Hopetoun House, South Queensferry

What not to wear on a windy day

Red hair on a windy dayHopetoun House, Scotland

on teh steps of Hopetoun House

Over the weekend, Terry and I noticed that we were starting to get some breaks in the non-stop downpour we’ve been experiencing for the past few weeks months. At first we were afraid. What did it mean, this end to the rain? What was that bright light in the sky that would appear for a few, fleeting seconds, and then be switched off, plunging us once again into miserable darkness?

Well, we waited it out for a while, not trusting the dry spell to continue, but after a few hours without any sign of rain, we decided to chance our luck, and attempt one of our favourite summertime activities: exploring old houses and, well, drinking champagne. So off we went to Hopetoun House, which is an old mansion house which also serves afternoon tea: score!

High Tea

Afternoon tea at Hopetoun House

Unfortunately for me, although the weather was dry and warm(ish), it was also very, very windy. What’s the LAST thing you should wear on a windy day, folks? That’s right: a big-skirted dress with lots and lots of fabric, which will fly up at the slightest breeze.

So, naturally, that’s what I wore.

The dress in question is from River Island, and had actually been on my “to be eBayed” pile up until last week, when I decided to go through said pile and try a few of the things on before selling them/donating them. So I did that, and then… I put all of them back in my wardrobe again. Whoops.

It was only as I stepped out of the car, and immediately flashed two innocent bystanders, that I remembered WHY I had decided to part ways with this dress. Remember this post? The one where I flashed a bunch of people while wearing a big-skirted dress? THIS was that dress. And now it has struck again.

Scottish fashion blog

Visiting Hopetoun House, South Queensferry

blue 1950s style dress

Obviously the dress has a plan. And obviously it’s a plan which mostly revolves around forcing me to flash my underwear as many times as possible. Actually, scratch that: the plan doesn’t revolve around that. That IS the plan. It’s simple, yet powerful in its ability to cause the maximum amount of humiliation in the shortest amount of time. The two people I flashed in the car park, for instance? Got to see my underwear twice. Because first the dress flew up at the front, then, as soon as I grabbed it and pulled it down, it instantly – INSTANTLY – flew up at the back. Mortified.

Hopetoun House, South Queensferry. ScotlandAt least the house was pretty, though.

(Yes, we took too many photos. The place was just too picturesque not to. “It must be nice in the summer,” I said to Terry at one point. He had to remind me that this actually IS “summer”, and not Autumn, which is what it felt like…)

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books by Amber Eve
COMMENTS
  • This dress is lovely, even if it does have occasional mishaps, sometimes I think skirts in general are a terrible idea in Scotland. I’ve not been to Hopetoun House since I was little, I used to hate being dragged round National Trust houses when I was little but now I absolutely love it xo

    July 24, 2012
  • That dress is ever so pretty and I have had more than one such mishap myself – including once when my skirt blew over my head when I was crossing a street in front of traffic! The poor, unsuspecting drivers of Leamington Spa. Hopetoun House looks fab too, you’ve got to love somewhere that serves a cream tea 😀

    July 24, 2012
  • Amazing as always!

    July 24, 2012
  • I actually have a theory that some skirts actually cause the weather. One of my old skirts certainly did that; it could be perfectly calm outside but the second I put on that particular skirt and stepped outside, the wind would pick up and we would immediately enter Flashville, population: me.

    Your photos of your day out are just gorgeous. I love the way you’ve managed to make it look as though you were just wandering about your estate or something. It’s such an amazing place.

    July 24, 2012
  • Looked like a beautiful day. I even saw a bit of blue sky in one of those pics! I would love to have old houses like that around where I live to walk though, very cool!

    July 24, 2012
  • Well the wind did make for some beautiful pictures! You’re such a natural model. I always feel like it’s blatantly obvious I’m not comfortable having my pic taken. And seriously that house. Reason enough to jump the pond and move to the UK! 🙂

    July 24, 2012
  • Kerrie

    REPLY

    You look fab Amber!! I love the dress!! But I do have a question, how did you manage on the swampy grass with your heels?

    July 24, 2012
  • Jaynie

    REPLY

    This happens to me all the time. I have taken to calling the incidents of skirts-flying-up-quick-hold-it “Marilyn Monroe Moments”, or “Monroements”; the fact that I have a name for them probably indicates how often I’ve dealt with this! (I have — finally — started to wear short leggings under such skirts, so at least I don’t have to share my undies with the world anymore, but it is still not the best way to spend an afternoon).

    July 24, 2012
  • The dress may be crazy, but it is pretty. AND your hair looks AMAZING in the first picture. Yes that required caps.

    July 26, 2012
  • I just wanted to say, you remind me so much of Karen Gillian, from Doctor Who…
    That is all.

    July 27, 2012
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