Article by Ceri Wheeldon

Like most of us I have a wardrobe full of clothes I have not had the opportunity to wear in ages.

My  smart , tailored clothes that I usually wear for face to face meetings have been consigned to the back of the wardrobe for the time being. My collection of blazers seem to have taken early retirement, my favourite duster jackets are hanging in the wardrobe just itching to be worn. My heels are feeling very neglected – although I do wear heels around the house for half an hour a week just to ensure that I don’t totally get out of the habit and to ensure that my feet don’t spread permanently .

All these have been replaced with a far more relaxed set of clothes – jogging bottoms with tops, floaty dresses.

But as restrictions are lifted and life returns to what we think of as being normal and we are once more allowed to leave our homes and socialise, how will our approach to what we wear change?

Will we relinquish our relaxed style to go back to wearing more structured clothing? Will we react to a similar way to how people responded to the end of rationing and clothing coupons after the second world war where we saw the advent of Dior’s ‘New Look’ when there were no longer restrictions to how much fabric could be used and full skirts became the fashion of the day?( I love this Prada outfit which seems to take its inspiration from that era). Will we go back to wearing heels?

What will be our post pandemic ‘new look’?

Based on the Spring Summer 2021 trends from the catwalks these are some of the trends we could choose from:

Monochrome

Monochrome never seems to go out of fashion! This top ticks so many boxes and its a great buy for those Zoom business calls which will still be with us for a while .

Available from Boden. Cost £60

This ASOS monochrome dress is elegant, has sleeves £27.99

Boden seems to have become a firm avourite with the Duchess of Cambridge recently. This shirt dress from Boden again ticks all the right boxes. One thing I can’t quite get my head around is the trend to wear ankle boots with dresses. I do own ankle boots but only ever wear them with trousers – I always think they have the effect of making my legs look shorter when I try them on with a dress or skirt. What do you think?

Wide Legged trousers

Wide legged trousers are the go to shape for this spring/summer.

This pair with a fun print costs £59 from ASOS

Flowing maxi

I found myself living in flowing maxis last summer – which was spent mostly in my garden with ‘office’ set up under my sun umbrella and my laptop plugged into an extension cord poking through my kitchen window. It seems this trend will be staying with us this summer as well. Here are just a couple of reasonably priced flowing maxis I’ve come across .

This floral maxi with sleeves is from ASOS £49

For those sunnier days that we are all looking forward to I’ve chosen this Sosander maxi  dress £69

Stripes

Stripes are another trend this season, but they don’t have to be ‘all over’. I liked the subtle strips on this cardigan – ideal to wear when we can meet in gardens while observing the rule of six.

Stripe cardigan £75 from Boden

Mesh and netting

Mesh is another key look this season, mesh sleeves and tulle skirts are everywhere . Here are just a few examples:

Mesh sleeves are a great way to look ‘current’ in summer whilst covering those arms ! ASOS mesh top £20

A mesh overlay is another way to achieve the mesh look. This dress with sleeves is a fab example of how mesh can work for the workplace – assuming we ever return to the office!

ASOS mesh dress £40

Last but not least the tulle skirt is with us again this season. For me I see it as a fun item to wear on holiday – but as it seem unlikely that we will be having too many of those this week they may be limit to gatherings with friends and family in the garden! I chose this one as it’s not too voluminous so perhaps a bit more versatile.

ASOS tulle skirt £52

Ceri Wheeldon

Ceri is Founder and Editor of Fabafterfifty.co.uk She is a frequent speaker at events and in the media on topics related to women over 50 , including style and living agelessly. With 20+ years experience as a headhunter Ceri also now helps support those looking to extend their working lives.

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