Less Madonna, more Brooke Shields: How to wear lace

Madonna has been a pioneer for women in pop music, sex positivity and bad cinema acting, but for fashion followers her celebration of lace is just as impressive as a remix of Vogue. Early in her career, when Molly Meldrum championed her potential on the television show Countdown, Madonna took lace and made it contemporary.

Before Madonna’s Like A Virgin era, the fabric was linked to the OG Madonna. Lace was associated with nuns in convents and brides walking down the aisle in churches. The only place it was popular in the secular world was on the back of sofas, beneath vases of baby’s breath on coffee tables and lining the handkerchiefs of elderly relatives that smelt of lilac and liniment (the handkerchiefs and the relatives).

Madonna succeeded with lace by mixing it with other fabrics – and this approach deserves a revival today. Make it modern by ditching the leggings and tutus and follow Brooke Shields’ lead by mixing in sultry satin. The intricacy and subtle stiffness of lace integrated with the smooth sensuality of satin is as intriguing a mix as oil and water or gin and tonic.

Rather than putting Like A Virgin on repeat and taking inspiration from the ’80s, leave the neons and bold colours behind and think about the quiet elegance of the ’30s, embodied by the silver screen star Jean Harlow. Restrain your choices to black and white and even Madonna will approve, with Harlow scoring a mention in the classic Vogue. Press play now.

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