The Chic List The joy of the human touch - YOU Magazine Fashion Beauty Celebrity Health Life Relationships Horoscopes Food Interiors Travel Sign in Welcome!Log into your account Forgot your password? Password recovery Recover your password Search Sign in Welcome! Log into your account Forgot your password? Get help Password recovery Recover your password A password will be e-mailed to you. YOU Magazine Fashion Beauty Celebrity Health Life Relationships Horoscopes Food Interiors Travel Home Fashion The Chic List The joy of the human touch By You Magazine - May 9, 2021 Been feeling a little odd since some lockdown restrictions were lifted? Me, too. And it’s not remotely surprising. All five of our precious human senses have been massively curtailed for well over a year as we’ve been held hostage in our homes with little or nothing new to see, hear, smell, taste or touch. Chic separates for dinner out – blazer by Amanda Wakeley, shirt by Valle & Vik and trousers from By Malene Birger. Image: Mollie Manning No fresh experiences to broaden our minds, to ravish our imaginations, to bring a magical glow to our cheeks. The human touch was more or less outlawed. So it’s natural that many of us have been left feeling wobbly and off-balance. I had an hour-long massage this week and, to my surprise, it made me well up with tears. Not tears of sadness or trepidation – there have been enough of those – but with the pure, unbridled joy of having a professional’s hands on my neck and shoulders, rubbing and pummelling an entire year of pent-up anxiety out of my body. I closed my eyes and melted deliriously away, listening to lapping waves – the closest I, like you, have got to real ones in a very long time. That hour was the most relaxed I have felt for more than 12 months. In pre-Covid life I was more of a lone shopper, quietly enjoying doing my own thing. Suddenly I’m a chatty customer, making excited declarations of love about a new-season caramel sweater from Joseph (see below, which I couldn’t stop touching) and sharing my delight at how the clean line of the polo shirt – the long-sleeve ones are much more flattering, by the way – has been reinvented and embraced by the fashion world. I even found myself touching the four small walls of a dressing room – not even a terribly attractive one – as if they were some sort of miraculous mirage. Online shopping is a convenient beast, but it doesn’t replace the thrill of the touch. My favourite dress-up combinations for eating outdoors have been knitted dresses (so joyous to be back in a frock!) layered with a coat, and teamed with a piece of statement jewellery and heels. Alfresco dining has made me relish the oversized wool or cashmere knit all over again. And I have been wearing them over favourite dresses to keep out the chills. When the novelty of the dress reunion wears off, I am planning to lean on chic trouser, blazer or cosy long cardigan combinations. Dress, £49.99, zara.com I love this mint shade. Raise its game with gold jewellery. Earrings, £170, Alighieri, harveynichols.com Team with summer’s pastel shades or crisp whites. Trousers, £180, bymalenebirger.com The adjustable ankle slits on these will show off your heels. Jumper, £395, Joseph, matchesfashion.com Layer this fuzzy knit over dresses for dinners outside. Bag, £175, thisisstelar.com So chic and made by artisans in Bali. Blazer, £79.99, mango.com Just add white jeans and oversized sunnies. Sandals, £145, Ancient Greek Sandals, net-a-porter.com A favourite summer staple. Follow me on Instagram @thestylistandthewardrobe. RELATED ARTICLESMORE FROM AUTHOR Rochelle Humes has launched a gorgeous new edit with Next Shop the YOU Magazine Instagram YOU picks the best new-in buys from M& S Popular in Fashion Laura Jackson has teamed up with Next for the chicest knitwear January 22, 2020 Holly Willoughby’ s birthday dress is another Zara bargain February 10, 2020 The Instagram-famous & Other Stories wool blazer is back in stock August 31, 2022 Lorraine just wore Emma Willis’ Next collection from head to toe March 17, 2020 The prettiest spring dresses under £100 March 1, 2022 Everyone is buying Holly’ s gorgeous gingham Oasis dress May 14, 2020 13 bargain dresses to buy in ASOS’ s extra 20 per cent June 10, 2020 This £20 H& M dress is set to be the social media June 26, 2020 Stacey Solomon x Primark is back for a third collection with July 20, 2020 Searches for this perfect heatwave summer top style are up 5000% August 10, 2020 Popular CategoriesFood2704Life2496Fashion2240Beauty1738Celebrity1261Interiors684 Sign up for YOUMail Thanks for subscribing Please check your email to confirm (If you don't see the email, check the spam box) Fashion Beauty Celebrity Life Food Privacy & Cookies T&C Copyright 2022 - YOU Magazine. All Rights Reserved