the good life dress (travels!)

Grass against bare legs, the wind in my hair, a scattering of birds overhead. The flowers that bloom here are strange and hardy – tufts of tiny white fluff that cling to their stems through August, giving way to a sea of purple heather by September. 

These photographs, shot by Jo and James Melia on our shared Yorkshire landscape, are my answer to ‘what the good life means to me’. But let’s rewind a little bit.

A couple of weeks back, sitting with Nadia from Nadinoo in a cafe in Haworth, we came up with the idea to send one of her dresses a-travelling. We wanted to send it to some of our favourite online creative-types, for them to style & share in their own individual way.

I immediately knew it had to be this pinafore, based on Nadia’s favourite denim work apron, which is so versatile and easy-peasy to wear. But there was another reason, too, that’s a little harder to explain.

Nadia describes this latest range as  ‘a collection inspired by the English countryside, allowing us to relax into a slower pace… to appreciate all that is good in life‘. Talking about the changes in her life after the birth of her daughter (Lula, her little one, and Orla, shared a due date back in 2013!), she wrote,

“Clothing now needs to fit in with my everyday life as a working mother and all the glamorous demands that brings. Although comfort, smart and simple are high on my wish list I’m certainly not ready to slip away from the fun side of fashion all together. I still lust after bold prints, vibrant colours, quality fabrications and originality in design, and see no reason why all these can not come together to create an exciting alternative to what is available.”

Sounds familiar, right?

& then there were her words about wearing that apron all the time. It’s funny – I’ve heard this before, from several other women: from Helen, who wears hers to draw and paint her children’s books. From Fiona, who needs pockets and sturdy fabrics for her floristry work. From all of us on Instagram who fawn over linen and denim aprons on each others feeds, because they’re so practical and pretty and somehow, totally representative of the good things we do when we wear them.

It just all seemed to fit.

So the good life dress it was. Like a happy chain-letter, this little number will be visiting a host of brilliant, talented instagrammers, bloggers and online creatives, who will each be sharing their time with it in their own special way.

I don’t want to give too much away, but let’s just say that if you’re on Instagram, you’re likely to see it popping up on some of your favourite accounts.

We’re calling it The Good Life Dress Travels – or #thegoodlifedresstravels, for hashtag purposes.

I’m so excited to see how different women style and show this little pinafore, and I love that the hashtag will gradually become a collection of all of these dress-driven adventures. I like the idea of us each making our mark on it, too, as the raw denim ages with every wash, wear, and mailing.

I hope you’ll enjoy following along, and maybe get some inspiration for your own good life. And if you’d like to join in, Nadia is offering followers £15 off anything from The Good Life collection with code thegoodlife.

Happy travelling, little dress! I miss you already! 😉

Photography by the obscenely talented James and Jo Melia Photography. These guys are a dream x

Some related links:

• #thegoodlifedresstravels stream (it’ll be filling up very soon!)
• Nadinoo on Instagram
• The Good Life pinafore to buy (use code thegoodlife for £15 off)
• James Melia Photography