Giving the Blues the Cold Shoulder...

Fell in love at first sight with this M&S Limited blouse last week... Piecrust collar, fluted sleeves, ribbon neck tie, cold shoulder detailing and ruffles? It's all a Gucci girl wannabe's dreams come true at once! And it's a lifesaver when you're pondering the big 'heatwave or washout' summer morning dressing dilemma...

Blouse: Marks & Spencer, Skirt: Dorothy Perkins (Past Season), Shoes: New Look

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How to Wear Summer Leather

With the weather cycling through all four seasons in one day this "summer", leather is looking like a positively sensible option... particularly when the prices of those M&S wrap skirts have been slashed in the sales... I'm wearing mine with an off-the-shoulder bardot top for a nod to the season.

Top: Unbranded (Past Season), Skirt: Marks & Spencer, Shoes: Tu at Sainsbury's

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Like a Glove

Bardot frills + block-heeled ballerinas for £30 all in? Well, 'tis the season... Sadly, I didn't have the nerve to hold out for these oh-so-Céline glove shoes to be reduced to their current price (harumph), but at least I saved £500 or so on the designer version. And at £13 full whack, you can't really argue with the price tag on this beaut off-the-shoulder midi dress now, can you? Until it's reduced to £3 next week, of course...

Dress: Primark, Shoes: Stradivarius

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The Lady and the Vamp: Two Ways to Wear the Frilled Blouse

If you've been here before, you'll know there are a few things which, try as I might, I just can't resist:

1. A trend.
2. A challenge.
3. The impulse to wring at least two hundred looks out of every buy.

L - Shirt: H&M, Skirt: Dorothy Perkins, Bag: Marks & Spencer, Shoes: New Look | R - Shirt: H&M, Skirt: Marks & Spencer, Shoes: New Look

Ergo, three more things I couldn't resist:

1. This blouse (frilled yoke plus piecrust collar minus stuffy sleeves and schoolma'am vibes equals the perfect summer style equation).
2. The challenge to style a look around it in honour of H&M's collaboration with Man Repeller's Leandra Medine and Bloglovin' (for the chance to win one of the most exciting prize packages known to man, woman or child).
3. The impulse to repeat the above. Because out or in? Paired with pleats 'n' pastels or pleather 'n' a faux hawk? Backless loafers or boxfresh kicks? Who can pick? And because my love of fashion is all about the endless possibilities it presents - it's never so much "what goes with this?" as "who do I want to be today?". This shirt's frilly feminine wiles chime perfectly with the calf-skimming midis I've long held a special place in my heart on my hanging rail for. But even with skirt length sorted, the big question: to embrace or subvert those ladylike charms? still remains. And, frankly, that's not a choice I'm prepared to make. Ever. Having a secret identical twin and/or a little human cloning know-how (shhh) helps. Or at least some rudimentary Photoshop skills.

L - Shirt: H&M, Skirt: Dorothy Perkins, Bag: Marks & Spencer | R - Shirt: H&M, Skirt: Marks & Spencer

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A Midsummer Night's Dream

Well, I'd used the 'caped crusader' pun too many times already... And the sun did come out for a couple of minutes this week, so the concept of 'summer' doesn't seem quite such a reach as it did a few days ago, when I literally had to wade, rather than walk, around London...

I'm a sucker for a built-in cape (superhero complex?) - so as soon as I discovered that this angelic 'can't believe it's not designer' beaut cost less than £20, it was a case of 'get in my wardrobe. right. now.' It doesn't, sadly, allow me to fly over puddles, but it does look great with my staple pleated maxi on drier days...

Top: Forever 21, Skirt: Jane Norman (Past Season), Belt: Primark, Shoes: Tu

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