REAL CLOTHES: DEAR ANNIE...

Annie, please don't shout but I am in a quandary and my quandary is over pashminas. I keep reading how out they are and a few weeks ago you said they were out too, but you also hinted that you would buy one. Can I wear one or will I be ridiculed in polite society?

Rachel, Wiltshire

Never has so much been written about a fashion trend. My mailbag is bulging with "pashminas, in or out?" questions. Now then, here is the definitive statement. The fashion pack have been wearing them for a year so of course they must move on to something else. Because they're sick of them (and because the high street started bringing them out too, thereby diluting their exclusivity) they had to, of course, cast them out. The rest of the world, ie normal, honest folk who like a good sandwich, have probably just got their heads round pashminas and of course they should wear them if they want to. So my answer is, if you're going to a fashion party then don't wear your pashmina, wear a poncho and some biker boots (see above). If you're going anywhere else then get a pashmina, and a mind, of your own. (And M&S and Debenhams have done some nice ones for under a ton.)

Being a practical-minded sort of a girl, I have always loved wearing biker boots, though being a wee 5ft 2in and a size 31/2-4 foot means that when I do find such a boot (usually the genuine article, not a fashion item), I treasure it and re-repair it until there is nothing left to re- repair. A few weeks ago, your Syle Police column briefly and tantalizingly mentioned that knee-length biker boots will be hot this autumn/winter - joy!!! Who will be selling them? And for how much? I would be able to spend about pounds 150 and am prepared to travel to London if I have to. Please respond, I have never done this sort of thing before, honest.

Maria, Bristol

Well here's a thing. I too have always loved biker boots. I too had difficulty finding a pair in my size but I finally got mine, many moons ago (1988) in Shelly's, after I harangued Shelly Robbins, the MD, to make them in smaller sizes. They are still with me, and still fabulous. And Shelly's still does biker boots but the actual lines vary from shop to shop. The best branch for you to go to is Oxford Circus in London (literally on the "circus") - it has some knee-length biker boots for pounds 59.99. (I haven't actually been able to get up to London to see them for myself, so I cannot say they are The Ones, but they sound like it.) Also try R Soles, 109a King's Road, London SW3. It has what you're looking for (thanks for the sketch) but they're called engineer boots (strictly speaking it is engineer boots that you are looking for, although I, too, call them "biker" boots). They're not to the knee but mid-calf and they cost from pounds 115 - the shop only has a few pairs left over from last year though, so act quickly. Also go to the Harley-Davidson shop, further up at 125 King's Road - it too has engineer boots. They're mid-calf again, though, with a chunky heel, and buckles over the foot and below the knee, sizes 35-46, pounds 130 (tel: 0171 376 7084). Somewhere among that lot you should find something that suits I hope.

You will notice that I have not included a name and address. I'm a bit embarrassed about my problem. I've always had very sweaty inner thighs and so can't wear cool cotton frocks or skirts in the summer. I have used cycling shorts which help a lot but as the weather gets warmer they are stifling. Can you help please, so that I can be like other girls? PS: I have recently lost two stone in weight and have shaken on more talc that you imagine, all to no avail.

M

God, you are so normal. And you know (I hope) that I would be the first to tell you if you weren't! What you need is long pants the like of which Sloggi makes (called Sloggi Long). They're basically pants that come half way or so (depending on how tall you are) down the thigh and they might just as well have been invented for this very problem. They come in sizes 12-24 and cost pounds 10 in white or a pale (European) skintone. They also come with a light-control front panel in white only, sizes 10-22, pounds 16. Sloggi is stocked by most major department stores, and some minor ones (tel: 01793 720232 for details of your nearest stockists if you have problems finding them). They're made of 95 per cent cotton and 5 per cent Lycra (which is encompassed in the cotton so only cotton touches your skin) so you won't have any of the problems you got with cycling shorts. I really think they will help - and I also know (before you all write in) that lots of labels do long-line cotton pants, so you could also have a look through the pants department in your nearest shop.

Some replies to replies:

Georgia from Moscow please get in touch again! Triumph has found a way for you to get the bra for the way you are, where you are. But I have lost your details. E-me, presto.

Mrs Kidd's quest for a non-metal file (29 August) has sparked some useful info:

Annette of Hertfordshire got one from the Body Shop. Fiona Beer of Eastbourne is very attached to her "Crystal Stone", which is from John Lewis by Alida of London and cost her pounds 3.45.

And finally, Bob of Alton (29 Aug), if you weren't entirely happy with my sterling research into your nightshirts, then John Rankin e-mailed me to say that Quarry Bank Mill in Wilmslow (tel: 01625 527468) has some from cotton woven on site at the mill, so if you're ever up there/down there (my geography is dreadful), take a look. Thanks to all the others who also wrote in.

Annie regrets that she cannot enter into personal correspondence. Dear Annie is a registered trademark. Dear Annie, the book, is available priced pounds 9.99, published by Faber and Faber.

Send your fashion problems to: Dear Annie, Independent on Sunday, 1 Canada Square, Canary Wharf, London E14 5DL, or fax them on: 0171 293 2043. E-mail: annie@independent.co.uk

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