Great way to shine in winter

The silhouette for autumn and winter may be all about feminine curves but there’s one trend for this season that’s aggressively biting back.

Tough, hardware, harsh - call it what you will - fashion’s hardline trend is all about looking mean, moody and assertively modish. From biker chicks to punk rebels, the tough trend is all-encompassing.

Burberry Prorsum, Christopher Kane and Gareth Pugh all injected some tough love into their A/W catwalk shows.

Expect lashings of patent leather, studs, rivets and zips. Colours are black, steely greys and flashes of red. But beware, the look should be tough chic, not scary!

It’s finally time to abandon girlie notions of summer romance. We certainly didn’t get the weather for it anyway.

Now as temperatures cool women want to look sharper, leaner - meaner, even.

Seems it’s time to toughen up in this season’s latest trend. Softies need not apply.

Patent is the easiest way to access the tough trend this season as pieces in this fashionable fabric-of-the-moment are abundant on the high street.

Harder, shiny materials are just right for getting in touch with your inner hard(wo)man. To really rock go black-on-black, but try mixing up gloss and matt textures.

If you’re feeling terribly daring go for patent in staple pieces like Debenham’s Red Herring patent coat, £55, New Look’s black patent coat, £50, or Topshop’s red patent mac, £80.

Not so brave? Turn to prickly patent accessories to access the trend. Go for J by Jasper Conran patent boots, £125 at Debenhams, ASOS’ Premium thick strap patent platform sandal, £45, French Connection’s black patent platform shoe, £80, or River Island’s patent elastic belt, £19.99.

The designers embarked on a love affair with leather for the new season, with biker jackets, dresses and skirts being a big focus. Work with girly shapes and buttery soft leather and you can still achieve a feminine take on the tough look.

Instead of using leather as outerwear, embrace your tougher side by wearing sexy shift dresses and pleated skirts in leather as everyday staples.

Look to Marks and Spencer’s Limited Collection leather short-sleeve dress, £149, or the high-waisted leather pencil skirt, £70, from Oasis.

Celebs are toughening up pretty party dresses with leather biker jackets or mannish blazers. ASOS’ black quilted leather jacket, £85, or Topshop’s black leather studded biker jacket, £110 will go with just about everything in your winter wardrobe.

Dabble in leather accessories with Next’s black platforms boots, £100, or Matalan’s leather gloves with buttons, £8.

Heavy metal embellishment is where it’s at this season - a sassy alternative if you don’t want to go overboard with tough-style fabrics and shapes.

But remember it should be sleek, not heavy.

For super-studded chic look to Monsoon’s Fusion Mast dress, £42, Matalan’s stud detail mini dress, £14, Accessorize’s studded Galactica bag, £40, or Faith’s Miffy studded boots, £120.

Chunky zips also add an edge to outfits and harden a girlish ensemble. Look to Wallis’ black zip front-flared skirt, £40, Matalan’s zip detail jean, £12, or Dorothy Perkins’ grey satin zip-up play suit, £25.

Not sure how to make tough styles work in your everyday wardrobe?

Vogue has some expert styling tricks to pull off the trend:

• The mid-calf, lace-up boot is the hard-hitting accessory this season adding instant punch to ladylike and feminine minis.
• Go for gloves of all proportions from short glovelets and motorcycle gauntlets to long fine-leather evening numbers.
• A simple LBD is no longer enough to stand out from the crowd. Instead, experiment with black-on-black styling, playing with texture and the new luxury fabrics.
• Zips are key this autumn, whether they run up the front of dresses or skirts, or diagonally across this season’s chic anoraks.
• Update a classic outfit with small yet spiky details.

By Tracey O’Sullivan