Are off-the-shoulder tops fashion’s next coffin dodgers? Or simply just planning a sartorial sabbatical? Can one really have her pound of flesh and bare it? You decide. 

Has the death knell tolled for off-the-shoulder tops? Is the clavicle still the body part du jour? Would Jen ever take Brad back? Who should be crowned Ireland’s Next Top Garda? So few answers, SO MUCH FLESH.

Who do you think you are? Off-the-shoulder tops go back to their heritage

Here’s the rub. Off-the-shoulder tops were instigated into the Fashion Hall of Fame by the Breton bombshell that is Brigitte Bardot. Try to channel that inimitable Bardot style and perhaps you will reach siren status. That perfectly coiffeured beehive, those bee-stung lips, the gamine cropped bangs. But we can’t all look like our Bridget, now, can we? There’s a very slight chance you might look more like Marianne Faithful at a Columbian druglord’s son’s 6th birthday party. Tread carefully, fash-huns.

“Never go full Bardot.” Mary Cate Smith (2017)

Borderline Bardot – how to wear off-the-shoulder tops without looking like it’s Halloween

We all remember the demerits of Ben Stiller’s portrayal of Simple Jack. Going full Bardot is risky territory. It’s like going to an audition and doing the monologue from Any Given Sunday. Sure, who do you think you are doing Al Pacino, eh? Without an MUA, hair stylist, nail technician, waxer and brow artist on hand, you’ll just as likely end up looking like Mo Sislak at the annual Today fm Shave or Die rally (I’d imagine he has hirsute shoulders in need of a good wax). Yet, still the style remains. Off-the-shoulder tops are ruling the runway and the high street. So, how can the ordinary girl on the street pull it off? Is there anything to be said against ‘jeans and a nice top?’ There’s a reason it’s the tried-and-tested Irish girl’s fail-safe. There’s absolutely nothing wrong with being a complete Aisling.

Exude Exec-Level Chic with the Off-the Shoulder Trend

Off-the-shoulder tops worn with skinny jeans and flats elevates your daytime look. Here, I am modelling a look I styled earlier. It just screams I-could-be-at-the-French-Riviera-I’m-that-chic-but-I-choose-to-perambulate-local-heritage-parks-because-I’m-so-down-to-earth. I’m ripe for a date night look without trying too hard because, em, Tinder. Paired with cigarette pants and layered under a tailored shirt or turtle neck, off-the-shoulder tops are your one-way ticket to getting funding for a tech start-up in Silicon Valley (or Dublin). Excursion with the fam – skinny jeans and flats. Day date – same but with a heel. Fumbling for funding/meeting a loan shark/gambling with the big wigs – cigarette trousers. Sorted.

You’lll wear it and you’ll like it, every Irish Mammy, ever.

Like it, lump it or shrug it off the shoulder and into a landfill where it contributes to world waste (you awful human), off-the-shoulder tops are here to stay (at least for the next season). Time to add a sliver of sex appeal to your sartorial arsenal (possibly my favourite ever phrase), dust the cobwebs off your collarbone and get ready to ruffle some feathers. If in doubt, think ‘what would Ant and Dec do?’ Those guys have all the answers.

Anatomy of my Outfit

Top: H&M

Jeans: Joni style at Topshop

Shoes: River Island

Ring: Duende double ring at Inner Island

Sunglasses: Valentino at Arnotts

Some more Off-The-Shoulder Tops I Love

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