Hurrah! The shops are open

Where are you going for your summer holiday? No idea? Still struggling to work out what an air bridge is, or a travel corridor? If the quarantine rules apply to all countries, or not necessarily to France?

Or, maybe, you’ve read the runes, considered the prospect of social distancing at Stansted — and concluded that this year you’re going on a holiday much closer to home.

If you’re lucky enough to live in staycation country (anywhere with a view/nearish the sea), it may be that you end up staying exactly where you are (a Stayputation?).

Or maybe you’ll get the tent out of the attic and head for the Lake District, or find an Airbnb on the South coast, or head for the highlands in your rented motorhome.

either way, you will still need a summer holiday wardrobe, albeit one that’s different in several key respects to the one you packed away back in September. You’ll need clothes you would never take on a summer holiday abroad (I’m thinking of a warm fleece) and you won’t need half of the stuff you normally pack without thinking: pom pom trimmed wraps and poolside kaftans, slinky Missoni- style trousers and cork wedges.

But it’s not as simple as practical versus escapist; Breton stripes instead of hibiscus prints. You need clothes that guarantee that gear change, so your staycation doesn’t feel like just another bank holiday. We need to flick that switch in order to make this holiday great, and we need to be realistic too.

So, perfectly timed with the shops reopening today, your Great British Staycation wardrobe starts here...