I consider a puff sleeved white cotton dress to be a staple of a cottagecore wardrobe, and the frequency with which I wear this dress is proof enough! While I tend not to be too formulaic with wardrobe staples, I find that a floaty white cotton dress with puff sleeves forms a solid backbone on which multiple cottagecore outfits can be constructed.
When I started this blog more than a decade ago, cottagecore didn’t have a name. But it was this aesthetic that kindled my love for fashion and led me to try and create a bit more representation for people who look like me. That was 2010. Now in 2022, cottagecore is fairly mainstream and has been so for a while now – yet the bodies that it centres remain as thin and white as ever.
If you’re planning to visit Cragside, now would be the best time as the autumn foliage is still in its full regalia in Northumberland.
I fell deeply in love with the ruined orangery at Gibside. The tall brick arches with the overgrown garden within was like something out of The Enchanted Castle – my favourite Edith Nesbit novel.