Jumper dresses

Chanel spring/summer 2011. Photo by Giovanni Giannoni on wwd.com

Wool/cashmere jumper dress, £475, Stella McCartney

In the Sunday Times Style this weekend, Agent Provocateur founder Joe Corre was sounding off about jeans: ‘I can’t stand jeans…. I wear them for what they should be used for: painting and decorating, or digging in the garden. But … everybody wears jeans; they look like a robotic army.’ This season there so many options for relaxed daywear that denims can be left on the shelf. More of us are considering ditching jeans, thanks the popularity of cool and casual jersey skirts and dresses on offer, with leggings and skinny trousers on hand to go with them.

For winter – and beyond into next spring, according to Chanel's (madly beautiful) s/s 2011 catwalk – the jersey dress gives way to the knitted dress. Yes, the classic 1980s jumper dress is well and truly back, bringing with it (for many of us) memories of burgundy Topshop numbers paired with matching suede pixie boots. Looking back at photos, you'd never guess that the rather frumpy, itchy, woolly dresses would become a fashion statement here in 2010. But these modern versions are somewhat more sophisticated, in fine cashmere blends to make them more elegant and easy to wear. Everywhere from Net-a-porter to Warehouse has stripey, chunky, ribbed or woolly jumper dresses on their rails right now. Get the length right and they look great with boots or pumps. Here's a round-up of some of the best:

At the top end, there's APC's cute navy and white striped version, Sonia Rykiel's school uniform-style jumper with skirt (£270) and Stella McCartney's stripey jumper dress in wool/cashmere (£475). Vanessa Bruno’s sweater dress is reduced at theoutnet.com (£138 down from £230); or you could wear a black jersey top underneath Bella Freud's Last Poets top, reduced from £215 to £88, for a jumper-dress effect. French brand American Vintage (stocked in Fenwick, Selfridges and online) does a great round-neck sweater dress, £85.

On the high street, Warehouse is doing knitted dresses in maxi, mini and midi lengths, from £45, in greys and black, while Topshop has a more jazzy cotton Love Heart sweater dress at £35. I also really like Hush’s Amy dress (£40), and Toast/Hush-inspired catalogue Wrap has an embroidered merino-wool version for £99 in elegant colours such as washed blue and – oh yes – deep burgundy.

Sweater dress, £138 (down from £230), Vanessa Bruno at theoutnet.com

Grey midi jumper dress, £45, Warehouse

Round-neck sweater dress, £85, American Vintage at Matches.com

Kane-ing it in gingham

Vintage gingham dress, £57, The House of Avalon, York

York’s newest vintage shop, The House of Avalon (01904 622055) is a petite little parlour just round the corner from the City Art Gallery. It’s been open less than a month so the selection of clothes is not massive – but it's a carefully edited collection of choice pieces. Loved this red and white gingham dress (£57) for a rather bargainous nod to Christopher Kane. Silk paisley dressing gowns and kimonos, tea dresses and hats are all in good nick too. You can pick up a unique piece here for around the same price that you’d pay for a Topshop dress (less in many cases). The little tea room at the back is a fine spot for Earl Grey and fairy cakes in a quiet, unhurried atmosphere, and there are old films playing on the wall.

Christopher Kane, s/s 2010. Photo: Marcio Madeira for www.style.com

The gingham dress stood out in particular because Christopher Kane has made this fabric hot again for summer 2010. But gingham can go either way: though cute and sexy and fresh when worn by Brigitte Bardot on the beach at St Tropez (and, let’s face it, in her heyday Bardot could make a binliner look a million dollars), it always reminds me too much of tablecloths. More specifically, the Gingham Kitchen in Doncaster where we’d go for egg and chips and banana milkshakes as kids – it was a riot of red and white check. And even if gingham doesn’t bring to mind your local Italian restaurant, it definitely harks back to unflattering school uniforms. So all credit to Kane for making it sexy and modern this season, with split gingham skirts and dresses (see above) that manage to be both demure and flirty. It’s no surprise that the high street’s taken note; look out for gingham shirts (£55) and bikinis by J Crew (at net-a-porter.com) through to mini skirts at Topshop. Toast has a neat (though pricey at £99) little shift dress, Jaeger has everything from trousers to a wrap dress (on sale for £99), or try a subtle touch of the trend with a gingham scarf by NW3 at Hobbs (£35). Tablecloths ahoy!

Gingham skirt, £698, Christopher Kane

Gingham shift dress, £125, Jaeger

Gingham shift dress, £99, Toast