The cropped trouser

With this ever changeable climate I am trying to come up with fab new spring summer looks for my clients without them freezing to death, or looking overly summery on an over cast day!

If you are having the same quandary then look to a cropped or 7/8th's trouser.  It loos summery and fresh with out leaving you with blue legs from the cold!

My Top 3 on the high street or on-line are:

Oasis Navy crop trouser £35.00

Zara, Trouser with turn-up £29.99

or Isabella Oliver 365 Cigarette pant £95.00

Wear them for work with a vibrant print blouse, a blazer or on the weekend with a loose T-shirt and leather jacket.  You will look fabulous.  Just make sure you team it with a fab heel to elongate those pins, my top shoe choices would be:

This Next court for work £18.00

This Aldo wedge for weekend £70.00

The dress that works for you.. 1st instalment

I have had so many of you ask me for tips on buying that perfect dress that can cover a cross section of events, so i thought i would put together a little post to give some hints and tips.

Whether you are heading to a wedding, a works party, a dinner or a date it is important to make sure that your dress does the hard work without breaking the bank every time one of those occasions pop up.

If you have multiple weddings or events with different groups of people then you can invest a little bit more in the dress as it will take you more places.  So here are my top tips..

Invest in the perfect canvas dress.. this means it is the dress that you will adapt for each occasion.  If you are wearing a dress to lots of events then i would always invest a little bit more as it will hold its shape and a classic shape is the easiest to give different looks.

My top choice would be this Diane Von Furstenburg, 'Jori Dress' which is £300 it comes in 3 different colour options and the fit is super flattering on most body shapes.

2nd choice is this Isabella Oliver 365 "soft pleat dress' £109 so a bit cheaper and more stretchy but still has the same effect.

The belted pleat neck dress from Oasis £45 is also a great idea if you are on a bit more of a budget.

Once you have your canvas dress it is time to get creative with styling it to give you multiple looks...  

The statement necklace will give it interest for a dinner out.  The first 2 necklaces are from Stella and Dot and the yellow and pearl necklace is from Kate Spade.

A real statement hat makes a blank canvas dress come to life for a wedding, make sure you clash your shoe or bag choice so that you have 3 colours going on in the outfit...

To get your dress in work mode add a blazer, I love the shape of this Orange cropped blazer from H&M and it is only £24.99 (it comes in black and nude to for you reluctant colour clashers)

This is also a great versatile blazer from Zara £69.99 

The really important thing is that you get the perfect cut and fit on the canvas dress and always opt for a colour (no one wants to be a wall flower).  Then with a few carefully chosen extra's your dress can take you to so many different events.

http://www.hm.com/gb/subdepartment/LADIES?Nr=4294926712

My top picks from the Isabella Oliver 365 S/S collection

I had the pleasure of accompanying fellow blogger Mrs MakeDoStyle to the preview evening of Isabella Oliver's 365 Spring Summer collection a few months ago.  We nibbled on Sushi and sipped Champagne whilst trying on and browsing the collection as well as having an impromptu photo shoot with a Marilyn Monroe thread!

I had also forgotten that they had asked us to do our top picks to camera for their blog, so here are my top choices from the collection: