Thursday, 16 August 2012

Top 10 stylish umbrellas

As I type this the heavens have opened, it’s VERY dark in the house and I’ve put lights on!  The rain is LASHING down outside and I can barely hear myself think! (I lie .. I wrote most of this post yesterday and that was true of then .. now it’s a new day and the sun is shining!!)

I’ve never owned an umbrella other than the bog standard black fold up ones .. and I’ve lost them all.  I don’t know why I don’t use one, I do the school run and I hate getting wet – makes sense to use an umbrella then!  I guess as I’m starting to take more pride in everything I wear and in particular how the use of an accessory can make an outfit, I’d better start take more pride in the umbrella I own!

I recently found one in my parent’s garage.  I saw it and loved it for its vintage look.  It's a fabric umbrella and I found out later it belonged to my late Gran so I know its PROPER vintage!!


I’ve started to use it more and more but it’s also got me thinking about buying a new one for other days – ie trying to match my brolly with my rain coat (more on rain coats later, it deserves a whole new blog post of its own – as does wellies).

There are MANY basic standard brollies on offer wherever you look but if you want a funky umbrella then the search continues .. but I’ve done all that for you and here are my Top 10 Stylish Umbrellas that won’t break the bank.

In no particular order, here are the umbrellas I found when searching and fell in love:


 
This is so pretty and girlie, I love the colour and the pattern. It’s a mini one so perfect for always having in your handbag.

I love a ditsy floral print umbrella and I knew Cath Kidston would deliver that for me.  I love green and the flowers and it’s a small mini size, so again, perfect for the handbag/pushchair basket for the school run rain (incidentally, why do it always rain at school drop off and pick up times?)

The price alone is why I fell in love with it – plus the heart design.  Matalan never fail to deliver on cute every day bargains.  I’ve not handled this one so I can’t say how robust it would be in a windy rain storm but for a light shower I bet it does the job!

 

I would feel 5 years old if I had this one – it’s so childish in its design but very practical to protecting you from the driving rain.  At £10 it’s a bargain too.
 


This shouts out timeless classic to me – I think the name alone helps!  It’s sophisticated in its blue, funky with its stripes and versatile due to the multitude of colours.

 

I love orange and have an orange mac .. I reckon this would be the perfect accessory for that coat and others (denim jacket, blazer etc).


 

If it’s navy and spotty then I’ll love it – I have an obsession with polka dots (and stripes, but that’s a whole other blog post right there!).  This one is what I would say VERY pricey but the detail and quality even from a picture stands out – 16 fabric panels – swoon. 
 


This is awesome – I love a crook handle umbrella and this would be fantastic for a parasol or as an umbrella
 

This is simply gorgeous – the red is stunning and the grey trim really adds to the look of the brolly

My love for spots and stripes is almost equal to my love of animal print – this is an elegant umbrella and not one that leaves you looking like Bet Lynch (there are lots of them on the market!!)

How many umbrellas do you own?  Do you use them?  I am off to buy some (it’s close call between the Kensington Stripe and the navy polka dot one!)

Fiona
xoxo

1 comment :

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