It is quite hard, as a grownup, to justify buying a new pencil case. I mean, my job is writing stuff down, and I have a thing about sharp pencils, so there is always a pencil sharpener at the bottom of my handbag, but still. I would feel a bit ridiculous getting an actual pencil case out of my bag, especially since they mostly have dinosaurs on them.
But if I am too old for a dinosaur pencil case, I will never grow out of needing a back-to-school look when September rolls around – and it is not just me. The trends that fly in September are always those closest in spirit to real back-to-school. A new seasonal colour is always a hit at this time of year, because it feels as if we’ve moved en masse to a school with a new uniform. A hemline diktat makes us all nostalgic for the rules we railed against as teenagers. Logical, no; powerful, yes.
This year’s back-to-school look is the pinafore dress. Not a pinny, but a slightly formal dress with a dungaree shape at the top. The sort of dress you might pack in a trunk, along with a dundee cake to be shared later in the dorm. Which is exactly why it works: all the best fashion mixes function with fantasy.
The dungaree trend has made the pinafore possible. Two years ago, dungaree straps were still 1980s supply teacher, but their rise to a bonafide hipster trend has made the squared-off shape look normal. Pinafore dresses are easier to wear, because, not being divided at the crotch, they don’t do that awkward thing dungarees do of elongating your abdomen so that you look like a stag beetle (possibly just me).
The pitfall is primness, obviously. A Peter Pan collar might seem like a winsome, Alexa-Chung-at-Paris-fashion-week look in theory, but, trust me, you will look absurd. Even a simple white shirt might be a bit twee. A polo neck, on the other hand, has an almost magical ability to make everything look modern. It is your friend here. If that is a bit well-behaved for you, go for a blouse that has statement swooshy sleeves or a flouncy ruffle. The best part about grownup back-to-school is that you make the rules.
• Jess wears jumper, £45, cosstores.com. Dress, £46, urbanoutfitters.com. Shoes, from a selection, arunaseth.com.
Styling: Melanie Wilkinson. Hair and makeup: Laurence Close at Carol Hayes Management.
