Alexis Petridis: It's a wind-up

It behoves those whose work entails writing about music and fashion not to complain about their job, lest some­one make the not unreason­able suggestion that you do something useful for a living i­nstead. But coming up with topics to address in this column can be tricky, which is why I'm always glad when a friend suggests something. Occasionally, I suspect these suggestions may have a mischievous i­ntent. It was a friend who suggested I dress like David Mitchell , in order to capture some of his ineffable sexual ­allure: the subsequent photographs caused widespread hilarity, much of which was cheer-led by the person who told me to dress up like him. I was understandably wary when the same friend submitted a photo of some jackets she had spotted: they were like quilted Barbours in fluor­escent colours. But there is something intrig­uing about the current vogue for walking around east London dressed for a blood­thirsty weekend in Lairg with AA Gill . I find it baffling, but I suspect that's the point: perhaps it's a reaction to the land-grab of youth culture by the middle-aged. It's the young's job to define themselves in opposition to their forebears: how do you do that if your dad persists in wearing trainers and listening to Florence And The ­Machine ? Here's your answer: fashion's equivalent of Guilty ­Pleasures ' DJ Sean Rowley's explanation for the ­renewed popularity of soft rock: "If kids grow up with their dad liking the Jam and the Clash , where's their rebellion? Well, playing Supertramp will really wind your dad up." So there you have it: it's Supertramp you can wear. • Alexis wears jacket, £89.95, by Barbour . Jumper, shirt, jeans, shoes, all Alexis's own. Photograph: David Newby.