Frills 'n' Spills

Recently the high street has been making clothes that are as good, if not better than many designers. Warehouse is one of my favourite brands and they are consistently creating beautiful clothes that look much more expensive than their price tag. This dress was a total bargain and I absolutely love the mix of prints and the shape. I usually don't go for long sleeves but this dress shape is one of my favourites and is mega flattering on. I have worn this dress out for dinner a couple of times and it is absolutely perfect, it looks fancy but it is mega comfortable to wear, especially with its swooshy skirt...

Mixed prints can be tricky to pull off so I kept it simple with some velvet opaque tights and my favourite pair of wedge heels. I'm not particularly tall so anything that can make my legs look longer is a winner in my book!

Are you a fan of Warehouse? Where are your favourite places to shop on the high street?

Long time readers will know just how little I enjoy summer. I am always warm and comfort can be hard to find when the temperature keeps rising but this cute seersucker striped dress is one of my favourite things to wear in the heat. I would usually wear heels with this but for some reason I woke up wanting to dig out my Keds. Don't ask me why, I guess style inspiration comes from some very odd places and I must have seen something, somewhere to trigger this, maybe the tennis?! I look slightly crumpled here but this outfit put a real spring in my step- and not just because of the bouncy soles!;)

I didn't realise how crumpled this dress was until I saw these pictures, oops! I guess it just adds to the casual vibe I was aiming for, let's just pretend it was deliberate rather than me just being a slob, haha!

What's your failsafe summer outfit?

I don't know about you, but I can't get my head around this weather (how very British of me to complain about it...) It goes from being freezing cold when I leave the house at 6 am, to being a balmy 25 degrees by the time I get home. My answer to the weather dilemma? Layers. I really loved this combination when I last wore it back in June and it has made a reappearance here because it is perfect for these inbetweeny days. I picked up this orange jumper in a local charity shop and it is so warm, especially considering how thin it is! I love the bright orange colour and I can see this getting a lot more wear in the winter. I just wish that I had played with the proportions with this outfit a bit more, it would just make it a lot more interesting if I had worn a flowier top or something ...

I have always loved the buttoned up look and although I'm never convinced that I can pull it off, I can't resist a polka dot blouse paired with a high neckline, especially if it is brightly coloured! I liked this pairing with the glasses too - the oversized frames and it feels quite androgynous too, a rare occurrence for me. This polka dot top has been in my wardrobe for a couple of years now and it is so versatile although I am more likely to wear it like this than how I last wore it on the blog. I'm not sure I can pull off  little cropped tees any more!

How would you make my outfit more interesting?

Who would have thought that 12 years (!) after I left primary school I would be looking back to my uniform for style inspiration?! I spotted this beautiful dress when I was on holiday in Cornwall a couple of weeks ago in the window at Seasalt (a brand I am loving recently!) and I fell in love. I love gingham and midi dresses are all I want to wear in the summer. There's nothing better than lots of material to swoosh around in and to help me keep cool! I also like the fact that they are more work appropriate than a lot of my summer clothes, I never know what to wear to work when it's warm!

I am a big fan of Seasalt clothing, their generous sizing gets a double thumbs up from me and I like the relaxed nautical feel of all their pieces. I have always found casual difficult to pull off (see this 2011 post for proof!) but I think I am starting to get the hang of it, what do you think? 

Are you a fan of Seasalt? How do you 'do' casual?

When I heard that Uniqlo were doing a collaboration with Celia Birtwell, I was very excited, I love Uniqlo's collaborations and I was pleased to add some of Celia's signature prints to my wardrobe. I originally planned to wear these shorts on holiday this summer but I thought that they would also work layered up with some chunky tights too. I'm never sure whether I pull off pattern mixing successfully but I figure you can't go wrong with a striped tee, right?! 

As it is still pretty cold, I pulled out my oversized grey blazer  and my thick grey tights, to add some warmth and also to tone down the patterns. I don't think Tewkesbury is ready for this just yet...

A close up of the shoes, I actually managed to elegantly glide totter along in these for a whole morning, result! 

Emma wrote a post recently about how few posts there are with bloggers showing off their workwear so I thought I would share a few more of the outfits that I wear to work! I am lucky enough to work in an office that is fairly casual but although I experiment with colours and patterns, I would say that my office wear is fairly smart. I think if your office is more conservative, swapping these red trousers for a more muted colour ensures that this outfit could work for most people!

Apologies for the darkness of these photos - Mark inadvertently switched to a manual setting on the camera and they all came out looking like they were shot in a gloomy room and even my awful amazing brightening skills couldn't save them. I really love this dress, it was an eBay bargain and I have barely taken it off after its first outing to the #SWBXmas! It was originally a dress in size 18 from H! by Henry Holland (a brand I love) but had been adjusted to a roomy 16, so it is perfect for hiding that post-Xmas bulge ;)

I love the bows on the shoulder of this and the white necklace is fab, it always makes things feel more summery, even if it is grey outside...

Unfortunately, I think this is destined to be one of those outfits which looks (and feels) great in real life but photographs horribly- ah well, at least I don't mind outtakes! This striped dress is becoming quite a regular here on the blog, but when it is so easy to wear, you can understand why, I think this may be the best £1 I ever spent! Although the sky looks very stormy here, Sunday was actually quite warm and one thin layer was enough to keep me cosy...

Who is your top pick for comfy shoes? What do you wear on a lazy weekend?

P.S. This post was done in collaboration with Spartoo

When it's sunny, you just have to grab your sunnies and sandals and head outside as the likelihood is, it won't stick around for long! I have had this dress for a few years not and I love the colours and patterns (which remind me of a carpet!) but it is a bit of an odd length and extremely low cut. 

These beautiful shoes are from my new favourite brand, Clarks. As I get older I appreciate good shoes more and I have already written about my love of Clarks shoes before and these sandals are in my favourite colours and ridiculously comfy to boot. Despite having very thin soles, they have padding under my heels so offer more support than many other sandals do. (Pssst they're on sale at the moment too!)

Plus they have ankle straps to keep them on my feet!