Kelso tartan silk palazzo pants, £310, gracewears.london; Cordelia tiered midi dress, £270, cefinn.com
Worn all at once, twee can look a bit Little House on the Prairie fancy dress or Bunny MacDougal-like, Charlotte’s twinset-and-pearls-loving mother-in-law in Sex and the City, though. The key to carrying it all off in the real world, as opposed to Instagram, is moderation.
“The way that I would make it wearable as an adult is to team it with much more structured pieces,” Roe says. “So if I want to wear a ditsy print dress, I’ll cinch it at the waist with a black leather belt with a simple gold buckle in the style of Princess Diana in the 1990s.
“If I’m wearing a Peter Pan collar blouse, I’ll probably team it with a skinny leather trouser or a skinny high-waisted jean. Equally, you could throw a tailored blazer over the top a twee piece. I also love wearing flats with something very girly and twee – perhaps a black patent loafer. I recently got a pair of white and brown loafers that feel a little bit 1940s, but in a unisex way. The idea is to just balance the twee with more streamlined, classic pieces in the rest of the outfit.”
Of course twee won’t be for everyone. I know many people who will be unable to separate nouveau twee from the overly saccharine, sentimental and quaint associations with the word that they’ve known all their lives. And I can understand that. They certainly won’t be out of style for rejecting it in favour of other prevailing trends like Succession chic or utilitarian-luxe.
But for those who have a soft spot for all things pretty, feminine and vintage-inspired, twee gives you licence to indulge – and it shows no sign of going anywhere soon. It’s time to let your flounce flag fly.