How to Look Polished in an Oh-So Proper Twinset

These posh twinsets will help you look put together in no time

By Dan Ahwa

Tuesday April 11, 2017

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WINE COUNTRY | Love wine? Why not wear it? Like this cashmere wine coloured twinset, matched perfectly with your favourite drop of red for a winning colour trifecta. Caroline Sills cardigan, $419, and top $329. Mahsa tweed skirt $435. Vintage cocktail rings, $120 each, from Tango. Pandora pearl earrings $139.

Picture / Babiche Martens

SPOT CHECK | Matching spots highlight an irreverent sense of humour. Zambesi dress, $445, blazer, $835, and tie (worn as scarf) $95. Pandora crystal ring, $149, and studs $139.

Picture / Babiche Martens

PORTRAIT OF A LADY | Jackie Kennedy’s First Lady fashion makes a return with this chic pairing for work or a special occasion. Rebecca Taylor dress, $695, and jacket, $750, from Muse. Karen Walker fresh water pearl and black diamond necklace $9429. Pandora pearl earrings $139.

Picture / Babiche Martens

MID-CENTURY MODERN | 1950s styling in the form of stiff jacquard and a collarless jacket is the perfect go-to for mid-winter occasions – made even better with pretty red hearts. Twenty-Seven Names dress, $420, jacket $490. Pandora crystal earrings $139. Jasmin Sparrow bracelet $419.

Picture / Babiche Martens

RUFFLE UP | Wonderfully Edwardian looking ruffles in a shade of brown: what’s not to love about this dramatic duo? Karen Walker cardigan, $320, and top $265. Mahsa tweed skirt $435. Pandora crystal studs, $69, and necklace $99. Vintage cocktail ring, $120, from Tango.

Picture / Babiche Martens

WRAP IT UP | Ease into the weekend with this beautiful cashmere set. Elle & Riley camisole, $298, and cardigan $429. Workshop skirt $249. Pandora crystal studs $69.

Picture / Babiche Martens

TOWN & COUNTRY | If you’re running around town doing errands, why not have a bit of fun doing so in a matching cable knit cream coloured twinset? You’ll feel like an extra in Downton Abbey in no time. Royal Merino by Optimum top, $249, and cardigan, $249, from Smith & Caughey’s. Mahsa beret cap, $160, and tweed skirt $435. Pandora pearl earrings, $139, and necklace $199.

Picture / Babiche Martens

With fashion’s recent embrace of all things elegant, the return of the twinset seems natural - matching separates that provide an overall polish whatever the occasion. Popularised in the early part of the 20th century, the twinset has come full circle as the perfect, grown-up contrast to the current sea of streetwear and athleisure.

Seen recently on the runway at Prada and Nina Ricci, the twinset is a failsafe way to look put together without too much effort. Matching sets also work particularly well teamed with equally refined accessories, including vintage cocktail rings and heirloom jewellery. Take it a step further and go to town with a beret by local designer Mahsa or a jaunty silk scarf carefully tied around your neck, an opportunity to live out your Lady Mary Crawley wardrobe fantasies in all its prim and proper glory. Steely glare optional.

Photographer / Babiche Martens. Fashion editor / Dan Ahwa. Model / Anastasia Gerasimova from Unique Model Mangement . Makeup / Kiekie Stanners for M.A.C Cosmetics. Hair / Tony Thorn for Colleen. Fashion assistant / Rosie Kelway

STOCKISTS: Caroline Sills, Elle & Riley, Jasmin Sparrow Jewellery, Karen Walker, Mahsa, Muse, Pandora, Smith & Caughey's, Tango (09) 300 7165, Twenty Seven-Names, Zambesi,