The Classic Summer Staple..the Shirtdress

Style Theory: The Shirtdress, a classic, can be worn year after year and be easily dressed up or down. This year, the denim shirt dress reigns supreme but there are plenty more beautiful options available on the high street from chambray, to cotton to linen...

There were plenty of shirtdresses on the SS15 catwalks and the streetstylers have been fans of the classic style for years. It is such an easy dress to wear, here is some inspiration of how to style the shirtdress the 2015 way: 

Left: Altuzzarra SS15 Right: Ralph Lauren SS15

Left: Viktor and Rolf SS15 Right: Chloe SS15

The high street stores have shirtdresses year after year, here are a selection of my favourites available on the high street now and ideas of how to style:

Sonia by Sonia Rykiel @Asos £315

Extremely pricey but one I will be looking out for in the Asos summer sale. I love the mix of (silk) fabric, will be a beautiful dress to wear on holiday with tan, flat, strappy, gladiator style sandals.

Mango Safari Suede Dress £149.99

In keeping with the boho style this real, suede dress is a classic, wear with denim jacket thrown over the top, black pointed flats and a black fringed bag for a cool look.

Ralph Lauren @House of Fraser £135

I have this shape of dress, I bought it last year. It is so flattering and looks as good with high tan sandals as it does with flip flops or white trainers.

Warehouse Blue Belted Dress £48

A very classic, grown up shirt dress, I would pair with leopard print shoes and a long, beige duster coat for a gorgeous, laid back wedding/ first Holy Communion outfit.

YAS Malle Shirt Dress £55

A cute stripe dress, wear with a bright sandal for a pop of colour.

Mango Denim Shirtdress £19.99

A very basic shirtdress at such a reasonable price, leave it loose or wear with a tan skinny belt.

Zara Oversize Dress £25.99

This could have the look of a maternity dress, but how comfy does it look? To avoid the maternity look wear with a fitted denim jacket and keep shoes delicate, flat pointy ballet pumps would look great especially in a bright orange, or mix it up with a leopard print for style twist.

Uniqlo Ines Denim Long Dress £39.90

Not a great image but I love the look of this dress, very sophisticated, I would wear with my bright Boden Alice heels and a colour pop bag (picking up one of the colours in my shoes)

Topshop Hybrid Shirt Dress £40

This hybrid jersey will work hard for you in your summer wardrobe, wear now with opaques and boots in the summer with flat, tan sandals.

Topshop Moto D Ring Shirt Dress £40 

Finally a great, basic shirtdress from Topshop, Michelle from MyFashionable40s bought it recently and it looks fab on. Wear with trainers now and in the summer swap for gold sandals see SusieSoso's fabulous New Looks finds..they would look great with a shirtdress.. 

There are soooo many gorgeous sandals and shoes on the high street this year..my next post will be dedicated to them!

MY STYLE

My favourite shirtdresses from last year...I wore them non-stop, both on evenings out and for a casual daytime look..

Shirtdress:H&M
Trainers: Adidas Stan Smith

Left: Dress - Levis, Boots - Seven Boot Lane
Right: Dress - Asos, Jacket - Asos, Boots - Aldo

Are you a fan of the shirtdress, how do you style yours? I would love to hear your thoughts and comments and if you have found any gorgeous ones on your shopping travels? Until next time, Frances xxxxx

Spring Spotlight on....Next

Style Theory: Sometimes a retailer just catches your eye with an item which then focuses your attention on a range that you may have not normally looked at. This season for me it is Next, I have to be honest I do not shop very often in Next but this season they have some really fabulous items that I could not resist. 

Here is what caught my eye and how I styled the items...

The first was these trainers, I was on the look out for a pair of black trainers and these fit the bill. Light, comfortable and really reasonable, they would give my outfits a little twist and would make the school run a breeze..

Next Floral Flexi Trainers £35

They are fab, really soft with a inner sole that supports your foot.

The Faux Leather Joggers:

Whilst in Next looking at the trainers I spotted these fab faux leather joggers, perfect for dressing down..

Sweater: H&M similar here
Faux Leather Trousers: Next £30
Trainers: Next £35

Or Dress up the trousers with a pair of heels..

Sweater: as above
Trousers: Next as above
Shoes: Nine West similar here

Not too Kanye, light and versatile these joggers have fabric inner so not too hot! 

The Spring 2015 look:

I am smitten with pale greys at the moment especially after spotting quite a few pale grey ensembles on the AW15catwalks for New York fashion week. 

This little lace skirt would look fab with heels but due to my adversion to be anything but comfortable at the moment I styled with my adidas Superstars and pink coat...

Jacket: M&S
Sweater: Next £45
Skirt: Next £45
Bag: TKMaxx
Trainers: Adidas Superstar 

I like the fine mesh of the skirt and lace details, it would look lovely in the summer with a grey T-shirt and silver strappy sandals. Or could be dressed up with a pair of silver heels and a pale grey blouse for a beautiful summer look.

So all in all Next did have quite a few gems in it's Spring collection, I will be able to use these key items time and time again in my wardrobe.

Are you a Next fan, do you shop there? This is not a sponsored post, I just was quite impressed with the range..

As always I would love to hear your thoughts and comments, until next time, Frances xx

Dungarees...really?!

Style Theory: Dungarees....denim, tailored or shorts have been back 'in' for a few years now,  a marmite item of clothing you either love or hate them.  I am in the 'love them' camp and have been further convinced of their coolness by bloggers such as Atlantic Pacific, The Frugality and Musings of London Mum who all style them beautifully. I tentatively dipped my toe in the dungaree water a couple of years ago (a bit wary as I am a bit in the old side for them!) with a grey, summer pair but got such stick from the husband I retired them to the back of the wardrobe never to be worn again. Well, I am trying again, completely inspired by Alex from The Frugality who was wearing these dungarees on Instagram. They looked fab and when I walked past them in my local H&M I couldn't resist...

Dungarees: H&M £29.99
Leather Biker Jacket: Asos similar here
Blouse: Zara £29.99
Clutch: &Other Stories
Trainers: Stan Smith Adidas £67

I can report back these dungarees are incredibly comfortable made with a soft, elastane denim. They are stretchy but keep their shape and as Alex rightly said they are a 'grown up' dungaree. I really think I may be pushing it age wise with these but I just thought I would go for it anyway as they are such a good fit and will look fab with heels.

I also bought this top from Zara, this is the perfect blouse to add a little 'fashion edge' to your wardrobe.

Top: Zara £29.99

It was pretty reasonable and will look fab with kick flares and skinny jeans in the Spring. It comes in a few different fabrics I tried on them all apart from the gingham..

Top: Zara £29.99

Top: Zara £29.99

Top: Zara £29.99 (as above)

A useful little top, a word of warning, it is quite short, ok for us vertically challenged but not so good for you supermodels out there! 

So there is a round up of my little birthday money spending spree, along with my Zara yellow coat which I have a feeling I will be wearing a lot. I am a huge fan of buying a couple of items at the beginning of the season which give my current wardrobe staples a little fashion lift and I think the dungarees, blouse and yellow coat with refresh a few looks.

Where do you stand with dungarees..for toddlers only? What are your fashion lift pieces this season? As always I would love to hear your thoughts and comments, until next time, Frances xxxx

Winter Berries

Style Theory: Berry, Wine, Burgundy, the beautiful rich, deep, red colour is AW14 must have. Whether worn as a coat, cosy jumper or shoes, this warm hue will add a touch of winter decadence to any outfit.

Berry trainers look fab with a camel coat

Clash berry with pink for a cool look.

Toughen up your berry coloured coat by layering up over a biker jacket

Just adore everything about this outfit

Berry is a truly versatile colour, it looks fabulous with camel, navy, khaki and of course black. However, if you are feeling a little bolder wear with pink (my favourite combination) or orange for a statement look.

Here are a selection of some stunning Berry items available on the high street now:

Warehouse Winter Coat £95

This is a beautiful coat on, looks great without the (detachable) fur collar also. I tried this on yesterday, not a great photo but this may give you an idea of how it looks.

It is a lovely shape and looks cute on. I would take off the fur and wear with a huge navy tartan scarf as in the Pinterest photo above..this one from Ebay is perfect..

Ebay £18.20

I have never bought from this seller on Ebay so just double check feedback before buying!

A sweater is a great way to add a contemporary colour to an outfit. These sweaters are cosy and would look fab with skinny jeans (love this colour with khaki jeans)

Baukjen Roll Neck Jumper £129

Gap Merino Sweater £39.95

Most people have a pair of jeans at home in this berry colour from a few years ago. Why not pull them out and update your look by wearing them with a pink jumper, a khaki parka and a pair of Stan Smith trainers, these colours look great mixed up and make a cool style statement. If you do not have them already try these from Topshop..

Topshop Leigh Jeans £38

Here is what I teamed my jeans with last week..

Sweater: River Island
Jeans: Topshop
Trainers: Stan Smith

Or wear with a berry T-shirt for a coordinated look..

Topshop Zip Back Tee £18

Zara Faux Leather Pleated Skirt £39.99

Pair this skirt with the Gap merino sweater above and a pair of pointed snakeskin flat pumps.

Next Strap Detail Point Heels £35

Super elegant shoes, would add a beautiful touch of colour to a black jumpsuit or dress.

I have featured this bag before and I do love it, it ticks the trend perfectly. I would team with a camel coat.

Aldo Bag £50

This is such a warm, comforting colour and definitely will be featured again and again in my A/W14 wardrobe.

My Style 

This was an outfit from from last year but the colours still work this year.. 

Coat: M&S
Gilet: Primark
Sweater: zara
Jeans: 7ForAll Mankind
Trainers: Adidas Superstars

For a night out with my fab university friends. The first outing for my black M&S culottes, they are so amazingly comfortable and easy to wear, I am a huge culotte convert! We realised it was 20 years since we started university together (argghhhh!!) 

Sweater: Cos
Culottes: M&S
Jacket: Asos
Bag: Topshop
Scarf: Becksondergaard
Trainers: Adidas StanSmith

 For a day out and about shopping..

Sweater: Whistles
Jeans: Topshop
Shoes: Russell and Bromley
Bag: M&S
Coat: M&S

There concludes my round out of my fave berry items and a few of my outfits from the last week! Will you be indulging in the Berry trend, do you have lots of items accumulated from the last couple of years that you can wear this year?

As always I would love to hear your thoughts and comments, until next time, Frances xxx