Day 5 #AllotmentFashionWeek!
Sadly today marks the end of #AllotmentFashionWeek – I hope you’ll agree that it’s been an interesting and fun journey highlighting what’s in vogue for allotmenteers this Autumn. All of the featured bloggers and instagrammers have accessorised their practical clothing choices with one or two unique items to create their own look; adding a hat, hand-made jewellery, headscarf or stylised boots to complete their outfits. It transpires that bum bags or tool belts are also excellent for keeping key items on hand (rather than leaving them in a pile on the shed floor as I do). Once again I would like to thank all participants for their contributions to #AllotmentFashionWeek – organising your own fashion shoot is surprisingly time consuming! Our final two featured bloggers below are Jane (Her Outdoors) and Annabelle (Life at No.27) taking our allotment fashion review tally to ten.
WIN! ‘Winter Touch’ Gold Leaf Gloves
… AND It’s competition Time!
To end #AllotmentFashionWeek the generous folks at Gold Leaf Gloves have kindly agreed to give away a pair of their WINTER TOUCH™ Gardening Gloves to one lucky winner. These luxurious deer skin gloves will keep your hands warm (with their thinsulate insulation) and also completely dry due to their ski-dry water proof membrane. What more could you want on the allotment or in the garden this winter than dry warm hands?! These gloves are no ordinary gloves, these gloves are ‘The World’s Finest Gardening Gloves’. Get over to my twitter account @growlikegrandad to find the competition and RT to enter (Winner picked at 9pm on Sunday 8th October). Good luck!
Blogger: Annabelle / Life at No.27
Blog: https://lifeatno27.com/
Facebook: www.facebook.com/lifeatno27
Instagram: @Lifeatno27
Twitter: @Lifeatno27
Annabelle is the blogger, vlogger and radio personality behind Life at No.27. She has had her allotment two years this month, celebrating the two-year anniversary of her highly enthusiastic blog too.
On the subject of her allotment dress code Annabelle says “I would love to say that I am a complete fashionista when it comes to ‘on the plot’ style, think permanently ‘OK magazine’ photoshoot ready. But reality couldn’t be further from the truth other than filming occasionally. Rushing between work, university and the allotment means time is of the essence and hair and full make-up aren’t always the first priority.”
Like all allotmenteers Annabelle favours complete comfort over style “especially if I have a full day of hard digging and weeding planned”… “Think ‘gym style’ Nike leggings, a t-shirt, hoody jumper in the winter months and my trusty blue Town & Country polka dot wellies, bought from my local garden centre”.
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- No head-wear required
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- Town & Country polka dot wellies
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- Denim jeans with a vest top
For quick plot visits Annabelle turns the style dial up slightly, wearing her denim Levi or Next jeans with a vest top (as pictured) and old running trainers in the Summer months. Now Autumn has arrived and it’s much cooler, Annabelle keeps her hoody jumper permanently on stand-by in the boot of her car, alongside the wellies.
“I’m always prepared for an unplanned plot visit after work or in between seeing friends! No fancy jewellery or head-wear comes near the allotment, just some simple earrings and a hair band.”
Annabelle couldn’t be without her DSLR camera and microphone, both of which she uses for filming her excellent YouTube videos and capturing shots for her blog.
Blogger: Jane Merrick / HER OUTDOORS
Blog: https://heroutdoors.uk/
Instagram: @jane.merrick
Twitter: @janemerrick23
When it comes to allotment attire Jane is another lover of layers (following on from Monday’s ‘Lucy Layers’ and my own triple camo combination yesterday). “I wear lots of layers when I go to the plot” she said, “so even if it’s in the middle of winter and there’s frost on the ground I can peel off a coat and then a jumper if I’m doing a lot of digging. In the middle of January I could turn up in four layers – vest top, long sleeved top, jumper and coat – and after two hours of heavy digging, which is great exercise, I will be in just my vest top and jeans.”
Jane has once broken her own layers rule with disastrous consequences:
“I once swung by the plot for a cheeky half hour before work, wearing smart office gear, and ended up with fox poo on my silk shirt and had to go back home to change – which I guess taught me a lesson”.
Many an allotmenteer has made the mistake of visiting the plot for a ‘quick visit’ only to ruin their day-wear by spilling compost tea, catching a leg on a rogue nail or tripping over the edge of a raised bed into a muddy patch of nettles.
Unless it’s really hot Jane always wears jeans because of the thorns on the huge blackberry bush near her compost bin. “I have heavy duty gloves for autumn clearing but during the rest of the year I prefer to go without gloves because I love feeling the soil on my hands. I wear navy crocs in the summer – they do let in soil but are cool on a hot day”
During the rest of the year we might find Jane kitted out in her navy Hunter wellies with additional Hunter socks for winter, “Hunter socks are really comfortable and warm” apparently.
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- Jane likes a long sleeved top
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- Hunter wellies
Finally Jane says that one of her most useful bits of gear is her Garden Girl tool belt because she needs so many things to hand when working on the plot: “I need my Japanese razor hoe for weeding, string, secateurs and my mobile phone because I take dozens of photos at every visit for my blog.”
Get the allotment look TODAY:
#AllotmentFashionWeek
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- Tweet: @LifeatNo27
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- Tweet: @janemerrick23
