I am writing this from my sick bed. I think that if I was a man I would have the flu, but actually it is just a bad cold. You forget though until you have a horrible cold, how rubbish it is. So I hope you don’t mind but I will keep this post quite ‘short and sweet’ (watch me babble on for ages now!) but I wanted to get it out to you as I love these outfits, particularly mum’s. We don’t regularly wear skirts and dresses but I love mum in a skirt. She wore many when I was a little girl and I always thought how much they suited her. This skirt is one of those gems that looks fine on the hanger but is so much better on. It’s made from a heavy cotton (almost denim-like in weight) which means that it holds its structure really well. The weighty fabric coupled with the flat front panel and slim side pleats makes it a very flattering style and modern in look.

We’ve gone ‘long with long’ here - i.e. the long shirt over the long skirt which is a look I love - but a fitted jumper or cardigan would work just as well and might be a nice option if you are petite.

In terms of the coat, this is an extremely elegant one from Arket, and works very well with the skirt as it is slightly longer. However, a ‘peacoat’ style would look fantastic too (any coat that comes to the waist). In my opinion knee/shin length with a long skirt/dress is a no no.

Mum’s black ankle length boots are from Marks & Spencer. They’re longer up the leg than most so would fit very comfortably when under trousers - either wide legged or slim. The amazing thing about M&S shoes is that they are nearly always very comfortable, very reasonably priced and come in half sizes! I like how these look chunky but are slim cut on the foot and are slightly pointed in shape, preventing them from appearing too clumpy.

My cotton trousers are chocolate brown, a colour that has had a major renaissance in the last few seasons. They are in fact full length but I have rolled the hem. I can find that full length wide trousers swamp me a bit if I am not wearing heels (particularly the Scandinavian brands, which as a rule are cutting for a taller frame than the Italian, French and Spanish for example). I am 5.6”.

If you’re in the market for a puffer jacket, price v style, you can’t do much better than Uniqlo. I love their ‘seamless’ puffer collection - there is an elegance to the jackets.

And finally, before I have another Lemsip, a shout out to Bonté - the brand behind my sweet navy blue quilted jacket. This small brand always have colour and prints at the forefront of their collections, using interesting design details to stand them apart from other labels. The diamond shaped quilting on my jacket and the scalloped hem, cuff and collar is a case in point but do check out some of their prints for summer which are vibrant and joyful!

Come on Spring….you can do it…..!

Photography by Alex Mooney

Sue wears…

Quilted vest, £165, Toast

Shirt, old Arket

Skirt, £175, Toast

Coat, £279, Arket

Bag, £189, Arket

Neckscarf, £49, Toast

Boots, £65, M&S

Hannah wears…

Shirt, old Hush

Trousers, £85, COS

Quilted jacket, Bonté (coming soon)

Cardigan (around shoulders), £85, COS

Puffer coat, £99.90, Uniqlo

Trainers, old Adidas (style: JEANS)