A Grown Up IDentity!

Traditionally I’ve not been a matching underwear kind of girl, if I’m being honest I’d say I don’t really care about underwear at all. I wear the same knicks I’ve always bought and when it comes to bras I simply can’t get on with them favouring instead (only when I absolutely have to wear something), a crop top. I just feel far more free without however, I concede that it’s not terribly grown up of me. I have recently in that case been making more of an effort and while I’m not quite there on the matching sets front yet, I do rather like to wear a cami for a top with jeans – I’m one step forward although admittedly that’s underwear as outerwear. You know, when it’s so pretty I think why should it be hidden away under something else anyway and embracing my 90s style it’s the way I’ve gone! My birthday night out recently was spent in a cami with Levi indigo boot cuts. The only things different to that outfit and the ones I wore when I was in my teens and early twenties were the size of my bottom and a few wrinkles that I figured some dim lighting and passion fruit martinis could forgive!

So some might say I’m regressing rather than growing up however I disagree on a small level… I’ve taken my new found love of well made underwear and moved it on a step to nightwear. This is an area that I CAN get on board with when it comes to beautifully hand-made silken items and though historically my bed time get up has also been rather uninspiring this is where I’ve grown into the adult my birth date tells me I am, even if my clothing doesn’t! I love wearing a cami (as a top of course) so much with beautiful lace detailing, that a super silky night gown of similar ilk called to me and this one right here is long, floaty, beautifully cut and as classy as it is sensual.

My long satin nightgown with lace trim is hand-made with purpose by IDentity Lingerie who make lovely long silk nightgowns. They are a small, family run brand from Lincolnshire which means when you buy from them you shop local and you shop small. Something which is lovely to be able to do if not always possible because hand-made and small business aren’t always synonymous with affordability. I’m happy to report that these guys deliver on all levels however, including affordability and with 50% off a lot of their nightgowns right now this one is just £44.90/ You could spend the same in M&S or John Lewis but you wouldn’t get something anywhere near the same standard.

As I was opting for being a grown up with IDentity I teamed my night gown with a gorgeous paisley silk dressing gown which again has 50% off, again is hand-made and again is superb quality.

Again, I didn’t promise to behave like a grown up and took my dressing gown dancing in the country lanes next to the fields where I live. Why not?! I got some funny looks but frankly if I’m going to be a grown up then I’m going to do it my way and that’s never going to be standard. Look, at the end of the day (night time naturally) these items don’t just look beautiful but they are lovely on the skin, beautifully made and the sort of items you’d never be embarrassed to be seen in. It’s a bit of a shame they aren’t ACTUAL clothes to be worn outside because I think how they make me feel and I should be cashing in on that and sitting in the pub in them. I suppose that might be a bit much so I’ll settle for answering the door and potentially wearing them on holiday where there’s a balcony I can stand on and not be in danger of flashing a nip (as is my usual wont). I love my new grown up nightwear and just to prove it…

Maybe now that I’ve grown up a bit I will start to think about some actual proper matching underwear. I might be the sort of woman who wears a cami under her clothes rather than as clothes and at some point I may start to behave. A comment on one of my newspaper columns recently, about me, said “Women used to know how to behave before they got the internet” which does make me rather reluctant to give it a go but you never know. I suspect however, that I’m far more likely to wear under as outer for forever more and the IDentity ranges are so suited to that with fine detailing and beautiful criss cross straps. take a look, I will be. Also worth noting that they’re doing their bit for fighting COVID and making gorgeous hand made masks to go with their usual ranges. So, shop small, shop local, don’t break the bank, look great and never grow up properly because that’s no fun at all!

Collaboration.