fringe is so much more practical when you’re not wearing it in a portaloo.

All images featured in this article have been uploaded to the Nuw app as available to borrow or swap. If you can’t find one of these items, it might have already gone!