More fun than a fleece

I am the princess of impracticalities when it comes to clothes. Well, nearly… That may be slightly too bold a statement. Yet I have had eye-rolls at my decision to wear cropped jumpers on freezing nights, sighs at my inability to find an umbrella or put on a raincoat when it’s tipping it down, exasperated questions of “but whyyyy?” when I’ve insisted on taking long walks in ludicrously short skirts or cycling in maxi skirts. I tend to smile, shrug my shoulders and acknowledge just how silly it is.
I do know my limits. The cold makes me grumpy, so I love cozying up in plenty of cardigans and layers. I’m currently embracing Edge of Love-esque cable knits and floral skirts, as I tend to do on the approach of each autumn. I’m better than I was too. So much time now spent in front of a computer screen means that items like tight belts or restrictive skirts are out of the question for the working day. I’m typing this in a massive blue jumper and patterned trousers so ridiculously comfortable I feel like I’m still in my pyjamas (you can see the combination here - although the shoes were just for the snap).
I’m also more likely (read always) to be found clomping around in flat boots or brogues than tottering along in vertiginous heels like the ones pictured above. I like to be able to walk with purpose and to dance and run for things when I’m late, rather than being reduced to a sedate swagger.
Heels can feel amazing and glamorous for events or shoots - and I have been known to climb over five-bar gates and tiptoe across fields in five-inch stilettos in the name of this blog. They’re also ace for the very, very occasional evening out – particularly as there’s something rather satisfying in being among the tallest in the room (they put me at well over 6 foot). Any longer than that though, and I start wistfully dreaming about loafers.
It’s just that, there are other times when I do prioritize aesthetic above other, more mundane elements, like whether I’ll be drenched or shivering or windswept or get bike oil all over a new wraparound full skirt (although, actually, I really learnt my lesson with that one and now tie up and tuck all long stuff as near as possible to my knickers to avoid similar embarrassment/ clothes carnage when cycling). Unsurprisingly, I like the way an outfit looks – and will occasionally focus on the overall appearance, to the detriment of pragmatism.
This was fully embodied last Friday when I was at a music festival. I’d chosen to wear a black jumpsuit (a very nice one at that, which will end up on here at some point). It looked fantastic – particularly when accessorized with a liquid-eyeliner-twirly-moustache - but required some gymnast-like wriggling every time I braved one of the grim toilets. The ability to remove layers, half undress and attempt to make sure nothing touches the scarily unpleasant floor of a portaloo is quite the skillset.
Plenty of other people were in one-pieces, so I wasn’t alone in my contortions. Playsuits and jumpsuits are only practical in that you can fling them on and go, but it does always amuse me to see them on lists of festival must-haves (although I find any list of ‘must-haves’ a bit ridiculous). Great as they may be for hours of shimmying and shaking, they’re still stupidly impractical otherwise. Sometimes though, frivolous as it may be, the impractical can be the best of fun. Despite the downsides, I did enjoy jumping around in my jumpsuit that afternoon.
If an outfit is actually impacting on the quality of an activity because you’re so bloody freezing or miserable, then it’s not so great… No-one could ever describe leather pencil skirts or tiny velvet shorts or silk slips or feathered hats or sequined dresses or flimsy evening coats as sensible or ‘everyday’. But why limit yourself on when and where you wear them? It’s so much more fun than a fleece.

I bought this playsuit - seemingly carefully disguised to look like an indecently short jacket from the front - from a vintage shop recently. It's faded all up one side, but I don't mind. It's beautifully constructed. The heeled sandals are second hand from eBay (and were only put on for the shoot, as per usual), and the hat pictured in one shot is vintage. Adding to the general theme of impracticality, my prop is an old camera that no longer works. Well, sometimes things just look too pretty…