Editor’s letter: Jane McFarland on the timeless pieces you need in your wardrobe

Two of the questions I get asked the most are “What should I be wearing?” and “What’s ‘in’ this season?” After years of handing out knowledge (usually welcome, sometimes unsolicited), I have some excellent, and frankly quite relieving, news: trends are officially out of fashion. In times gone by, I always thought that, given my job, I needed to wear at least one cult fashion item or something that displayed a certain amount of sartorial nous. But at the recent round of catwalk shows — always a signifier of the fashgeist — those who caught my eye were dressed in nondescript cream tailoring, camel blazers and simple shirtdresses. Forget awkwardly shaped heels or stringy sandals, it was the editor in raffia Birkenstocks, striding confidently around