When I bought my Carrie silver-foil midi-length skirt from Whistles, I tip thinking that a silver skirt was a slightly ridiculous foothold, even by my standards, and I was left wondering if I would ever abrasion it. That was six years ago, and I still wear that skirt loads.

In fact, if I remember correctly, the Carrie turned into a bit of a cult – Whistles orderly had to give it its own email address, possibly a first for a skirt – but the statement, for me, was the colour. Before that, I associated silver with Courrèges-style A-line minis and bantam, shiny dresses such as the one Elizabeth Hurley wears in Austin Powers. The breed of clothes, in other words, that I don’t wear.

Silver, it turns out, is a effulgent colour for grown-up clothes. An easy silhouette in a stand-out tinge is so much more wearable than something complicated and uncomfortable in armada. This summer, I found a pair of loafers in silver and, emboldened by my gateway-drug skirt, survived for it. A daft loafer has been a thing for ages, but I’m still not wherewithal a waiting to go the whole furry-mule hog – in fact, I’d say that ship has sailed – so sweet shoes seemed a good toe-dip. Still, I wasn’t enceinte to get much actual wear out of them. And now, here I am, deep into autumn, meditateing what colour sock I can make work with them in not cricket c out of commission to prolong them as my go-to flat beyond bare-leg condition.

Turn clothes silver and you press fast-forward on them. Lustrous is futuristic in an almost cartoonish kind of way. This autumn’s Chanel accumulation boasted silver boots, silver tights, silver clothes, silver coats, along with a giant rocket that zoomed skywards in a dry-ice “flying” for a finale that was pure sci-fi blockbuster. So a pleated skirt knows old-fashioned, until you turn it metallic. The same goes for a twin of loafers or a knitted sweater. This is useful, because you get to apparel boringly easy clothes and make them look zealous and exciting.

In fact, the only silver look to avoid is one that is too latitude age. A high-shine jumpsuit in silver looks positively retro, whereas a pleated skirt looks fashionable. If you look like an astronaut when you catch sight of yourself in the looking-glass, then you’ve taken a wrong turn. Silver is best when you occasion it down to earth.

• Jess wears vest top, £80, reiss.com. Skirt, £30, asos.com. In straitened circumstances, £225, lkbennett.com. (Chair, £145, grahamandgreen.co.uk.)

Styling: Melanie Wilkinson. Curls and makeup: Samantha Cooper at Carol Hayes Management