If last weekend was anything to go by, spring is officially here. Yes, it may pop back to being winter temporarily but the clocks have changed, the blossom is out in force, children have broken up for holiday and people are smiling. What more proof do we need? So, if you open your wardrobe and, like ours, it is looking a little bit dull and wintery, then incorporating one or two of the following spring trends will help.
Colour
Colour is the easiest way to bring the sunnier seasons into your wardrobe. Occasionally, particularly around festival season (trying very hard to contain our excitement), we take the colour thing to town. An array of neons, metallics and multi-coloured garments venture out of our fancy dress bags and onto our bodies. However, the only colourful items that remain in our wardrobes season after season, tend to be silk or cashmere. Both materials have a timeless quality that means longevity and safety from the charity bag. So complement a couple of pieces of quality colour with cheaper faddish colour that you may wear one season and never dare to wear again. That’s fine, it’s all about cost per wear. Top tip: try to avoid wearing same tone head to toe, as it’ll make you look taller. You can wear the same hue but in a different tone… As demonstrated by Thassia Naves above.
SHOP COLOUR:
Florals
Nothing says spring like flowers. Bold floral print is cheerful and on trend. We suggest keeping the print to one part of your body rather than opting for head to toe, which will only serve to emphasise height. There are a number of high street options out there including the wide jacket from H&M I wore in the latest post and these cute Bermuda shorts from Zara below. For a more subtle nod to the trend, opt for this LOVE t-shirt in the new loved&found boutique at John Lewis.
SHOP FLORALS (click links below images):
- Zara Floral Shorts, £26
- T-Shirt, Selfish Mother, £35
- ASOS Dress, £42
SHOP from left to right: Zara Shorts, Selfish Mother T-Shirt, ASOS Dress
Stripes
A number of designers had stripes streaking through their collections including Mulberry and Marques’ Almeida. Playing into the pyjama trend, the naval trend and (yes, really) the school trend stripes can be horizontal or vertical, fat or thin, multicoloured or two-tone. Remember when you’re tall that horizontal stripes will make you look taller so avoid high necks or full length, opting instead for strapless or horizontal stripes. On the high street, H&M and M&S have a great collection of striped garments. We love the M&S skater dress below but the reviews say you need boobs to hold it up, so that’s us out then…
SHOP STRIPES (click links below images)
- H&M Off Shoulder Blouse, £30
- M&S Striped Skater Dress, £69
- M&S Stripe Contrast Jumper, £39.50
SHOP from left to right: H&M Blouse, M&S Skater Dress, M&S Stripe Contrast Jumper
Ruffles
The continued love affair with statement sleeves continues in the form of ruffles. It also taps into the ongoing 80’s trend for big shoulders and there are some stunning tops available on the high street which will add immediate glamour to any outfit, whether black office trousers, the floral H&M shorts above or a pair of raw hem jeans.
SHOP RUFFLES:
- H&M Cardigan, £25
- RedValentino Top, £108
- M&S Bardot Top, £39.50
SHOP left to right: H&M Knitted Cardigan, RedValentino Ruffle T-Shirt, M&S Bardot Top
Sheer
Glancing at Pinterest you will see that the street style crew are taking the sheer trend very seriously, typically wearing a sheer blouse over a beautiful bra or layering a sheer skirt over jeans for a more modern take. We recommend opting for a semi-sheer blouse, like the brilliant floral, statement sleeve version from Zara below (3 birds, 1 stone) or one with sheer panels to preserve your modesty. Or basically anything from Self-Portrait.
SHOP SHEER
- ZARA Semi Sheer Blouse, £16
- Self-Portrait Dress, £320
- Versus Versace Sweater, £335
SHOP from left to right: Zara Semi-Sheer Blouse, Self Portrait Dress, VersusVersace Mesh Top