YOU CANT CONVINCE ME SHOULDER PADS AREN'T CHIC!

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Every few months, fashion decides shoulder pads are back. The headlines start rolling in, designers send a few strong shouldered blazers down the runway and suddenly we're all acting like we've uncovered some forgotten styling trick from the '80s.

The oversized versions might disappear for a season or two, but shoulder pads themselves never actually go anywhere. Open the lining of almost any well made blazer and you'll find some level of structure built into the shoulder. The best coats have it.

Tailored dresses have it. Even T-shirts occasionally sneak in a tiny pad to sharpen the silhouette. Most of the time, you don't even notice it's there. You just notice the clothes look better.

I've never understood why shoulder pads became something people were nervous about. Somewhere along the line they picked up this reputation for being dramatic, intimidating or impossible to wear, when really they're doing the opposite. They're balancing proportions, giving shape to a jacket and making clothes sit the way they were designed to. It's tailoring, not costume.

That's probably why I always come back to them. A blazer with a strong shoulder has a presence that an unstructured one doesn't. Throw it over jeans and a white T-shirt and suddenly the whole outfit feels considered. The same goes for a simple black dress or a tank and trousers. The shoulder does a surprising amount of the work without asking anything else from the outfit.

Maybe that's also why they never feel dated to me. Fashion changes silhouettes all the time, but structure is different. Some seasons the shoulders are sharper, other seasons they're softer, but the idea has always been there. It's one of those details that quietly survives trend cycles because it simply works.

So no, I don't think shoulder pads are having another comeback.

I just think people are noticing them again.

With love (and frankness),

Bea x