When the heat is on, it's time to reach for a kaftan
I used to have a downstairs neighbour called Wendy. This was a woman who, when she found out that my daughter's playschool was looking for shoeboxes (to make "aquariums" out of), said: "I'll put some outside your door tonight." In the morning, I woke up to find about 20 empty boxes on my doorstep, all from either Prada or Christian Louboutin. Every day when I went in to the playschool, I'd take a few more boxes with me, and each time the staff would raise an eyebrow as they looked at the prices on the packaging. "Look," I would plead, "they're not mine, they're size sevens . . ."
Anyway, the point is Wendy wasn't a slob, not even within the confines of her own house. Her loungewear was comprised of kaftans. She wore them as fashion, art, comforter. I've never had a kaftan - if truth be told, I'm a little afraid of what would happen if I surrendered myself to its billowyness . But I have always had a bit of a longing for a towelling kaftan, a longing that I've never indulged because it'd be like wearing a stitched-up towelling robe, and so comfortable that I doubt I'd ever be seen again. Surely, sheepskin slippers wouldn't be too far behind. But if you're going on a holiday where you'll be doing lots of sunbathing, kaftans really make a lot of sense. They're great if you suddenly feel a bit self-conscious in your bikini, if you realise your skin is just a bit too pink and you want to cover up, or if you have to sprint down the beach to collect a toddler who is intent on heading out to sea. It's a bit like wearing your very own tent.
The best kaftans are in cotton. Also, although you can buy them in lots of places, bear in mind that there are kaftans (stylish cover-ups) and kaftans (ugly, shapeless garments). Anya Hindmarch has some beautiful ones that are currently on sale (hurry). But even then they are nudging £200. "Lucille" is really the one to get: it's shaped so that it's comfortable, but it also has form to it. If you can afford it, this garment will be essential wear on almost every holiday you take from now until you're 90.
Just about every clothes shop on the high street is offering kaftans this summer, but most of them are too short. To my mind, to be properly useful, a kaftan has to be long; anything else is just a tunic. La Senza has one that's OK for length - made more attractive by the fact that it's just £10 in the sale - but it's let down by being in polyester.
Heidi Klum (she of the fantastic figure after three children, and who was modelling bikinis just three weeks after giving birth) also has some lovely kaftans. The long ones are beautiful and tip £200, but there's also one to mid-thigh that's "just" £78. That's a lot, but when you go shapeless, you need to go stylish.
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