We live not according to reason, but according to fashion

My new stripy yellow skirt.

I have been waiting for summer to begin.  Since the ‘mini heatwave’ at the end of May (which, may I point out, failed to reach all corners of the UK – namely the cold beach I was sitting on in Cornwall), we have been rejoicing when the sun comes out for an hour, and I have verged on giddiness when there has been a whole day warm enough for me to step out without sporting an item from my large collection of beloved knitwear. So, this week, when I awoke to sunshine rather than showers, I decided that today was the day to wear my new skirt.

The skirt is yellow. It’s stripy, pleated, floaty, sits on my waist and hits my knee. It makes me happy. When I put it on, I kind of feel like I should twirl, which is much more than can be said for my worn-out and poorly fitting skinny jeans. The skirt is so pretty, that I don’t even mind wearing it with flats (I am a girl always found in heels – a habit after years of being a shortie among tall, leggy friends). I slip on my gold and leopard print sandals. Happy.

And that’s what I love about clothes – they can change the way you feel in an instant, and can make your day just that little bit better. Whether you are feeling happy, sad, confused, excited, or even if you have a food baby, the right outfit can make everything OK. In fact, most of the time, it can make everything really quite excellent (I find chocolate cake has the same effect on my mood, but a negative effect on the food baby issue).

One of my favourite books is Nina Garcia’s (fashion editor, and judge on the endlessly enjoyable Project Runway) The One Hundred – a guide to looking lovely and, I’ve found, an excellent source of justification for any shopping trip. In fact, whenever I’m off out or in doubt of a purchase (I am the most indecisive person in the world) I ask myself, ‘What Would Nina Say?’.  So, in the spirit of ‘WWNS’, I’ll be working my way through Nina’s magical list of looking lovely to see how do-able it really is as a student, not a gazillionaire-super-model type. I won’t do it in order (mainly because black opaque tights are #10, and I refuse to wear black opaque tights in summer, no matter how British the weather may be), but I will be dedicated, and work my way through the whole one hundred – without making a single purchase.

My wardrobe (and a rather over-stuffed chest of drawers) is my oyster – as Tim Gunn, one of Nina’s fellow Project Runway gurus, would say, make it work!

P.S. The yellow skirt isn’t in Nina’s one hundred, but I think she’d like it anyway.