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Yes, peeps, the shops are filtering out the woollies and flooding in the swishy stuff whilst ironically at the time of writing this, I was looking out of the window to a blanket of white and thinking “there’s no way in hell I’m vacuum packing my thermals just yet”.
Anyhoo, let’s try to block that all out and drift away to bluer skies and thoughts of warmer weather and feast our eyeballs on colourful lovelies and interesting trends we can invite into our wardrobe for Spring and Summer. Let’s call it a bit of prep at this stage hmm?
Of course, I have sifted out the stupid stuff (see through plastic clothes for one) and focused on the wearable, the practical and the most cost effective, so that they will see you through until Autumn. There will be mini trends on the way, granted, but I will try to keep you abreast of those on my social media channels, fear not.
I really want to focus on the big hitters though, so that they can waft their inspiration your way and hopefully give your wardrobe a new happy friend you can call on when you need a boost. So with that in mind I’ll cover Colour, Pattern, Key Items and Accessories to ensure we’ve got every base covered…. Ooh, I can feel the excitement of a shopping list coming ladies… Have you got some gaps that need filling or an outfit that needs a lift? Then read on…
Righto, let’s get crackalackin with colour...
COLOUR
Hurrah, just because the world seems such a gloomy place at the moment doesn’t mean clothes have to be and thank goodness for that because there’s a plethora of pencil case brights to beam some colour into our clothes and accessories.
Amongst the sea of pastels headed by lilac and soft pinks there is also the rainbow hues of ultra violet through to tomato red and yellow to up the colour ante, which all provide a great palette from which to mix with trustworthy neutrals. Fear not though monochrome lovers you’ll still be satisfied with plenty of pattern and garments.
The backbone staples this season include ivory, camel, soft navy and steely grey which all have much fancier names from Pantone and will fill the rails as your easy go to mixers for all those new colours.
There’s plenty of interesting ways to put colours together too, trust me red and camel
looks fabulous as does blue and yellow if you keep the tonal family the same (bright with bright, warm with warm etc), which is everywhere at the moment.
Here's a few simple outfit ideas to give you an idea. Image Links Left to Right: Fashion Police.net WhoWhatWear.com
PATTERN
To keep in line with this explosion of colour, pattern is following suit with bold stripes, polka dot happy and all things floral from meadowsweet ‘Timotei’ types to hot and rich Hawaiian tropical, which will keep the warm breeze blowing and spirits lifted, I hope!
Fabrics will be floaty but luxurious and I’ve noticed quite a lot of satin/silk used in tops, soft jackets and dresses, not to mention flirty shorts/culottes for those hotter months.
Also who says sparkly has to be for the festive season either because embellishment and twinkliness is still an important addition to just about everything and yet for the more classic tastes, the check rules with particular focus on the grey check of The Prince of Wales print. This fine weave seems dominant amongst blazers, coats and hardworking separates, but to be honest anything square goes from large graphic to country gingham.
KEY ITEMS
· Trench Coat
This faithful over garment is making a welcomed comeback and is set to take on a more colourful entrance to the high street. Yes, the catwalk versions were slightly ridiculous with giant corset style belts, but thankfully they got diluted down to a more wearable style with a few interesting sleeves and the odd frill option. You’re good to go with the traditional beige though as well as navy and black but reckon a brighter hue would be a great statement piece if you fancy a change.
· Dark tailored Jeans
Our steadfast staple, denim, never disappears thank god and merely just gets a tweak each season and this time it’s going all structured and deep indigo which sounds very grown up doesn’t it? Much classier than ripped knees and saggy bums me thinks. It also means you can wear them straight, skinny, classic, rolled up or frayed. Not sure about the last one though.
· Pencil Skirt
Wiggle wiggles ladies because the flattery is back. This style is great for most peeps and particularly for shapely curves and works well dressed up or down in various prints, textures and colours. A definite investment for any day or night adventures.
· The Go To Dress
So this sounds a little vague, but it mostly means a longish sleeved versatile dress, printed or plain, that can be worn for all manner of things, definitely, a rare and worthy beast if you can find it, as the cost per wear would be in the realms of virtually being a freebie in the long run. The hem length varies from knee to midi and works with ankle boots, sandals and heels and can be teamed with leather bikers, soft chic bombers styles or blazers to suit any requirements. I’ve managed to find a few of these mythical beauts that can be dressed up or down.
ACCESSORIES
So now to the finishing touches and we know how important they can be, because even if you’re not feeling the outfit at least you can clutch a bag of happy or strut or pad about in fabulous footwear.
The footsie loves this season have a strappy theme and spans to boots, sandals and heels. Once again chic mules and sling backs are hot and brogues get an update with colours and detailing. The funky block heeled ankle boot and Mary Jane styles add some retro pep and to be honest it all looks pretty sensible really, though don’t get me wrong there are stupid heels and ridiculous plastic shoes out there for the dramatic fashionistas but they’re not usually for the likes of us more sensible types.
If you’re shopping for a new bag then there are lots to choose from and size and shape seems to be varied from the mahoosive to the micro and the bum bag is making a come back lol, so take heed, ha ha remember those?
I have seen some belt bags that look quite practical and surprisingly less stupid than I initially thought they would and am also quite fancying the old basket weave look for my Summer holibobs but I’ll see how I feel . Visions of my key getting stuck in the weave or my sunglasses reflecting sunshine beams and starting a fire in it, may well keep me awake at night.
BY THE WAY WHILST I'M TALKING SUMMER, MY HOT TIPS ARE - Kimonos, short suits and twisted/tied swimwear. Sshhh.
To be honeset, anything ruffled, tasselled or fringed will be the extra attention to detail this season, whether it be a cuff, an edging or finishing touch to a shoe or bag. It’s all about movement and texture, which is great for us touchy feely types.
So there we are.... done.
I don’t know about you but I’ve already ear marked several things that I know will fill me with joy and do so just thinking about them.
*Can I just note, that I originally had the links to all of the beaut items in my images, so that you could click and find out where you could buy them, but since POLYVORE has ceased to exist, out of the blue, I'm afraid I've had to remove them. So sorry, but I will strive to find an alternative route to give you more bang for your buck so to speak*
In the meantime, I’ll be sure to share my collection of high street finds on social media and don’t forget to check out my Ask Sara section every Wednesday until May to answer your colour, body, and style and confidence questions.
But for now, I bid you adieu whilst sitting in my giant fluffy bed socks.
Sara x