Spring is upon us! Bring on the warmer weather and the longer days! There is nothing that I love more than to roll up the jumpers that have gotten me through the winter (I really feel the cold) and pull out my summer dresses. The great thing about SS16 so far, is that for those of us who hold on to fashion items (yes hoard! Okay I hoard clothes!) It’s where we bring out the ‘vintage’ pieces and are suddenly on trend again. Yay for us!
So what is popular right now that you can go down the high street or jump on the internet and find? – especially if you aren’t a hoarder like me! Well I believe there is something for everyone this season. Sometimes you cannot say that about fashion, but this Spring and Summer, regardless of how skinny or how curvy you may be, I think the majority of people can pull off the majority of the looks I’m about to go into more detail about.
Where to begin… For the fashion conscious among us it’s the time where we really start to take notice of what is being paraded up and down the fashion weeks. I was very happy to discover that both Lace and Stripes are in! I do have a soft spot for both of these styles. Another selection of pieces I kept coming across was big on bold colour and prints. Block prints and brighter colours were favoured. Something else that is making a comeback this year is the Tartan and Gingham style print, often used in dresses and skirts, this look is so versatile. I’m sure anyone who has lived through the 1990’s will remember what the fashion was like, dresses and jackets with puffy sleeves and of course the metallic and sequins phase! Well these things are also making a comeback it seems! So not only that, but the late 90’s early 2000’s saw lots of slip dresses become fashionable, along with statement jewellery pieces.
But the most popular look with the models this season seems to be the trend of the ‘cold shoulder’. Whether regarding a top or a dress, there are many ways to adopt this style. It was seen throughout the early fashion weeks and is a look that women of all ages can pull off. Women with sophistication have been using its stylish yet sexy appeal to bare skin for decades.
So what have I been buying I hear you ask? Well here are some snapshots of my most recent purchases, some of which are from the end of last year when these trends were just coming into season. If you can still get these items or something similar, I will be supplying links for you at the end of the post (look out for the numbers as a reference to which item).
Starting with Lace, which is a firm favourite of mine. It can make dresses look sophisticated and make tops classier. I bought this beautiful dress from BooHoo (1). The attention to detail is absolutely stunning, as you can see in my images of both the full dress and the close up of the lace detail. And it looks far better on your body with the shade of your skin underneath than it would ever look on a hanger. Not only that but it was so comfortable to wear you could forget you even had it on. If you want something that shows some elegance without having to bare too much skin then this is the kind of dress for you. BooHoo has some wonderful Lace focused pieces. I chose this one simply because of my size and my height. I was very happy with the quality of the material and it also washed well after I wore it.
On to Stripes now, and I suppose some of these can also be classed under the block colour trend as well. I have so many striped items in my wardrobes, tops and dresses mostly, but I just love how stripes can make you look. Not only that but you can wear stripes in many ways, with heels and a necklace for a night out, or just throw on a stripy jumper to go down to the supermarket in. For whatever reason you buy something with stripes, just make sure it will flatter your figure. Some people look better with larger stripes and others benefit from thinner and more subtle striped pieces. The photograph I am sharing with you contains some of my pieces from Dorothy Perkins purchased over the past 3 months. Although they are all jumper dresses, the versatility of these and the comfort you get from wearing them, makes it all worthwhile. We all want to look nice and sometimes you need an item that is both easy to wear but can also look good. Dress it up with a nice jacket and heels, or they go perfectly well with leggings or jeans on a dress down day. All of these dresses of mine in the photograph (2) wear and wash well.
I have many stripy dresses in my wardrobe too, and they vary in material. I do prefer a thicker dress, one that I can wear all year around, but that’s mainly because I despise tights!
If you’re thinking about giving stripes a go then there are several places doing some beautiful striped items right now. Those I’ve researched include Pretty Little Thing, Dorothy Perkins, BooHoo, Next and New Look. Check them out and find something you love.
The final look that I am going to talk about I am not actually that familiar with, and that is the Tartan and Gingham style of clothing. I have a check dress (3) which is pretty cool because it has two pockets on the front which is detail that really adds to the piece. Unless prints like this make your eyes go funny, it really makes a statement to wear. In my opinion you need to pair an item such as this with plain accessories so it doesn’t take away from the detail of the article. You want people to see the dress or skirt as a statement piece, that’s why your eyes are drawn to its pattern. You can wear this thin strap style with a t-shirt underneath, or on a warm day just as it is. So at least if this trend stays in through to the Autumn, I can wear this dress knowing I’m still in fashion.
Thank you for reading my article today. If you are interested in purchasing or looking further at any of the clothes featured in my blog post, then please see the references below for the links.
1. http://www.boohoo.com/restofworld/going-out-dresses/zoe-flock-long-sleeve-bodycon-dress/invt/azz61708
2. http://www.dorothyperkins.com/en/dpuk/product/stripe-cold-shoulder-tunic-5319725
3. http://www.dorothyperkins.com/en/dpuk/product/gingham-check-pinny-dress-5264298
I tried to find this piece online so I could put a link up for you all, but it’s not on the website yet! So you’ll have to search for it in a week or so once the site is updated. They had so many nice pieces it was hard for me not to buy the whole store!
1. V by Very Metallic Stripe Prom Dress £35.50