When family friends tied the knot this week, it was one of the most fun weddings I can remember.
Having given up on their original plans, scuppered by Covid, for a grand affair in a country pile, they settled for a small register office service.
The bride wore a cream jumpsuit, her bridesmaids a mismatch of floral dresses. I, meanwhile, ditched my go-to wedding look of frills and flounces, and instead opted for a green wool coat-dress, letting my accessories oversized pearl and emerald earrings, gold sequin shoes do the talking.
Trish Halpin reveals a selection of the most stylish outfits available from UK High Street shops to suit all budgets. Pictured: Dress, £169, mintvelvet.co.uk; bag, £275, luluguinness.com; heels, £45.99, zara.com; Jennifer Gibson earrings, £220, & Alexis Bittar ring, £225, fenwick.co.uk
The clothes we wear speak volumes about who we are and how we want others to view us. Whether to boost waning confidence as we age, appear casual when we feel anything but, or fit in with our peers, we choose outfits that offer us the best armour in life.
But our favourite clothes can also give us a tangible, sometimes bittersweet, link to our past. Rifling through a wardrobe, we can suddenly be taken back to happy days long since past, or be reminded of the people we have loved best, and perhaps lost.
As such, those pieces, no matter how tatty or how long since we last took them out, earn a place in our wardrobes for ever.
YES
By Tanith Carey
When I asked my 15-year-old daughter Clio whether she thought children under 13 should be banned from having phones, her answer surprised me.
I had half expected her to insist that they are a basic human right and a lifeline for kids of all ages, especially during lockdown.
But no. Under-13’s shouldn’t have them at all, she shot back, adding: ‘They are the death of childhood.’
Clio got her first phone age 11, when she began walking home from school. She explained how all friendships suddenly went online; remarks got taken out of context, people took sides, and rifts carried on in school time, creating stress.