They say you should dress for the job you want, not the one you have. Many women seem to apply this approach to dressing for the whole of the summer season. In other words, we dress for the summer we want, rather than the one we are actually having. The woman in front of me in the queue for my 8am coffee, who had her protein pot held in the crook of her arm in order to jab non-stop on her phone during the transaction, was wearing a dreamy, rustic-linen midi dress with strawberries and leaves around the hem and bell-shaped sleeves. Behind me, a twentysomething ordering a matcha latte dug her debit card out of a cute heart-shaped raffia basket that held a water bottle from Barry’s Bootcamp, the cult fitness class.
This is about more than just wanting to be on holiday and having to go to the office instead. This is about what kind of a summer you are dreaming of, as you gaze out of the office window. It is about aspiring to a specifically pastoral aesthetic of meadows and picnics and daisy chains. To rockpools, not infinity pools; peace and quiet, not beach parties. It is poetic rather than high-rolling; more slow motion than jet set. It is a folk dress with a rope belt rather than Daisy Duke shorts. It is keeping your hair off your face with a fishtail braid rather than slicked back behind designer shades. It is a ribbon-tie espadrille rather than a sporty flip flop.
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