Land Girl Chic

I'm currently snowbound and freezing in my little wooden house, because I've run out of heating oil.  This has become a yearly event for me.  Every year I think 'oh, I'm low on oil, I must order some more', and then I forget about it... and then it snows... and then my heating goes off...and then the oil supplier can't get to me for over a week.

This does actually bear a striking resemblance to my home, though mine is a bit draftier...

However, in the true spirit of 'make-do', I've simply piled on layers of cashmere and shoved a cat down each trouser leg, and I'm toasty warm again (if a little scratched from the cats).  I've got to thinking a bit about how I'm going to 'make do' over the next 12 months, which lead to me thinking about my garden, which led to thinking about Land Girls, which lead on to thinking about Dungarees, natch.

You already know about the Land Girls, so I'm not going to re-hash this over and over again.  Suffice it to say that I'm totally on board with their spirit.  It's time to stop complaining about the rising price of food and get out there and grow something.  Of course, if you can do it looking fabulous then more's the better.  I've been having a little lookie on the interweb to see what's on offer and here's a few ideas:



Cord Dungarees by Freddies of Pinewood, £55




Cotton drill reproduction landgirl dungarees by Apple Tree Lane, £49




Land Army Dungarees by Tara Starlet, £68

I'm a bit in love with all of the dunga's I've shown here.  Despite the fact that whenever I mention the word 'dungarees', my husband looks at me as if I've gone mad.  "Just look how pretty they are!", I cry.  He appears not to share my enthusiasm & still glowers.  But I don't care.  I envision myself digging away in my plot looking totally marvellous.

I have to say that, although the Tara Starlet dungarees are my absolute favourite, I can hardly see myself actually gardening in them.  They are far too nice to cover in mud.  Probably a bit too tight on the old bottom to make bending over practical too.  The Freddies of Pinewood ones look pretty hardwearing, and the Apple Tree Lane ones probably the most practical, and the most historically accurate (and the cheapest too).

As I take another look at the original Land Girls, I realise that what they were wearing probably didn't feature very highly in their minds as they dug.  Most of them are wearing mens trousers that are too big for them and their oldest wooly jumper.  So long as it was practical, kept them warm and meant they could grow potatoes, they probably didn't care.

I guess the real spirit of the Womens Land Army lies not so much in what one wears, but what one does.  I hope to make 2012 a 'Land Army' success, as I venture forth and conquer my veg patch.  And nevermind what I wear whilst doing it.

But maybe I'll still save up for those dungaree's anyway.....just to help me get in the mood!