What to wear when spring is in the air
Product review
Spring is my favourite season. Along with autumn. And Christmas.
So I was really pleased to join with Cotton Traders to celebrate the arrival of spring with a couple of items from their new range of bright and bold colours to welcome the warmer weather.
Sadly, we’re not quite there yet, so styling in an English spring garden has get to happen. But I hope you get the anticipation that life will become sunny and warm, very soon now.
First up, a crinkle dress that works for multiple body types. As an apple shape all my life, it’s always been difficult to find dresses that feel as good as they look in the catalogue. Now my friends are finding that with age comes a new shape, where roundness seems to shift to the middle. So they too are looking at a fit that lets them breathe easily while still looking elegant This crinkle shirt dress can fit that bill, thanks to some subtle elastication at the back. And the midi-length suits my midi height of 5’2”. However, crinkle – which I love – does come at a price when it comes to care, and I found steaming a good way to remove the unwanted creases when it first arrived. Oh, and have I mentioned the pockets? Very ‘must-have’ right now it seems.
I’ve teamed my dress with a ‘made by me’ cross-body bag (Connie messenger bag pattern from Happy Days). I made my first version of this bag at the beginning of lockdown when I realised I only needed to take my phone, keys and sunglasses out with me on a walk, as there was nowhere much to go. Since then I’ve added a few items, but kept with the bag, which is much better for my back than a loaded shoulder bag or backpack.
Elsewhere, I’m a passionate gardener. But footwear can be tricky, even if I’m just popping down to the compost heap with the vegetable peelings. I keep looking for something that’s waterproof, unlikely to cause me to trip on uneven ground and unexpected bricks, won’t slide on this year’s particularly slippery mud, and is easy to get on and off. I have often hankered after ankle wellies, as normal ones can be hard to get on and off if you have thick calves. These printed ankle wellington boots are just the job – a little different but will keep me dry and safe while I start digging the vegetable patch once more.
In case you’re interested, this is a bed-full of daffodils that had become too congested to flower, so last autumn I dug them out and replanted. Looks like that was successful. And on the bottom left are some hardy cyclamen that escaped from a planter many years ago and pop up everywhere, proving that plants know best where they want to live. They started pink, but can turn up white and many subtle shades between. Love them.
Photo by Mike Erskine on Unsplash
