by James Alexander-Sinclair
Does it matter what one wears for gardening? Obviously most people look for warmth in winter, cool in summer and comfort all year; elegance is not much of a consideration.
Does it matter what one wears for gardening? Obviously most people look for warmth in winter, cool in summer and comfort all year; elegance is not really much of a consideration.
My father-in-law, for example, has a waxed jacket which is more hole than jacket. Yet wearing tatty old clothes for gardening is a relatively new phenomenon. If you look at the famous photographs of Vita Sackville-West in her high laced boots (which must have wasted at least 15 minutes of good gardening time just getting into them) or Nancy Lancaster in capri pants and a sombrero it is obvious that style was important. (There are some wonderful pictures, taken by the great Valerie Finnis, in 'Garden People' by Ursula Buchan and Anna Pavord.
Even professional gardeners always maintained a certain decorum - ties, waistcoats and (for the head gardener) a black hat and heavy fob watch. Not for them a pair of holey jeans and a sweater grimy with compost and dusted with spilled rooting powder.
Nowadays anything goes. I have laid a patio in tweed plus fours and I remember once putting up a fence wearing a kilt but that was a short affectation - the wind and splinters got into uncomfortable places. I long ago discovered the advantages of a large hat when gardening; it shelters me from the rain, protects from the sun and - if it is really hot - can be filled with water and slammed on the head as a cooling shower. At the moment I have four. There were more but a dog ate one and another was snaffled as headgear for a bonfire night guy.
Apart from protective hats the most important pieces of gardening gear are good boots (Gertrude Jekyll knew the benefits of sturdy footwear - her boots were painted by William Nicholson in 1920) and, when handling thorny things, a pair of stout gloves.
Monty Don has a range of individual outfits in corduroy and strong cotton that make him look a bit like a 1930's farmworker hoicking sheaves of corn and eating chunks of strong cheddar. Chris Beardshaw has a range of foul weather gear that would make an Icelandic fisherman jealous. Sarah Raven always looks elegantly rumpled and is never seen in mucky jeans. Joe Swift needs to wear a woolly hat.
People fall into habits and often have favourite gardening clothes - not always savoury and occasionally rescued from the jumble sale. It would be interesting to hear what other people wear in the garden...
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