Summer dress season has arrived, and I am delighted to put away my winter uniform of jeans, T-shirts, and sweaters, and indulge in a few months of floating around in the comfort of a lightweight dress!
My first rule (which I forgot to mention in my video below!) is don’t keep those frocks tucked away in your wardrobe, saved for special occasions - wear them every day! Not only are they so much more comfortable than restrictive jeans, but they usually look better too.
Over the 20-odd years that I was a fashion buyer on the UK high street, I often pondered what made the perfect day dress.
I have developed a few style rules that, when followed, result in a dress I enjoy wearing repeatedly for many years.
1. Effortlessly versatile – My favourite dresses are the ones that can be dressed up or dressed down. This is especially useful when packing to go away. The ‘do-everything dress’ is a must in any wardrobe, and our strappy Murmur dress is just that for me!
2. Elegantly flattering – Magic ruching under the bust or on a back yoke… honestly, it does wonders! It allows the fabric to fall and drape perfectly over gorgeous feminine curves, meaning we can relax and move with ease. Our Rene & Duna Dresses feature this magic ruching!
3. Feminine lines and sleeves – I always buy dresses with lovely necklines, accentuating a delicate décolletage. A flattering V or split neckline encourages you to push your shoulders back, lengthen your neck and walk with grace.
How many of your favourite dresses have sleeves? Lots! A dropped shoulder or a sleeve can be really flattering. Not only do they alleviate any underwear dilemmas, but they also emphasise the part of our arms that we all love – wrists and forearms.
4. Easy to wash and wear – I rarely deviate from natural fabrics these days. Not only are they lightweight, breathable and super comfortable against your skin (I’ll talk more about that in point 5). They are entirely washable and usually get softer and lovelier the more they’re worn and washed.
If you wash them on a delicate cycle in your machine, they usually need nothing more than a good shake-out when they come out of the machine. Let them dry naturally on a hanger, and you won’t even have to get the iron out!
5. The Softest fabric – When purchasing anything, the softness of its texture is a top priority. If a fabric feels good against your skin, it makes you move differently, changes your mood, and makes you feel more relaxed. I cannot wear our Anna dress without doing a twirl!
6. Keep it simple and accessorise – When I consider my favourite dresses that I have worn for years, they’re mainly plain or very simple. Printed dresses can be more trend-driven, and for that reason, less timeless. In the spirit of keeping my ‘price-per-wear’ high (the price of an item divided by the number of times you wear it), I am more likely to invest in a simple, well-cut, plain dress and then use accessories and jewellery to make it pop.
I also believe that less is more, and in the spirit of a capsule wardrobe, investing in a few well-made and well-cut dresses that make you feel amazing is so much better than having a wardrobe full of items that were bought on a whim but never 100% right.
Select well, knowing what suits you, and you will be rewarded with a collection of clothes that coordinate back with other items in your wardrobe, suiting not only your body shape but also your unique personal style.
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