Useful basics – the camisole

Today I’m looking at a very useful, basic item of clothing – the cami or camisole. These tops make a great base layer: under cardigans or jumpers in winter, under a low cut top or wrap-over top if you don’t want to show too much cleavage, under a shirt with some buttons undone, under a long sleeved top. They can even be worn on their own on hot days in summer if you want to, with shorts, jeans, cropped trousers or a skirt. They have the ability to smooth out lumps and bumps (to a certain extent)if you wear them underneath close fitting top clothes.

You can buy them cheaply at Matalan, Sainsbury’s or Next for example, but my favourite place to buy them is from Kettlewell Colours – see above, as they come in so many lovely colours to suit your own colouring and currently in two styles. They wash very well and don’t fade. They are more expensive than from other shops but the camisoles I have bought from Kettlewell have lasted several years and they add a pop of colour when I need it. Boden are also good for camis and are quite good quality.

Another popular style of camisole is a silk one. Because silk is a more ‘dressy’ material it looks good worn under a jacket to go out in at night. I would only wear this type of camisole if I was going to leave my jacket on the whole time. It would also have to not be too revealing from the front – something us over 60s need to think about perhaps!

Camisoles really are a great addition to a capsule wardrobe and an ideal staple to wear all year around. You can really never have too many in my view!