These two smock tops fall firmly into the category of “things I wasn’t quite sure about to begin with, but it turns out I wear them all the time”.
I bought the one above in March, from a local charity shop. I saw the fabric, which is gorgeous little cats in orange and khaki green, saw that it was my size, paid the £2 (TWO POUNDS!) and grabbed it. I could see that it was hand made, but it wasn’t until I got it home that I realised it was also faded, stained, and mended. Honestly though? It’s so lovely, and so comfortable, that none of those things really matter too much. You can’t see the details on this fuzzy phone selfie, but at some point I’ll show you the damage, and what the original owner and I have done to repair it. (There’s a patch over a hole right on the front near one of the pockets, but it’s so beautifully done that I have to look twice to find it every time.)
This one I made, a few years ago. The fabric is a gorgeously soft bamboo and organic cotton blend. I tracked down the pattern on Etsy, having seen a picture of it on a “WORST SEWING PATTERNS EVER” board on Pinterest… so that should tell you something about my fashion sense!
I have to confess that I’m awkwardly holding the flowers because, thanks to an appalling oversight (also known as running out of fabric), this one doesn’t have pockets, so I needed something to do with my hands.
What I particularly like about these tops is that they’re really versatile. As you can see, in the first photo I’m wearing the smock top over jeans (Monkee Genes Emily style) and a long sleeve t-shirt (Gossypium). In the second photo I’m wearing a pair of navy shorts that used to be my work uniform, but have turned into really useful summer wear since I left that job! I’ve also worn the stripy one over long dresses, and I can see it being really handy for the beach, so they’re really useful all year round.