How do we indulge a weakness for embroidered blouses and patchwork without looking cheesy? First, keep it modern

Boho chic, the summer uniform of the early 2000s, is back. Hello again, off-the-shoulder blouses and ruffled skirts. Straw baskets, vintage slip dresses and artisanal quilted jackets: we missed you.

Boho chic is fashion’s favourite guilty pleasure. Summer rolls around, and women who have spent the year to date in crisp shirting and understated neutral tailoring go weak at the knees at the first hint of an embroidered blouse with pom poms on the drawstring. You only have to say the word “festival” to a British woman and she’ll be head to toe in paisley with a faded denim waistcoat, an armful of bead bracelets and a starsign necklace. The first jangle of a coin belt is like the first notes of the ice-cream van song: a nostalgia trip into half-remembered, hazy summers of the past.