The Times - UK (2022-05-25)

the times | Wednesday May 25 2022 5

fashion

You have the denim jacket and

the biker — now get a dolman

These quilted jackets are a sleeper hit, says Hannah Rogers

have worn it nearly every day

since, with nearly everything in

my wardrobe. I like its slightly

puffed shoulders and the fact

that it is light enough to be

stuffed into my tote bag but warm

enough to be genuinely useful. It

offers a touch of softness and of

structure, can be worn formal or fun.

Free People’s iteration comes in

13 shades, but errs too close to

bomber jacket for my delicate taste.

My next dolman would be

the chintzy Diana from

Pink City Prints. It has a

reversible pink and red

print with pretty bow

fastenings or a blue block

print floral with a tie-belt

(£140 and £150 respectively,

pinkcityprints.com). And the

brand has equally squishy quilted

beach bags if you’re taken by

the texture — the cherry

print and striped version is

my pick (£55).

Per Una’s longline dolman

is reversible — denim on

one side, purple paisley

on the other (£49.50,

marksandspencer.com).

Ditto Hush’s Neri, with

pink and red abstract animal

prints (£129,

hush-uk.com). Don’t think

they are faddy — these are

jackets that will look as

good with your wardrobe

now as they will with

jeans and trainers in

autumn; just swap your

T-shirts and vests for

long sleeves.

And to those making

quips about looking

like a comforter, I say

this: it’s better than being

the one wearing the

picnic blanket after the

sun goes down.

L

ong evenings, dinner

in the garden and

pints in the park.

The season of

alfresco has finally

arrived, but what will you

reach for when it starts

feeling a bit al-fresh-co? You

want something light but

warm, pretty but practical,

summery but chill-proof.

Enter the new light layer

of choice among the

Insta-crowd, the dolman.

Picture the wrapping

your friend came home with

after her backpacking trip

through the Middle East and

you aren’t far off. Dolman

robes were the invention of

Crusader-age Turks, but are

perfect for picnickers in

milder climes in 2022. They

are quilted (think more

mattress topper than duvet),

sometimes belted and come

in pastels, ditsy florals and

batik or paisley prints.

They are boxy, with sloping

shoulders that flatter

everyone and minimise the

appearance of your waist.

They are also, often, reversible —

two jackets for the price of one.

If that doesn’t make the dolman

an item for our times I don’t

know what does.

Perhaps you’ve got one in your

wardrobe. A colleague tells me

she has seen dolmans at the

school gate; the women

in my spin classes arrive

wearing theirs over

leggings and sports bras.

There is one dolman in

particular that has been

clogging my Instagram

feed: the boho brand

Free People’s. Its

£188 zip-up version

(freepeople.com)

has been gracing

the shoulders of

influencers from

London to

Amsterdam, has

been a bestseller

every week since

it launched and

continually sells out.

I’m not surprised.

I came to my

dolman by way of

Aspiga. It’s brilliant.

I slipped the brand’s ivory

Sky style (£115, aspiga.com;

it also comes in navy and a

sky blue floral print) over

a mididress last month and

h

s

m

p

t

stuffed

We’ve seen

dolmans at the

school gate and

in the spin class

r

y

b

Above: £140, pinkcityprints.com.

Left: influencer Gina Pásztor.

Below: £115, aspiga.com, and

£188, freepeople.com

CHRISTIAN VIERIG/GETTY IMAGES

COVER AND BELOW: GETTY IMAGES

fave is £19

Frances Costelloe, all the

time (£45, hesperfox.com).

And I love Percival for

its small drops of

embroidered tees: little

cartoons of everything

from cacti to sushi and

Allpress Moka coffee pots

(£39, percivalclo.com).

If you’re after something

more bespoke, the fashion

set’s favourite embroiderer

Cressida Jamieson is the

best thing to have

happened to the white

T-shirt in some time, and

her imagination is

boundless (from £85,

cressidajamieson.com).

Finally, some housekeeping. To

keep your whites bright, you should

wash them with only the same colour.

Put them on a 30C if you must but a

handwash cycle is better, and never

tumble-dry. To refresh, try the whites

detergent from New York laundry

brand the Laundress (£17.63,

thelaundress.com) or Ecover’s

non-toxic laundry bleach (£2, available

nationwide).

If you’ve paid designer prices, you

may want to consider dry cleaning —

and avoiding red wine and ketchup.

But, as I have learnt from living with

two small children, Vanish will tackle

almost anything if you spray it on

quickly enough.

Five of the best

Crewneck

£15, arket.com

Men’s

£19, cos.com

Boy fit

£65, sunspel.com

Skinny fit

£27, stories.com

Embroidered

From £85,

cressidajamieson.com

COVER AND BELOW: GETTY IMAGES