‘Allotment chic’ is the style to channel this spring
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Who doesn’t love a garden centre? Even if you’re an apartment dweller with a windowsill for green space like me, the notion of digging around in fresh soil and growing stuff is a mood-booster. These plant-packed institutions can be wonderfully quirky too: at Ruxley Manor garden centre in Sidcup, you can pick up a cheddar truckle from the farm shop, a Dutch hoe from the tool section and a bearded dragon from the pet department, so that once you’ve weeded the garden, you can reward yourself with a cheese toastie and some quiet time with your new reptile friend. Go figure.
Garden centres aren’t typically known as fashion destinations, but there’s always a gem or two hidden among the profusion of fleece. Cut through the chintzy gift shop at Notcutts Garden Centre in Maidstone, Kent, and you’ll find lovely Fairisle knits by the Edinburgh Woollen Mill along with flattering waxed cotton cargo trousers by Cotswold Outdoor.
I share these recommendations because allotment chic – stylish, well-made and comfortable fashion inspired by gardening workwear – is beginning to bloom as a springtime trend, which also means that designers are finally responding to our plea for more pockets.
The British brand Toast has centred its entire SS24 collection on pieces geared towards the green-fingered that look equally elegant away from the potting shed. Style wise, there’s a distinct retro feel to this pretty yet practical range. Think of the breezy insouciance of Felicity Kendal in The Good Life mixed with the louche glamour of Edith “Little Edie” Bouvier Beale from Grey Gardens, minus the furs.
This translates as a wholesome yet sophisticated mix of fling-on pinafore dresses, bright chunky knits, long multi-pocketed gilets, voluminous calf-length cotton twill skirts and cropped canvas slacks styled with thick socks. Rendered in a summery palette of sage green, marigold yellow, dark tangerine and warm ecru, the range also includes a number of floral and picnic check dresses, cut for a loose fit with long sleeves, perfect for pruning.
Crucially, garments are unfussy, functional and designed for ease of wear, whether you’re mucking about in the vegetable patch or dashing around town. “Our workwear is designed to be lived in,” says head designer Laura Shippey whose first-hand experience volunteering at the Brockwell Park Community Greenhouses informed the silhouettes and shades of this collection. “We focused on big pockets for seed packets and gloves, and a layered approach to dressing with the gilet explored in various forms, shrunken under a chore jacket, oversized with big useful pockets over a smock and elongated into a dress.”
Horticulture and high fashion have long since been (flower) bedfellows. Christian Dior’s love of gardens and roses is well known, as is Coco Chanel’s fondness for the rugged English countryside; to this day, these passions continue to influence the themes and leitmotifs of their luxury brands.
Christian Louboutin has spent over 35 years cultivating a dreamy rose garden at his 13th century chateau in the Vendée region of France, while Yves Saint Laurent’s aristocratic muse and jewellery designer, the late Loulou de la Falaise, was an enthusiastic landscaper, so much so that she once admitted that the only time she took off her signature jewels was when she was tending the plot at her French country house in Boury-en-Vexin.
If you’re really into your “horticouture”, you’ll have heard of the biannual magazine Plant, a super sleek publication that artfully combines photography, creative writing, fashion and botanical content. The latest edition features an interview with British designer and keen rose keeper Simone Rocha.
Then there’s Loewe’s AW24 collection which was recently revealed at Paris Fashion Week: like a catwalk homage to Gardeners’ World, the show featured pieces printed and hand-beaded with radishes and wildflower patterns. One model carried a bag shaped like a bundle of asparagus, a symbol perhaps of Loewe’s position at the tip of the spear of this couture garden-to-garment trend.
But really, it’s best to ask the experts what they like to wear when they’re busy composting and cutting back in the garden. Former Vogue model-turned-horticulturist Sharnee Gates may have switched her catwalk looks for utility wear but as revealed by her regular TikTok updates, she’s always stylishly kitted out for the job, even when she’s battling the elements knee-deep in a muddy bog. As her videos show, gardening isn’t all swings and petticoats like a Fragonard painting, it can be downright brutal.
“I love Uniqlo’s gilets and long-sleeved puffer jackets. I find that they tie everything in. I have a vintage French workwear denim jacket that I love as well. My leather Scarpa hiking boots are a favourite for pottering about in when I don’t need my steel toe caps. In summer, I love a loose cotton shirt, switching to a flannel shirt with a vest underneath in winter for a bit of style and a quick cool down when I’m working hard,” she says.
Specialist flower grower and author Polly Nicholson, who owns Bayntun Flowers in Wiltshire which boasts the largest private collection of historic tulip varieties in the UK, loves artisanal pieces that nod to her profession.
“I have recently discovered Burford Garden Co., which is about an hour from me. They stock (Suffolk-based brand) Lavenham, which I love wearing. I recently bought a Lavenham gilet embroidered with historic tulips, based on Robert John Thornton’s ’The Temple of Flora’ print (1799-1807). My team and I are going to wear them at our National Garden Scheme open days this Spring,” she says.
When she’s flower cutting and arranging displays, Nicholson likes to wear a soft cotton Toast blouse under a Cutter Brooks Fairisle sweater vest paired with a khaki canvas skirt. “The [tank tops] just happen to be the colours of my historic tulips. I always feel calm and focused when I am wearing this outfit,” she reveals.
A friend who loves gardening garb more than the hobby – she’s managed to kill every plant on her roof terrace including the hardy Hedera Helix better known as climbing ivy – pointed me towards east London-based label Plümo which has a large selection of slouchy pure wool gilets including one called the Rambler with a hood and deep front pockets. There’s also a special gardener’s section on the site that includes split-toed Japanese Tabis wellies, loose cotton drill overalls, wicker trugs and a waxed cotton mustard hood which ties under the chin like a scarf, for a utilitarian twist on classic silk.
Weather permitting, Kitten Grayson, a florist and gardener based between London and Somerset, favours feminine dresses with plenty of flounce. “I love my Shrimps dresses for gardening in; they’re so flattering. And there isn’t a day that goes by when I’m not wearing my leather Rag of Colts bag [made from vintage saddles], which can be carried cross-body or on a belt,” she says.
She’s also “obsessed” with Marfa Stance, a British brand that specialises in fun, technically-engineered outerwear crafted from sustainable materials. Garments are modular which means you can build a coat to your own specifications thanks to an online customisation tool offering a variety of add-ons including shearling linings, faux-fur collars and parka-style hoods with generous storm guards.
The label’s new reversible rain bomber, made from surplus waterproof and water repellent material in a patchwork style, is particularly well-suited to gardeners. Quilted on one side for insulation, the two-in-one jacket has a short, oversized silhouette that can be cinched in with draw cords, alleviating the annoyance of gathered material around the waist when you’re crouched down bedding plants. It’s chameleonic too: you can mix and match the colours as you please, so arguably a far better purchase than a bearded dragon.
In the spirit of Gardeners’ Question Time feel free to share your workwear tips below. Top prizes for plenty of pockets and the best cheese truckles
