Everyone on our team agrees that it can look chic (we have plenty of evidence to support this). What we can’t seem to understand is its actual purpose. “For me, there should be more of a distinction between arm warmers and boleros,” says our assistant editor, Nell Block. “Arm warmers implies that it’s just on the arms whereas a bolero is akin to a little jacket, which is fine by me. If you’re going to wear arm warmers in the truest sense, wouldn’t you just wear a jumper?”
“If I’m cold, I’d grab a jumper,” says editor Emma Spedding. “This is a look that’s aesthetic over function, which is cool, but let’s not dress it up as anything else.”
Let’s look at the aesthetics more closely then, shall we? Our Shopping Editor, Joy Montgomery, sees its potential but concedes that styling is key to the bolero’s success. “Tonality is key with this trend,” she stresses. “I like the bolero fashion trend when it’s worn in a co-ord sort of way. The pieces don’t need to match perfectly, but sticking to the same palette will make it more expensive looking.”
She’s not wrong. We’ve trawled through Instagram to bring you some of the chicest examples of how to wear the bolero fashion trend, all of which share a common thread: tonality. Take Solène (above), who pairs her brown textured bolero with a fawn-coloured bra top. It works, and there’s plenty more outfit inspiration where that came from. Scroll below to see some of our favourite bolero fashion trend looks, then shop the best arm warmers/shrugs/sweater sleeves/sleeve scarves around.
