7 ways I wore these basic shorts

My son is currently in the habit of stealing my serums and hiding them in his pockets. He’s particualrly enamoured with bottles fastened with a teat pippette and I get it, they look science-y and he’s fascinated by acid (we spent a gorgeous weekend creating bath bombs and fizzers which now means I have to sacrifice my skincare). Last night he had clearly been rummaging because my beauty tub was out from under my bed, as I kicked it back I noticed my beloved Diptyque bodywash had leaked all over the tub and my floor. I was devastated. It was a gift around 6 years ago (a baby gift? Embarrassingly I don’t even remember) and I did the exact thing my mother would have done: I hid it away with a collection of other items that are ‘too good to use’ right now.

It will wait in the wings until we finish the final goop of the Head & Shoulders, when we’re not all sharing Aldi Mamamia body wash and when the neon green nit comb isn’t out on the countertop. One day soon I will only have chic bathroom condiments, the Diptyque will be front and centre, used daily, without a care. Until then I will store it under my bed, on its side and forget about it for 6 years.

I spent last night rinsing £43 bodywash down the drain (literally), the felt container constantly regurgitating foam, imagining how many showers I could’ve enjoyed with these bubbles instead. It was a depressing thought.

My mum has always done this, my sister and I would save up to buy her a handbag for Christmas (from TK Maxx) only to be told it was ‘too good to use’. Maybe it was her way of saying she didn’t like it, or she didn’t feel she deserved fancy things, or maybe she worried we’d spent too much. Mine is wrapped up in perfectionism, I guess, I need to have everything in place before the Diptyque can exist in my bathroom - I wouldn’t want to waste it on right now. And somehow I believe that once finished, the dream of what it represents (indulgence! Feeling alive!) will be gone.

But what use is owning anything - no matter how fancy - if it’s left to fester and not be truly enjoyed, even if only for a fleeting moment? I recently talked myself into using my candles - my current fave is this Blackberry & Tomato Leaf from Harbour & Tide - and it’s time to extend this to the fancy soap. So I ran my son a bath last night and filled it up with posh bubbles (not Diptyque, but nice enough) only to find him emptying the entire bottle and refilling it with foamy water in his ‘laboratory’. Back to Aldi I go.

These cotton poplin boxer style shorts (with pockets!) are 4 years old, they’re quite plain but the shape are not too dissimilar to the Adidas running shorts which have saturated my feed this summer (why are we all aspiring to be a ‘cool girl’?). I’ll admit that switching up how you style a piece of clothing can reignite your love for it so this is about pairing unexpected pieces, like ballet pumps and shirts, rather than a t-shirt and flip flops.

Day 1:

26 degrees and sunny

Usually I’ll wear these shorts on holiday with a shirt and bikini so the challenge here is to make them everyday city appropriate (with perhaps one of my best charity shop finds - this linen Isabel Marant Etoile blouse!):

I still believe that long sleeves with shorts is a less obvious combo on warm days - I wouldn’t hesitate to wear trousers and a tee but forget to reverse it.

Day 2

24 degrees and cloudy

I loved this outfit and I’m enjoying trying different shoes with these shorts, something I rarely think to do with summer dressing, I naturally end up wearing my Birkenstocks (and whatever is by the door) every day of summer.

The difference between this and a regular breton is the oversized fit, I tend to size up in stripe tops for more slouch, it helps balance this look and make it feel more undone.

Day 3

29 degrees and sunny

I started to treat these bottoms like trousers which led to more interesting combinations, like this waistcoat and shorts look:

Day 4

30 degrees and v hot

‘Don’t wear a head scarf, Alex, don’t wear a head scarf’. But it keeps my hair off my face and adds an easy accessory when everything else is simple! I bought this (quite expensive) vest for exactly this weather when I wish for nothing to touch my skin, it’s perfect.

The sandals are almost at relic status now, they’re Balenciaga from my Matches days, when I used to get 30% discount even on sale items. I’m not saying we used to hide clothes in the stockroom until they had been reduced to a reasonableish price (I have no regrets, we were due perks) but I did miraculously acquire these for £60. They’re 20 years old now and for some reason clothes and accessories don’t fall into my ‘too good to wear’ remit and these have been loved, worn and survived numerous resoles. Sadly they’re becoming too small for me now (both in size and ankle strap) so we will likely part ways this summer.