Anyone for a dress with pockets - or even better, a dress with FOUR of them?!

Oasis Jacket, Cos dress, Jigsaw sandals, Accessorise flamingo bag

When looking for the perfect summer dress (which I seem to do constantly) to dress up or down, these are some of my requirements..

• A good length - if it's too short, a dress can fall at the first hurdle;
• A good colour - for some reason blue or white are my preferences for summer dresses - they just go so well with brighter accessories and other base colours, such as tan;
• Possessing some shape but not too fitted - slightly fitted dresses work better for me than a lot of the oversized styles that are around at the moment which don't suit my frame;
• 100% cotton;
• Pockets are an added advantage;
• Simple styling but with a little something about it.....and as luck would have it, I came across one in Cos last week, one of my favourite brands for their styling and quality. At the moment when I'm out and about I'm half shopping with a trip to New York in mind, that I have coming up later in June with our eldest once her GCSEs have finished. Even though I have a healthy luggage allowance, I would prefer to plan properly and pack fairly light, taking just a few outfits that I can work in different ways. And this dress, I thought, would fit the bill perfectly. 

Here I've styled it with Jigsaw tan sandals but I would be equally happy wearing it with trainers or my lace up ballet flats when walking around. In the heat, I actually prefer a little more coverage and with it being cotton it will probably give me the best chance that I could hope for of not melting into a puddle. A few flouro accessories won't go a miss with it, or equally gold or silver chunky necklaces for anything else that we might get up to whilst over there. For that little twist I really liked the side slits. And the pockets? Big patch pockets on the front and pockets at the sides too. For those who love pockets in a dress, you will be in pocket heaven!

This photo gives a better idea of the sleeve length, just for those who just like to check these things out.

One thing the eldest has been tasked with before we go is being able to run a decent distance because when we're out there I know I will want to see the sites whilst running and I can't leave her on her own...but for now it's back to the Romeo and Juliet and Pride and Prejudice quotes. Good luck to all others in the same position - whether they be the exam takers or the exam supporters!

These are the shots of the Cos dress (£59) from the site...

 So, for any other Cos fans out there, have you spotted any beauties lately? x

A metaphorical walk through the summer season at the Birmingham Botanical Gardens...

(Outfit: Gap trousers, French Connection shirt £45, Stan Smith trainers - all current)

Yesterday I styled and presented a charity lunch for 200 ladies at the Birmingham Botanical Gardens - a place which is dear to my heart and which will probably be known to many of you. The glass in the glasshouses is 100 years old and desperately needs replacing, so the aim of the lunch was to help to raise money towards the £1m target. I was invited by the Trustees and the Gardens' PR Company to style the event way back in February and it was lovely to see everything come to fruition at last.

I always start such busy days in really casual, practical clothes because there is a huge amount of running around to do before an event starts. I usually end up getting changed in a cupboard about two minutes before we start, which was exactly the case yesterday.

The function rooms at the Botanical Gardens have recently been re-furbished and they looked amazing. It's a great venue for a wedding or function and the gardens are so beautiful that you can be sure of fantastic photographs. So much thought and effort went in to making everything look fantastic which was no mean feat for small but very dedicated team.

The clothes for the event were lent to me by House of Fraser, Reiss, Jigsaw and Karen Millen, with bits and bobs bought from other brands.

This is a very grainy shot of the ladies in their "Ascot" look but I like the relaxed feel to it. We had a couple of press photographers so I will share some more photos at a later date. During the event we took a metaphorical walk through the summer season, covering looks for a wedding, Henley, a trip to the tennis plus a festival or picnic. Some of the hats for the Ascot look were provided by Sally from Sharper Millinery. For anyone who needs a hat for a special event, Sally is the lady to contact!

Although I had been doing the groundwork for several weeks, the clothes and shoes were finally collected on Monday, taken home to be hung up and organised, packed and taken to the event on Wednesday, packed and returned home Wednesday night and re-packed to be returned to the stores today. This is how I was looking this morning - a little wrung out I think - and still wearing trainers, albeit different ones, for more dashing around town.

(Outfit: GAP trousers, Jigsaw coatigan £149, Whistles scarf  £45, (all current) Nike trainers, Kate Spade bag - older)

A new version of the Mango Martina Flares....some of my favourite flares...

The Martina flare in a style of jean that Mango have been stocking for a few years now. I have a denim pair but when I came across the same jeans but made from lyocell (£34.99) I was intrigued.

Apparently (so I've just read) Tencel is the brand name for lyocell, which makes me happy as I thought from their feel that they were tencel and that's what I had in mind that I was buying.

It's fair to say that when stationary they don't photograph that well - but they are much better on the move. I like that they are soft and draped and in the summer they will be much cooler than denim. The high waist is comfortable too and they hit the flared trend in an affordable way. I just don't understand the cost of jeans any more. I know that for some people a well priced pair of jeans is a good investment and truly worth it but it seems that all jeans that are featured in magazines at the moment are £180 plus - although the odd pair of Topshop ones are normally thrown in, just to keep people (like me) happy. I know, don't shout me down!!

Predictably with Mango jeans they come up really long, which is great if standard length jeans happen to be on the short side for you.

The jumper that I am wearing is new on but not new, having been sitting in the wardrobe for a while. I love a cream jumper in the summer and this one is an M&S Limited Edition one now - but it's no longer new enough to be on the site :(

You shall go to the ball....

It's a long time since I've been to a school ball but last night was the night - and a fantastic night it was too. Normally it's Mr SG donning his tux for a black tie event (for work purposes of course, you understand) but for once I wasn't the babysitter and instead we got to go out together.

I really hadn't given any thought to what I was going to wear and it can be at times like that when a dress just happens to find you. I was in Coast a couple of weeks ago looking at outfits for an event that I'm styling on Wednesday and on my way out I saw this Coast Frankie Jacquard dress (£145).

In the flash of an eye I had tried it on, bagged it and I was on my way.  I think that it was the print that attracted me initially and I liked the overlay at the top too but had the length not been right, it would have gone straight back on the rack.

I have no idea why I went with the Aldo  spot shoe (£60) - other than because I liked them and because they were a slightly less obvious choice than silver or nude.

This is a back shot of the dress taken from the Coast site which I think may just well have a 20% discount on at the moment.

For information purposes, the dress comes up true to size. I'm wearing an 8 and whilst I could have got away with the 6 I wouldn't have been quite so comfortable around the waist. So comfort won out in the end!

And I got myself a new pal on the night. Just look at the sword on him!!!

Diamonds in the (white) soles of her shoes...

Outfit: Jigsaw boyfriend jeans and Next mono point shoe, both current (although I can't find a link to the Next shoes right now), Mango jacket, LK Bennett bag, Whistles jumper (not so current)! 

I can't promise you diamonds in the soles of your shoes but I can promise you white soled shoes.

Each season there are the main trends and then there are the sub-trends and within those trends, the micro-trends. This season white soled shoes are everywhere. I've not read anything about them - not that I can recall anyway - so in that sense they're not a main trend but in the same way that a few seasons ago all dresses suddenly seemed to have exposed zips, many styles of shoes also come with white soles. I love them for their fresh, modern look.

If they haven't already, no doubt white soled shoes will now jump out at you wherever you are but for now, here are just a few examples of what's around at the moment...

Brogues

I love a good brogue and the addition of a white sole has given them the update that they needed. Whistles has the Fayley shoe (£150) and there is a similar style at Dune (£69) which are peppered with holes - lovely and spring like!

Loafers

Clarks has the Griffin Milly (£45) which comes in a few different colour ways. There are similar at Dune which come in a lovely shade of yellow. Again, a loafer is a very classic style and the white sole makes all the difference, making them fresher and lighter.

Skater trainers

Clarks have this Coll Beach shoe in pale yellow (£55). I tried them on earlier today (see below) and whilst they came up quite wide on me, they have the potential to be very comfortable. A real "go to" spring shoe if you're more of a casual, laid back, trouser kind of girl.

Sandals

There's the Draedia from Aldo (£50), which I have and which I'm quite fond of but sadly the weather hasn't facilitated in the wearing of these. The style has been around for ages but more in a "buy them from a rack hanging on the beach front" type of way, rather than a silver, sparkly type of way. The great thing about Aldo is that they do a 4.5 and 5.5, which is handy.

Another example is the Dina sandal from Miss KG (£55) - again more white soles but this time mixed with a lovely bright pink.

Slides

Kurt Geiger has the Krypton style (£110) and I've seen others in Dune, Primark and Carvela.

So, there we go. Not a terribly obvious trend but something that seems to have slowly crept up on us. It's something that's very accessible to us all and a quick wardrobe update, plus a whole load of sensible looking shoes have suddenly started to look a whole lot more attractive and that's never a bad thing.

There's one bag that we all seem to love....but it's proving pretty difficult to find

Over the last few summers I've watched the basket frenzy grow. A few years ago I'm not sure that any of us would have really hankered after anything remotely basket like but now when a good one appears it's greeted with "oohs, aaahs" and whoops of delight (or is that just me?!)  I suppose that along with sparkly flats, lightweight fabrics, pretty dresses, floral prints and boho tops, a lovely basket signals the arrival of that one thing that we all look forward to with great anticipation - summer - and everything that goes with it, from picnics to trips to the beach.

I came across this Topshop pom pom straw tote (£25) in town last week and I could tell straight away from the response on Instagram that we were all feeling the basket love. I think that everyone is just so ready to embrace "basket season".

Pineapples seem to be having a moment right now, appearing on everything from tops in M&S and Hush, to jewellery (again Hush) and also on this Topshop tote (£28). I put pineapples in the same category as flamingos - something that I'm really drawn to but I'm not quite sure why - hence my taking a second look at the M&S T-shirt that I've just mentioned, before suggesting to myself that I stepped away from it.

I also came across this woven beach bag from French Connection (£75) whilst in Selfridges today and, predictably, was attracted to its colour. In my view all baskets need a good "handle test" as some can be quite uncomfortable, particularly if they are weighed down with all manner of sneaky picnic type treats.

I've listed below the brands that I checked out and which don't seem to have any baskets at the moment and instead I headed over to Etsy, thinking that some resourceful person over there would have tapped into the basket market. And I wasn't disappointed. I love these beach baskets (from the seller Mini Market Bristol) on Etsy $35.75 with the all so important star/heart motif, which again fall in the same, ever growing category, as pineapples and flamingos. (Don't be put off  by the price being in US $ - they are UK based).

Oh and of course tassels also fall into that category too! The colours of the baskets are just fabulous and they can be obtained from Marizoli on Etsy ($41.98)

So now all I need is a basket with a pineapple, a flamingo, a heart, a star and a tassel on it and all will be well with the world.

Brands I hunted through but with no basket luck....

Hush, River Island, New Look, Atterley Road, Jigsaw, Phase Eight, Hobbs, Cath Kidston, John Lewis, Accessorise, Next, Debenhams.

PS Primark on the other hand tend to do a few each summer so they may be a good starting point.

So, are any of you feeling the basket love?!

You know when you think that you will never go somewhere...and then you do?!

I know that I'm late to the party but lace up ballet flats are somewhere that I never thought that I would go. It's not because I didn't like them but just because I couldn't find any that worked on me and I concluded that I would rather not go there at all, than go there but not really like what I saw. 

I tried the New Look black ones but they were just too dark against my fair skin. I liked some dark grey snake print ones that Dune had but ditto re the colour and they came a long way up the back of the foot. I have seen the lovely red ones in Office worn by Jane at My Midlife Fashion and my friend has some from Russell & Bromley which she likes. The Lille lace ups from Boden have also been hugely popular this season too. Whilst I was in Topshop the other day I came across these snake print pointed shoes (£62) and it became a whole new ball game. 

I was concerned about feeling dumpy in these shoes but I think that the fairly pointed toe helps with that, as does just really liking them.

For anyone in a similar predicament to me - and what a predicament it was - these may well be worth a go. For some reason I'm particularly fond of the the little gold bits at on the end of the laces. It doesn't take much to keep me happy.

PS the Jack Wills bag was snaffled from our eldest as it's perfect for all of the mags that I needed on our very long journey to Dorset. Hope that you are all having a great bank holiday!

Printed trousers - love them or loathe them they have been around for a while and no doubt they are here to stay...

Trousers: Topshop, Sweatshirt: Dotty P, Jacket: Oasis, Bag: Oushka; Shoes: Next

From time to time it's quite refreshing to wear a pair of printed trousers. Like many things they can be styled up or down quite easily, depending on which shoes/jacket/jewellery they are put with.

Sometimes people can shy away from printed trousers for fear that they won't be terribly flattering but there is pretty much a print out there for everyone, whether it's floral, graphic, spotty or striped. Some have a subtle vertical print in them which can be elongating. A low grade print, where the difference between the darkest and lightest shades isn't that marked, can be easier to wear than very bright prints with lots of different colours in them. A print with a darker background can also be more flattering as can a smaller print, rather than a large bloom, plus of course a heel always helps. There are lots of printed trousers on the High Street at the moment but these are some of my favourite...

Reiss Olivia Trousers (£110) - prints are very personal things but I love this print that Reiss has this season. They also do a dress, skirt and top in this print - just in case the trousers don't appeal!

These French Connection drape trousers (£75) have a different feel to them than the Reiss ones, which are more tailored. For those who don't particularly like a floral print, this ripple effect pattern may be more appealing.

As a starting point, a monochrome look can work well and the Jigsaw tile print soft trousers (£98) are really versatile as they can be worn with brighter coral/raspberry/yellow/turquoise colours, which will also draw the attention to the top half.

Warehouse has a great selection of printed trousers, many of which are in the sale at he moment. The Warehouse Lily print trousers (£27) are a great neat style with a lovely colour palette.

And for any fans of cornflower blue, the Warehouse  Poppy print trousers (£28.50) are a real winner. Both of these Warehouse styles are fitted in the leg but not too skinny - a classic cigarette style.

So how do you feel about printed trousers? Do you love them or hate them? I agree that they can be a little bit marmite but I promise, there is something for everyone.

The GAP sexy boyfriend jeans live to fight another day....

I've had these GAP sexy boyfriend jeans for a few years now. At first I loved them and then I didn't but now that I've rediscovered them, I can't take them off. Handily they fit in well with my "uniform" approach to dressing that I've adopted this week and worn with these Jigsaw sandals - which again I can't take off, a pale yellow Topshop jumper and this lovely necklace from a friend, that was me done.

GAP sexy boyfriend jeans (£40.46)

I love yellow but unless it's the right shade it totally kills me. In fact people around me have been known to pull a face when I wear certain shades of yellow but the creamy yellow of the jumper above works fine. It's then that I wish I had a different skin colour. Victoria Beckham used to be a different colour but she's not pasty and pale any more. How has that happened? Has she really been fake tanned for the last 20 years or so? Crikey, imagine her bed sheets.

Maybe it's time to think about whether you too have any old favourites that have temporarily been consigned to the back of the cupboard - just to see if you can give them a new lease of life. Let me know how you get on!

The different approaches to getting dressed and how to take the stress out deciding what to wear each day...

Outfit: Whistles jeans and jacket, M&S shoes, French Connection jumper, Zara scarf, Oushka bag

I've concluded that there are different methods of getting dressed and these are some of them:

• Wearing what you wore the day before but with the necessary underwear changes - this is the quickest and easiest way of getting dressed, short of staying in your PJs;
• Getting ready for a fancy pants do, where you know what you're going to wear but it just takes a while to get ready, what with all the make-up faffing and stuff;
• Having something new to wear - again you know what you're going to wear but it may take a minute or so to get it right, depending on how you're styling it;
• Getting dressed for a particular activity - yoga/swimming/running/surfing etc where specific clothing is required which makes it easy;
• Every other day of the year where you (OK, I) sort of know what I'm going to wear, decide it's boring/it was done not that long ago, try something else, decide that's not right (too cold, too warm, too long, too short, legs not brown enough) and then revert to plan A - having wasted 10 minutes in the process.

Last week I read about a woman who decided that men had it easy at work because, effectively, they could wear the same thing every day. To make her life simpler, she decided to do the same as the men and wore the same thing to work for a year. 

So to cut out the middle man, that's what I'm doing this week. I'm not wearing the same thing but I am wearing a simple combination of jeans (or trousers) OK I lie it's mostly jeans, a jumper (so no blouses or fancy tops etc) and a jacket. And that's it. Job done - apart from the striped scarf but that's not going too far off plan. I'm on day 3 and so far it's fine. I suppose it's a little like Jennifer Aniston eating the same lunch for 10 years when she was filming Friends. Except that I'm not Jennifer Aniston. Or a salad. 

My arsenal of weapons against the April chill...

"Are you cold Beth?" came the shout across the pub when I walked in yesterday to book a table for Mr SGs b'day today. The shout came from my friend's very witty husband, which was followed by a quick retort from my friend that he knew nothing about fashion. But in fairness he was right - I was cold and I was dressed for it. In fact having got dressed once, I nipped outside to test the temperature and returned inside muttering the words to myself "I refuse to spend all weekend pretending that I'm warm when I'm not," so off came the new Boden top and on went a pale grey La Redoute cashmere jumper, GAP boyfriend jeans, a Jigsaw pom pom scarf and Zara boots. I suspect it was the scarf that elicited the comment from Gok - its scale does mean that it makes its presence known!

I must admit that, along with a cream leather jacket, lighter coloured cashmere jumpers and some big cotton scarves (all of which are a little more spring like than their darker/heavier winter counterparts) a pair of pale ankle boots is a necessity in my arsenal of weapons against the spring chill. In all honesty mine could do with replacing and these are pretty strong contenders...

Mint Velvet mole zip ankle boots (£139). I like the low cut on these because a little bit of ankle flash is nice when it's spring, however they still offer some protection against the chill.

Ditto the Mint Velvet leather Eva ankle boot (£139) - I do like a more neutral coloured heel rather than the darker heel on mine but when I bought mine they were a bit of an experiment and they were definitely worth their £30 Zara price tag.

The Mint Velvet Stella ankle boot (£149) have an elegant shape to them and some detail with the buckles. Again they are a great colour but I don't think that a bit of protector spray would go a miss on any of these.

Sorry that there are only 3 choices and that they are all MV but for what it's worth I think that they have the best selection at the moment and I'm sure that anyone who likes the idea enough will do a bit of surfing and come up with some fab options of their own. Here's hoping for a slightly warmer week...

Taller Than Your Average? - A collaboration between Long Tall Sally and TTYA could be one to watch...

If you are taller than average, you may find it difficult to get stylish clothes to fit because, let's face it, the High Street caters for the masses - and if you happen to fall outside of that fairly narrow bracket, life can get tricky. True, some brands naturally have a good length to them and Topshop and NEXT stock some pieces in store, however those brands that do offer a tall range mainly do so online (ASOS, Boden and GAP) and tends to be fairly limited.

However, Long Tall Sally have a collaboration with Taller Than Your Average (TTYA) which has some amazing pieces in it. I had a good look at it in when I was in House of Fraser yesterday and I was really impressed so I thought that I would share it with you. Take a look and see what you think...

I love these culottes (£45) which also come with a cropped top...

There's also this duster coat (£80) - very OTM,

This pretty mesh pencil skirt (£65) which comes with a cropped top...

This lovely pleated midi skirt (£85) - great dressed up or down with heels or a denim shirt and trainers...

And this sequin top (£55) which is shown with white busted knee jeans (£60)...

If I found buying clothes tricky due to my height, I would see this range as a real godsend. The pieces are well priced and stylish, so whereas shopping might once have been a chore it might well become a joy.  What do you tall ladies think? Have you ventured into TTYA yet and if so were you impressed?