Summer is supposed to mark the moment dressing gets easier: throw a white broderie anglaise prom dresses 2016 over your bronzed limbs and you’re ready to go.

Here's how to deal with the complications of being a pale girl in summer

Intrattenimento postato da nedress || 7 anni fa

Summer is supposed to mark the moment dressing gets easier: throw a white broderie anglaise prom dresses 2016 over your bronzed limbs and you’re ready to go.

But for those cursed with exceptionally pale skin like me it’s much more complicated. Because my skin isn’t that kind of cute, English rose shade of pale. Think Twilight-style transparent (minus the Edward Cullen glow) and you’re pretty much there. Or, as one helpful beauty assistant in John Lewis said when I went in for a make-over, “Your foundation shade is Siberia.”

Rooney Mara is Rosie's pale-in-Summer muse

All this makes summer dressing a minefield. White dresses are a no go, because they are the same colour, if not darker than my skin. Summer shades of yellow and orange wash me out and make me look grey. So, when shopping for holiday clothes, which I try avoid at all costs, I often end up choosing the same pieces year after year: a black maxi dress, a navy playsuit, various navy and burgundy basics and very few colourful items - though I do have the odd piece of bright magenta clothing as it’s surprisingly flattering on pale skin.

I also stick to buying summer clothes on the high street because I know that whatever I buy will most likely end up covered in factor 50 sun cream by the end of the summer. Because yes, that’s the other thing about being pale in the summer; you’re constantly searching for a suncream that doesn’t leave you sticking to your chair. (After years of trial and error I can report it’s always worth keeping Piz Buin's sun sensitive lotion in your bag.)

At this point, please don’t casually suggest I just slap on some fake tan. Bronzing and White Walker-esque skin don’t mix in my world. In a desperate attempt to counter my pale skin, I chose a particularly sunny day to lie on Clapham Common and bask in the afternoon heat. I drifted off to sleep, curled up on my side for what I later calculated to be around 20 minutes. After waking from my sunny slumber, I was left with a face burned only on one side (think Harvey Dent from Batman) plus one burned arm and leg. A couple of days after burning, the redness disappeared and I was left white once more. Miraculously managing one shade darker on the Dulux paint chart - from Brilliant White, I upgraded to Clapham Corpse.

After that unsuccessful bronzing attempt, I ordered some ‘gradual tan lotion’ which had been recommended by many trusted sources. After applying said lotion with small doses of product and huge doses of care, I went to bed smelling like biscuits, excited at the prospect of a natural glow come morning. A few hours later my fingers had morphed into long, thin Wotsits and I also had bright orange toes - Cheetos, which is so not the look I was originally going for. The rest of me? Still milky white.

The sun is not my friend. I can't be brown, and whilst others toast themselves each summer to a gorgeous nut brown, I pale into insignificance. Luckily I am perfectly suited to British weather. I love to layer up. I suit a Barbour jacket and Hunter wellies. Hailing from Devon my Barbour is well worn and my Hunters are muddy. I don’t like hot weather but I do love a nice hot cup of Earl Grey tea. I’m holidaying in October rather than risking Europe in the height of summer and I’m praying for mediocre weather when I go to the US in August. Until then I will continue to hide away from the sporadic London sun, dressing for a damp Dartmoor dog walk.

There has however, been a recent revelation in my woeful situation. Last week I bought my first floral item, a black maxi dress with sleeves from Zara. The fabric is lightweight and breathable, my shoulders and chest are nicely shielded from the sun, it’s summer-appropriate owing to the flower print, plus it’s black. Bingo. I think I’ve hit the gothic summer jackpot.

zara

 

I received five compliments in as many minutes when I wore the prom dresses 2015 for the first time this morning, and I must say it’s provided a new surge of optimism in my summer dressing dilemma. It turns out you can wear black and cover up and look summery all at the same time. I can’t say I’ll be swapping my checks and stripes for paisley and floral prints any time soon, but it’s certainly a start.