I’m back and firing on all cylinders today – if there’s one thing that last year taught me it’s that it’s no longer worth pushing your midlife body through when you’re under the weather. Of course this glorious weather helps, I know the farmers desperately need some rain but it’s such a joy living in a world when every day brings sunshine isn’t it? Anyway I haven’t looked at Boden since before Christmas so today I’m doing a bumper edit of their new season collection and bringing you midlife outfits for sunny weather. I’ve been putting their new collection through its paces over the last couple of weeks to get a feel for how their repositioning is progressing. It’s been good to see, and more specifically, feel their clothes afresh after a break of a few months. The one thing I really notice is that their high standard of quality is absolutely back. I’ve been trialling orders with a few lower priced brands recently to see if I could do a cost of living crisis post but every time I do it I realise that it’s a false economy. Cutting back now has to be about buying less but spending well.
As you know back in autumn 23 Johnnie Boden declared that he’d ‘been a nitwit’ by trying to take the brand in too much of a trend-led direction. Since then they’ve been working hard at going back to their roots, focusing on everything that helped them grow so fast when they first started out. Now I’m going to say that I quite liked a lot of their trend led stuff, I enjoyed wearing their cropped bandeau tops with matching maxi-skirts, their dresses with cutouts and their sexy ribbed and ruched tees with low cut V necks. They continue to be some of my favourite pieces and I’ll be wearing them happily this summer because even though they were fashionable, in my view they were made with the understanding that Boden has of midlife bodies. However I know from the comments that a lot of you made at the time that you weren’t all keen so I’m hoping they’re going to find a balance between the two.
I’d say they’re still transitioning, this season we’ve seen a return to their heartland of very bold prints and some have been tricky for those of us who wore them the first time to revisit. However their latest drop is stunning and the patterns in it even appeal to somebody like me who only ever has a handful of printed items in her wardrobe. There’s a sophistication behind them that’s hard to achieve and the juxtaposition of harmonious colour contrasts is clever, they’re creating a rare balance of patterns that are striking without being too fussy. At the same time there are still pieces in strong solid colours that have been created to work with the patterns – how often do you go to a retailer and struggle to create a complete outfit because nothing goes together? It’s good to see that you can build capsules with this collection where colours in the print pieces pick out the strength of the solids.
There perhaps aren’t as many solid colours as I’d like but everything is the perfect antidote to mocha mousse, the bland beige of summer 25 which Boden haven’t bought into at all. And there is a clearer place for print in summer than winter because when lighter fabrics are required there’s less texture to play around with. Something like a plain red jersey t-shirt can look uninteresting which is why slogans or prints come to the fore at this time of year. So in today’s edit you’ll see some of the solids along with more pattern than I usually wear but I’ve selected each piece carefully – let me talk you through the pieces I put together.
Midlife outfits for sunny weather
Solid colours – with shape and texture
I’m starting off gently with a very ‘me’ outfit that I wore for a sunset dog walk on the seafront. You already know that jeans are the fastest way of updating your look and barrel legs along with flares continue to be the jeans cuts of the day. I’ve tried quite a few pairs of barrel jeans but their usual exaggerated shape makes me feel like a cross between a clown and Andy Pandy – I don’t have the long, lean legs required to carry them off. This new barrel style from Boden though is shaped very subtly with only a little bit of barrel engineering at the knee. It means they look more like a straight leg with just a little added interest which makes them much easier to wear. The cropped leg helps too, giving a narrowing glimpse of ankle which detracts from the bloomer effect, all in all they’re a really good find. They’re new in so there aren’t many reviews on site yet, the ones that are there suggest they come up small but my usual 12 regular was absolutely fine.
Style tip: the cut of your jeans is a key signifier of how close you are to fashion’s beating pulse – this season look for a barrel or flare
Moss stitch cotton jumper; Subtle barrel cropped jeans; Silver belt and slingbacks Boden past season
I think this moss stitch jumper is my favourite of all the lovely pieces I’m showing you today because the colour is just so perfect for summer. It’s usually referred to as Chinese blue, it’s just a shade deeper and warmer than turquoise. The knitted cotton is perfect for a cooler evening, it’s exactly the right length and it has a neat fit on the shoulders. It’s one of those simple tops that becomes a lifelong favourite because the texture elevates it from the ordinary and yet it’s so easy to wear (it’s also available in tipped ivory or a rainbow stripe). We stopped off for gelatos and managed to sit by the sea without being attacked by gulls as we ate them. If this weather could just last until October (with soft rainfall each night between midnight and 7am) it’d be such a gift.
Style tip: always look for texture when you’re playing with solid colours, even in summer
Moss stitch cotton jumper; Subtle barrel cropped jeans; Bag, silver belt and slingbacks Boden past season
The skirt of the season with an elevated tee
So this was over a week ago just when I was starting to feel grim. While we’d been having a meeting in town there had been an accident on one of the bridges and the city was gridlocked so rather than sitting in traffic we decided to relax in the park for a while. It gave me a chance to get some photos of my outfit which as you can see included a skirt and you may remember that we discussed the skirt’s forthcoming return in my trend report a few weeks ago. The dress has been dominant since lockdown but now things are moving on.
When we were down in sunny London the skirt’s new sovereignty was really apparent, particularly in white – women of all sizes and all ages were wearing them. I spent a bit of time people watching and noticed that the women who were carrying it off best were the ones who were wearing an utterly simple version – i.e. not tired or frilled or flouncy. And that makes sense because as I look ahead at the trend forecasts it seems that knee-length is on its way back. I don’t think we’ll see it on the high street for a while yet but in the context of 90s resurgence, think back to 1999 – 2007(ish) and you’ll remember that knee-length is what we wore, often A-line because simplicity of shape was key.
It’s good because it’s easy, you can move around in a simple skirt and it gives you lots of different outfit options because all you have to do is change your top and you have a completely new look. That’s glaringly obvious of course but dresses have been dictating style for so long that skirts feel like a long forgotten friend. If you’re a lazy laundress like me you might shudder at the thought of a white skirt and that’s why I’ve picked this one out because it’s as low maintenance as a white skirt can be. The textured double cloth cotton means that it doesn’t show the dirt as easily as a smooth cotton and it doesn’t crease as badly – plus you can pretty much wash and wear it without it haunting the ironing basket for weeks.
I’m wearing a size 12 here, it’s true to size and utterly comfortable with a shirred waistband that’s deep enough not to cause a muffin spill and there are pockets too.
Style tip: replacing dresses (particularly loose, flowing midi-dresses) with skirts is a quick and useful style update for SS25
Linen knitted boatneck top; White doublecloth skirt
Of course the great thing about a simple white skirt is that any top will work with it, t-shirts of any colour are an easy option, you could go for a sleeveless vest… a blouse or on a cooler day a cotton jumper. I’ve moved into pattern gently here with a striped t-shirt/jumper hybrid in linen which is just a bit smarter than jersey. It has the texture of a light knit and yet the cooling property of linen. I particularly like the boat neckline which is more flattering than a standard crew and the colours are all slightly muted so it’s great for anyone who shies away from bright. If you prefer something stronger it comes in a bold red and pink pattern as well as plain ivory or spring green I’m wearing a medium and it’s true to size.
Linen knitted boatneck top; White doublecloth skirt
Mal was playing around with an arty shot here but I’ve popped it in because it gives you a better idea of the texture.
Style tip: it’s worth investing in ‘grown-up’ tees that have a focus on cut and texture, they add subliminal polish to even the most casual of jeans outfits
Midlife outfits for sunny weather – well cut beachwear
So, while we’re on the subject of texture how about this? You know I love towelling, we talk about it every summer on here. For me it brings back fond memories of the summer of 76 when every day of the school holidays was a bikini day (I was nine by the way so it wasn’t as outré as it sounds) but in the evenings we wore towelling. For me this dress just says easy summer days on the beach or in the garden but it was a Marmite number with my friends who popped over for a pre-birthday glass of wine in the garden last weekend and saw the rail of Boden clothes I’d been trialling, they either loved it or they didn’t. When I thought about it I realised that it depended on their personal style – those who had a focus on the fit of clothes were delighted to find beachwear that wasn’t loose and wafty.
If you live by water or you’re going on holiday to somewhere cooler like Cornwall or Brittany then it’s the perfect thing. I love the splits up the side and I love the deep V neck – in fact I wish Boden would bring out a range of slinky but breathable viscose dresses in exactly this cut for ordinary daywear. I’m making the most of our quiet beaches while I can, within the next 2-3 years the Eden Project North will open just yards from where I’m standing here and we’ll have the bittersweet blessing of being very much on the map.
Style tip: take beachwear beyond the seaside, it’s great for hot sunny days in the garden
The best linen trousers
Sun dappled village life – who says it’s grim up North? The much loved wide-leg linen trousers have been restocked just in time for the good weather. I have these in orange already so I was pleased to see them appear in a warmer shade of pink than they’ve done before. As the long list of five star reviews indicates, they’re the perfect cut of linen trousers, none of the bulk that you get from a drawstring waist and on me the regular length is just right for wearing with flats. I’m wearing a size 12 and they fit perfectly.
Style tip: unless you’re going oversized, look for linen trousers without a drawstring or pleated waist to avoid the ‘wearing an old paper bag’ outcome
Cotton shirt; Pink linen trousers; Shoes and Bag both past season Boden
People often tell me that they love the idea of a simple cotton shirt but they find it hard to make them work and I know what you mean, if you have broad shoulders like mine they can feel mannish. The first thing to bear in mind is that if you buy good quality cotton, they soon soften when they’re washed so they don’t sit as stiffly as they do when you first try them on. Until then it’s a case of breaking the neckline with an iron so that you have a more flattering V-neck. You can see that I’ve literally pressed the neckline open here so that I can wear it as a revere collar which suits me better.
Style tip: don’t be afraid to break the collar of a shirt, adapting it to the fit that works for you
We’d popped out for an hour in a lovely pub garden here and I’d just been trying to analyse why I like this pattern so much when other prints make me shudder. Mal never takes creative questions like this lightly and suggested that it’s because it’s imitating a traditional wood print method which has limitations on complexity – so the repeat geometric pattern is more pleasing to the eye than something madly ditsy. And that makes a lot of sense to me because I like stripes and tartan and gingham so this is just a tiny step on, it isn’t too fussy.
Try pattern in a single colour
Now this dress was such a surprise when it arrived. I’d expected it to be a print but it isn’t, it’s the most intricately embroidered cotton broderie number. So many people stopped me in the village when we were taking these photos because in one way it’s subdued with its simple red and white repetition and yet when you look more closely and see the parrots it has a little eccentricity about it. This was the piece that my friends were drawn to last weekend – they’d gone past it on the website without giving it a second glance and yet when you see it in real life you realise that you don’t usually come across this kind of workmanship any more.
Embroidered broderie dress; Belt and Sandals Boden past season
Once again the sleeves have shirring at the back so that you can push them up and you’ll notice that I’ve broken the shirt collar with the iron on this too so that the neckline works better for my rounded face. The dress comes with its own matching belt but I added a tan suede one to give it more of a relaxed look – you could wear a metallic belt with heels to style it up though, just simple adjustments like that mean that if you bought it for something like a wedding it wouldn’t be a one-wear wonder. It’s fully lined and so it’s the sort of dress that will be great if the weather turns and we end up with one of our chilly summers. I’m wearing a 12R and it’s true to size – the first drop sold out in the space of days but there’s another one coming so it’s available again on pre-order.
Style tip: if you’re just dipping your toe into pattern, ease yourself in with a single colour – it’ll feel less jarring than busy multi-colours
Statement trousers do all the work
Another golden day, another sunset – I hadn’t been anywhere special here but I loved what I was wearing. This is a new cut of linen trouser that’s just landed and it’s hard to appreciate their drama from the pictures on the website so I’ve done my best to capture it here for you. From some angles they look almost like a linen midi-skirt and yet I wouldn’t call them culottes, in my view they’re too long for that. They’re definitely a dramatically flared cropped trouser, cut neatly at the waist falling to a wide loose leg.
Yellow linen statement trousers; Geo print cotton lawn blouse
They’re also available in navy or chambray but the yellow was the obvious summer choice for me, this is the sort of clothing that stops you from being invisible in midlife. These trousers will work so well with black or navy or orange or lime green or pink – match your shoes to your top for a truly joyful outfit that capitalises on its structure. I’m wearing a 12 and they’re a very comfortable fit – if you’re in between sizes, size down.
Style tip: never underestimate the power of a strong silhouette cut in a structured fabric such as linen
Yellow linen statement trousers; Geo print cotton lawn blouse
Rather than doing a solid coloured contrast I’ve added a geo patterned blouse in a cotton voile and even though it’s new in, it’s showing as low stock already so be quick if you like it. I had a Boden blouse in exactly this pattern but a heavier fabric that I sold in one of my sales and I’ve always regretted it because it was so good for summer days when I didn’t want to wear short sleeves. The detailing on it is lovely with contrasting shirring at the collar and sleeves – the elastication that Boden add to the back of so many of their sleeves is a feature that I don’t see any other brands doing and yet it’s such a good way of enabling you to keep your sleeves up. As you know, just like the ankles the narrowing of the wrist is a visual slim point on most people so sleeves pushed up is a very easy but visually impactful styling trick. The blouse is true to size and, unsurprisingly, getting five star reviews.
So that’s my round-up of midlife outfits for sunny weather, I hope it’s given you some inspiration in a year where it actually feels as if it’s worth shopping for summer clothes. Thank you for the kind wishes last week, there were so many lovely ones on Facebook that it’s made me think I should do more on there – I had no idea that so many of you access my posts that way. It was a nasty virus but the big surprise for me was that when I took some time off I got better quite quickly – should’ve done it years ago!
It’s my birthday on Monday so we’re heading over to Newcastle now for a relaxing weekend. I know that if we stay at home I’ll keep finding things that need to be done so I’m leaving it all behind. There will be drinks in the sunshine, an important football match on Sunday and then the lure of the Northumberland coast on Monday if the sun’s still shining. I’m going to enjoy thinking back over the year that’s gone and which lessons from a year of being 57 will serve me well at 58. I have so much that I want to talk about next week that I need to distil it all. It’s amazing how every year’s a school year isn’t it? You’d think by now that we’d have life buttoned down but you never know what’s going to change next and it always takes you by surprise.
Anyway if you have a few spare minutes I have some homework for you. Next week’s post is going to include an exercise that I’ve been finding really helpful so before you read it I want you to find a picture of yourself that you like, ideally a head and shoulders shot. I’m pretty sure you’ll be glad you did it before you see what I have to say so find one now if you can – or take a nice sunny selfie this weekend. Here’s to being positive about the blessing of still being here to grow older – let’s all raise a glass to that. And thank you so much for keeping me company through another year – I’ll see you next Friday.
