We know now from London Fashion Week (and for quite some time before that) that the fashion world has a recyclable nature. It has always baffled me that I saw my mother in skinny jeans, high waist trousers, bee-eye sunglasses and the occasional quiff in her hair. And all those times I saw her, I repeatedly thought to myself that she needed some fashion guidance.

But I was wrong and mum – I’m sorry!!

Although she may not have been wearing them at the peak of their fashionable days, they were pieces that, in her eyes, were timeless – pieces that have been and will be resurrected for years to come. The question of course lies in 1) Who decides when these items come back, and 2) Why do I all of a sudden long for a heavily shouldered blazer when I didn’t about a month ago?

My investigation led me to the Wikipedia article for one James Laver. James laver was a museum curator at the Victoria & Albert as well as a pioneering fashion historian. Although he was not directly involved with the museum’s fashion exhibitions, he had an interest in dating images accurately through the clothing depicted within. He believed patterns of economic and social factors where what developed fashion tastes. So “Laver’s Law” was born, which sought to explain the fashion cycle and the general taste to a timeline. It was first published in 1937 and went as follows –

Indecent – 10 years before its time
Shameless – 5 years before its time
Daring – 1 year before its time
Smart – ‘Current Fashion’
Dowdy – 1 year after its time
Hideous – 10 years after its time
Ridiculous – 20 years after its time
Amusing – 30 years after its time
Quaint – 50 years after its time
Charming – 70 years after its time
Romantic – 100 years after its time
Beautiful – 150 years after its time

Does it work? Seems to – 70 years since the shoulder pads first appeared in Dior’s clothing, they are once again “charming”.