Joanne watkinson
KEEP YOUR FASHION COOL
ILOVE the heat – the hotter the better – but the soaring temperatures over the last week or so have sent me into a wardrobe tizz. Sitting in the garden I can manage (doing the ironing wearing a bikini is officially a “thing”) but with a wardrobe that consists mainly of denim in all its various guises, I’m spending most mornings wishing I had a plethora of flimsy cotton dresses to choose from, and most evenings shopping online for said flimsy dresses.
I have even been digging in my holiday clothes, the things I keep exclusively for when a passport has been shown.
But surely there has to be a line between what you wear on holiday and your civilian get-up?
Case in point, I was working in the centre of London last week and it was business as usual on the clothing front, city types in suits and sunglasses, the more casual workers still sporting jeans but with lighter weight tops and sandals.
However, elsewhere I’ve spotted shirtless men in city centres, bikini tops in beer gardens and sheer kaftans in the supermarket. Does a fortnight of solid sunshine mean we can all dress like we live on the Costas?
The thing you notice most on city breaks is that even those who live in hot cities don’t dress like they are off to the beach every day.
Dressing for hot weather without looking like an extra from Benidorm is a skill. The most stylish people I’ve spotted have been those less worried about catching a tan by exposing as much skin as possible, instead wearing fabrics and shapes that keep them cool – cotton jumpsuits, loose dresses and flat sandals.
New Yorkers are particularly adept at dressing for hot summers in the city. They keep it simple. Pale stripes, dotty prints and block colour, especially black, all look great in the city sunshine.
And always wear SPF. Burnt shoulders will never come back into fashion.