I have been a fan of Willaby Clothier since the owner and designer Kim Woods reached out a few seasons ago offering to collaborate. I was unable to work with Kim at the time, as we had enough clothes, and despite being in love with her choice of fabrics and styles, with much praise of her work, I had to gently say… “I am sorry but in all honestly my girls do not need another item of clothing!” With some regret of my moral responsibility, and with great delight at getting to know Kim, we decided to keep in touch and see if something would work out in the future.
As Kim’s collection expanded from children’s clothing by adding a few simple pieces for women, she reached out again. This time I was more than happy to say yes, as while my children’s wardrobe is solid, I am proud to say mine is thin. Without hesitating one moment I said “Yes, please, thank you so much!” excitedly, and gave Kim the choice of what she would like to see me wear. Kim sent me the bleached dolman top and women’s scarf in sand.
When the beautiful top arrived in the post I was so very impresses. “This is something I will wear forever!” I thought. Dolman is one of my favorite styles and the fabric was substantial, but soft, and has that feeling of beauty that you can tell it will get even better and even more loved with age. The construction is superb, it is so well made. Produced in America by very skilled craftspeople, it is excellent quality. I love the line of buttons down each should that become a simple elegant feature, so perfectly done. I was also happy that my head fit through the head opening without actually having to undo any of the buttons. Same can be said for hanging the shirt on a hanger. All round this shirt ticks all the boxes, beautiful, useful, utilitarian and stylish. The weight of the fabric transfers well across seasons too, it will look great layered with a long sleeved tee beneath in cooler weather.
I look forward to seeing how Kim expands her Women’s line.
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Thank you to Elle for taking these photos of me in the garden.
