Mrs Daffurn was our youngest's first teacher and I wanted to feature her on Style Guile a long time ago. However I thought that it might be prudent to wait until Matilda had moved on a year before asking her. Luckily she agreed to appear but I know that she is slightly nervous about it. Occasionally I would drop by her classroom after school without any pre-warning - so this post isn't in the least bit contrived.
I think that teachers have a tricky time when it comes to getting dressed for work. Without being patronising, or wishing to imply that it's not possible to dress nicely as a teacher, all that bending, lifting and moving around, plus the risk of getting covered in paint, glue, glitter and various bodily fluids would probably make me want to dress in a nuclear suit.
I was always full of admiration for the way that Mrs Daffurn managed to pull something different out of the hat every day, especially given the constraints on what would be comfortable and practical to wear whilst teaching a class of three year olds. Personally I don't think that she ever wore the same outfit twice but she assures me that she did!
I love this outfit which is so simple but which, with the addition of a belt, bright beads and Hunter wellies, is really pretty and stylish.
How great are these for wet soggy school days?
I will probably get into a little bit of trouble for posting this picture but for me, it captures the essence of Mrs Daffurn. She is always so happy to see the children and parents and they are all so adoring of her.
A little bit of colour and print is great for the children too - I know from what my own children say to me that they like bright clothes. Only just this morning Matilda told me that she liked all of my clothes, apart from the dark ones!
Here's another great outfit which combines a dress and cardigan with a printed scarf. The shape of this dress is really flattering as it nips in at the waist and the looser boyfriend style cardigan keeps the look relaxed.
And here Mrs Daffurn has added her Barbour which she brought over from home (Ireland) as she knew how practical it would be at school, where the children have to walk outside to get to the dining hall, irrespective of what the weather is doing. I love how the turn back on the sleeves of the Barbour picks up the colour of the cardigan.
I think that Mrs Daffurn is a bit of a Joules fan and I know that this dress is from Warehouse. Other than that, I didn't think it fair to quizz her too much further but with her Barbour, Hunters, scarves, beads, stripes and clever use of colour, she gets top marks in the teacher style stakes!
