Ask Lucia: What to wear to an English summer party
[2008-5-16]
Please can you help? We have been invited to Glyndebourne in early July - a special treat - and I have nothing to wear. Should I try to find a long skirt with a top and jacket, rather than a dress? I am in my early sixties, 5ft2in (1.6m) tall and a size 12, and tend to look better in fairly classic clothes, as I am a little self-conscious about my lack of height. I have a good waist and not too much tummy.
We live in Norfolk but go to London frequently, so I can shop there. I want what I wear to look elegant and not too fussy.
I really don't want to spend a large amount, but if the various pieces can be used again in different ways, I would feel more justified in spending some money. Would I get an outfit, excluding shoes, for about £200?
'Tis the season for Glyndebourne, Garsington, the Grange and other quintessentially English summer musical treats, and I've always found them murderously difficult to dress for because one simply has no idea, until almost the day itself, what the temperature will be. I have frozen at them all more times than I've sweltered, which is why I have often suggested that any time you come upon a pretty velvet coat or jacket, you should seize upon it because it will earn its keep.
I am rather against what I call “special-occasion outfits” (except for weddings), as I have made so many disastrous buys when shopping for them. Often, clothes that one owns already can be redeployed with a bit of experimentation. However, I appreciate that, while a new outfit may not actually be needed, these occasions are often a splendid excuse to acquire one.
I have found it difficult to find anything I really liked for £200 (other than the Jasper Conran skirt illustrated here), but if you must keep to that budget then it has to be a trawl through Zara or the Debenhams designer range.
Let's return to the jacket. Besides providing warmth, it also, in lighter form (organza, taffeta or silk) offers a glamorous way to cover up a dress that is delicious in every way except for an unfortunate deficit in the sleeve department. Day Birger et Mikkelsen has a dreamy pale grey silk organza jacket that would earn its keep in every middle-aged woman's wardrobe - it has three-quarter length sleeves, a V-neck, buttons down the front and a tie-belt, and costs £280 (020-7432 8088). It could be teamed with a skirt or trousers or worn over a dress that is a bit skimpy on the top. Reiss has a brilliant jacket for £149 (020-7473 9630) that comes in beige or navy blue in a fabric that is like a stiffish satin. It is very similar to one by Prada but eminently chic in its own right, and would look great over a floaty dress or teamed with a skirt or trousers.
Floaty and floral (one of the hot looks of the season) doesn't work so well once one is over 35, so I'd go a bit chic and wear something rather more like a cocktail dress. I came to this conclusion after spotting a friend last year at Glyndebourne who looked fabulous in what she said was an old Commes des Garçons navy taffeta cocktail dress. Take a look at Jasper Conran's gorgeous chocolate taffeta skirt, which costs just £50 (Jasper - please make it in navy and in scarlet).
If the night is cold you could team it with a plain cream or mushroom cashmere sweater and great jewellery - or, if you're going the high-summer route, we are showing it with a lovely café au lait silk blouse with a ruffle front by Gold Hawk (£208 from www.my-wardrobe.com).
Another combination that looks good - and you could wear each piece separately at other times - is Episode's Silver Topper coat (£299) worn over its Gold Silk Dress (£139), both from House of Fraser stores.
Finally, there are lots of pretty dresses around and I found two on the www.matchesfashion.com website - 3.1.Phillip Lim has a short but chic dress in bright blue and grey (with some black appliqué work on the front) for £308, and Derek Lam has a nice soft navy-blue dress for £400. It has a frilled neckline and cap sleeves (so you'll need a shrug, cashmere cardigan or jacket).
We live in Norfolk but go to London frequently, so I can shop there. I want what I wear to look elegant and not too fussy.
I really don't want to spend a large amount, but if the various pieces can be used again in different ways, I would feel more justified in spending some money. Would I get an outfit, excluding shoes, for about £200?
'Tis the season for Glyndebourne, Garsington, the Grange and other quintessentially English summer musical treats, and I've always found them murderously difficult to dress for because one simply has no idea, until almost the day itself, what the temperature will be. I have frozen at them all more times than I've sweltered, which is why I have often suggested that any time you come upon a pretty velvet coat or jacket, you should seize upon it because it will earn its keep.
I am rather against what I call “special-occasion outfits” (except for weddings), as I have made so many disastrous buys when shopping for them. Often, clothes that one owns already can be redeployed with a bit of experimentation. However, I appreciate that, while a new outfit may not actually be needed, these occasions are often a splendid excuse to acquire one.
I have found it difficult to find anything I really liked for £200 (other than the Jasper Conran skirt illustrated here), but if you must keep to that budget then it has to be a trawl through Zara or the Debenhams designer range.
Let's return to the jacket. Besides providing warmth, it also, in lighter form (organza, taffeta or silk) offers a glamorous way to cover up a dress that is delicious in every way except for an unfortunate deficit in the sleeve department. Day Birger et Mikkelsen has a dreamy pale grey silk organza jacket that would earn its keep in every middle-aged woman's wardrobe - it has three-quarter length sleeves, a V-neck, buttons down the front and a tie-belt, and costs £280 (020-7432 8088). It could be teamed with a skirt or trousers or worn over a dress that is a bit skimpy on the top. Reiss has a brilliant jacket for £149 (020-7473 9630) that comes in beige or navy blue in a fabric that is like a stiffish satin. It is very similar to one by Prada but eminently chic in its own right, and would look great over a floaty dress or teamed with a skirt or trousers.
Floaty and floral (one of the hot looks of the season) doesn't work so well once one is over 35, so I'd go a bit chic and wear something rather more like a cocktail dress. I came to this conclusion after spotting a friend last year at Glyndebourne who looked fabulous in what she said was an old Commes des Garçons navy taffeta cocktail dress. Take a look at Jasper Conran's gorgeous chocolate taffeta skirt, which costs just £50 (Jasper - please make it in navy and in scarlet).
If the night is cold you could team it with a plain cream or mushroom cashmere sweater and great jewellery - or, if you're going the high-summer route, we are showing it with a lovely café au lait silk blouse with a ruffle front by Gold Hawk (£208 from www.my-wardrobe.com).
Another combination that looks good - and you could wear each piece separately at other times - is Episode's Silver Topper coat (£299) worn over its Gold Silk Dress (£139), both from House of Fraser stores.
Finally, there are lots of pretty dresses around and I found two on the www.matchesfashion.com website - 3.1.Phillip Lim has a short but chic dress in bright blue and grey (with some black appliqué work on the front) for £308, and Derek Lam has a nice soft navy-blue dress for £400. It has a frilled neckline and cap sleeves (so you'll need a shrug, cashmere cardigan or jacket).
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