Times 2 - UK (2020-10-14)

(Antfer) #1

4 1GT Wednesday October 14 2020 | the times


fashion


I


t’s not merely that I am
not a morning person.
It’s that I am barely an
afternoon person. I
basically only really get
going early evening. Sure,
I have read the stuff about
how you can rewire your
body clock. And I have tried.
And failed.
There was that phase
when I got up at 6am to do
ashtanga yoga. After a few
months I was bendier and
stronger, but I also felt and
looked so ancient that I might
have been mistaken for its
founder, K Pattabhi Jois, who
at the time was pushing 90.
Then there was my fitness-
trainer phase. I would slog
across town to a gym at the
crack of dawn. In said gym
— once it was discovered that
I was bloody-minded and
surprisingly strong — the
fitness trainers would gather
round while I bench-pressed
more than the women among
them could (I know: no one
more surprised than me) or
(ditto) came close to all their
records on the horror that is
a vertical climber. (Might I
suggest that if you don’t know what
a vertical climber is, you make sure
never to find out.) Leaving the gym,
I felt fantastic. An hour later I felt as
if I might die.
I know what you are thinking:
I am conflating early mornings with
extreme exercise. Problem is, I don’t
even have to do anything much to feel
similarly wan. I blame preternaturally
low blood pressure. Once my body has
been lying down for long enough, it
takes an age to readjust to standing
up. A few years ago I had regular
acupuncture sessions for a while. I
would go in the morning before work.
Until one week I went after work.
“It’s as if you were a totally different
person,” the acupuncturist exclaimed
in amazement. Tell me about it.
All of which is a long-winded way
to go about saying that if there is one
person you should listen to on the
subject of pyjamas it is me. Because,
let’s face it, this is definitely shaping up
to be a winter for which it would be
worth investing in a good pair. It
looks as if most of us are going to
be at home more than usual. It
looks as if — and it’s one of the
only upsides I can summon — it’s
going to continue to be the case for
a good while yet that most of us
needn’t get up so early to clock in
at the same time for work.
My favourites come from
Brora, in this pretty cotton
vintage-inspired print with a silk
trim (£135, brora.co.uk). There’s
also a matching dressing gown
(£165). If you favour a more dialled-
down classicism, then I love the
specialist British nightwear brand
Bonsoir, its brushed cotton navy
gingham example being the perfect

All I want for


Walk in the park,


afternoon in the


pub? You need this


coat, says Charlie


Gowans-Eglinton


T


here are many ways
of discerning the
start of coat weather:
temperature, date,
number of leaves left
on the trees. All of
these, though, are
wrong. There is only
one official marker of coat weather,
and that is mulled wine. Last Friday,
walking through Borough Market
in London on my lunch break, I smelt
it for the first time this autumn. I
didn’t drink any, sadly — journalists
have evolved since the days of boozy
lunches — but the smell triggered my
internal coat-weather klaxon.
And there is only one that I truly
want: the teddy coat. So named
because the texture of it is distinctly
teddy bearish, which ups the snuggle
factor considerably; and yet, somehow,
said coat manages to look properly
grown-up. Thanks to all that fuzz, it’s
comfy — so if putting on anything but
a tracksuit rankles a bit after months
of housebound dressing, this cosy coat
should appeal — and at the warmest
end of the spectrum, rivalled only by
the puffer coat in the duvet stakes. But
unlike a puffer coat, which always
looks a bit “wealthy Europeans on a
ski holiday” (and also quite a lot
Michelin Man), the teddy coat could
never be confused for athleisure wear.
It’s city appropriate. Cocktail
appropriate. Office appropriate. Walk
in the park appropriate. Afternoon
down the pub appropriate. With
lockdown 2.0 looming, it seems
pointless to invest in anything too
smart — you need a coat of all trades
that you’ll be able to wear no matter
what kind of winter we have this year.
The key to not looking like a bear
oneself is all in the cut. Rounded
shoulders are too Winnie; a
cocoon shape (rounded through
the middle, then tapering
towards the ankle) will bring
Yogi to mind (also avoid mint-
green scarves for this reason).
Generally, a mid-thigh or
just-below-the-knee
length will be the most
versatile in your
wardrobe, especially
if you wear a lot
of mididresses.
The fabric is
naturally quite
bulky, so
balance
out the
proportions
with the rest
of your outfit
— pair longer
coats with
slim-fitting
boots peeking out
the bottom, or if
you prefer a cropped

coat, try tailored trousers, skinny jeans
or a shorter skirt, tights and boots on
the bottom.
Teddy textures and colours vary.
Let’s start with the most classic,
heritage bear — closely cropped and
real-bear-coloured, resembling those
handmade Steiff bears that I imagine
posh nannies give to their charges.
Mint Velvet’s knee-length camel
version (£179, mintvelvet.com) is a
bit Seventies in shape, with big lapels
and slight flaring out over the hips.
If your tastes are more utilitarian,
Whistles’ beige overshirt with breast
pockets (£179, whistles.com) is more
understated than most of its breed.
H&M’s oversized double-breasted coat
(£49.99, hm.com) comes in two shades
of beige, light and dark. (By the way, if
a beige coat sounds joyless, these are
actually very chic, especially when
paired with white jeans and a
camel jumper.) For a chocolate-
brown ted, Hush’s single-
breasted, knee-length Rosalee
(£159, hush-uk.com) and Marks
& Spencer’s double-breasted,
mid-thigh coat (£69,
marksandspencer.com)
are the best of
the bunch.
If you want
something plusher
— I wonder if this
is the first time
Rainbow’s
Bungle has
been used
as a fashion
reference —
then you
either want
faux fur or
shearling,
depending on your
preference and budget.
Let’s start with the

Anna Murphy selects sleepwear


that’s worth spending more time in


case in point (£95,
bonsoiroflondon.com).
I also like Whistles’
white-on-black cotton
polka dot (£89,
whistles.com) and
Jigsaw’s leopard
print, a cotton and
modal mix in red
or navy (£59, jigsaw-
online.com).
At a higher price
point there’s a more
literal variety of
big-cat print from
British specialist
No 2, Desmond &
Dempsey, a striking
design of jaguars on
the prowl in black
on cream (£150,
desmondanddempsey
.com). Yolke —
homegrown expert
No 3 — has also gone
on safari via yellow
leopards over stretch
white silk (£365,
yolke.co.uk). Who
says staying in can’t
be an adventure?

Salts of the earth
It’s a sign of the times that even a
power sleeper such as myself could do
with a helping hand at the moment.
Which is why my introduction to the
Irish brand Moss of the Isles and,
more particularly, its Quiet Bath Salts
and Quiet Body Oil couldn’t have
come at a better juncture (€50 and
€55 respectively, mossoftheisles.com).
The former splices West Cork sea salt
with heather flowers and calming
myrtle, bergamot, lavender and
cardamom. The latter mixes the
same herbs with marigold. Sweet
dreams are guaranteed.

Mix up your masks
Now that face coverings are an
everyday occurrence, I can’t be the
only one to want to change things up
every so often. I have a few different
patterned masks. But still. In the same
way that one day I might want to wear
a suit, and another jeans, a mask doth
not my every self encompass.
The other day I met a friend who
has taken to wearing a silk scarf over
her mouth and nose instead. It has a
certain something about it, one part
cowboy to one part Grace Kelly. So I
have given it a go myself. Advantage
No 1: the novelty. Advantage No 2:
the chic. Advantage No 3: it’s easier
to deal with when I take it off, in that
I don’t, instead keeping it tied loosely
around my neck.
I like the options from the
small London-based operation Heti’s
Colours, in particular the subtle
yet striking Alexi, available in soft
pink or sunshine yellow and
patterned with a design inspired by
19th-century Japanese block prints
(£70, hetiscolours.com).

This is the year to buy


fabulous pyjamas


Most of us


needn’t get


up so early


to clock in


for work


Alexi scarf (£70,
hetiscolours.com)

Instagram:
@annagmurphy d

d


£
essentiel-antwerp.com

£
whistles.com

c b I w p w J p m o o p


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Brora pyjamas Slt fh
(£135, brora.co.uk)
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