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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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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M&S Faux Leather Wrap Skirt (The £35 Dupe!)

Yep, M&S has done it again - not only produced 'the skirt of the season' in this leather wrap midi, but thoughtfully dished up an (even more) affordable dupe in the near-identical shape of this faux leather one... Last year's faux suede beaut is still on heavy rotation and I have a feeling this one is going to be a firm fixture in my wardrobe for some time to come too... I can't wait to try it out with a crisp white shirt, '70s style blouse, grey marl tee and trainers... aargh, the possibilities are just too much!

Skirt: Marks & Spencer, Top: Boohoo (Past Season), Shoes: Missguided (Past Season)

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How to Wear Culottes into Autumn... and Beyond...

No need to put your favourite calf-skimmers into premature hibernation this season - simply slip into a pair of knee/thigh highs. A leather-suede culotte-boot pairing provides the perfect foil for chillier temperatures and the perfect quick fix for our seemingly insatiable hunger for '70s nostalgia - just make sure you mix up your finishes. Here are my two favourite power couples of the moment... Simply add a cosy knit or geo-print/burnt orange retro-style blouse, then pile on the shaggy faux fur when the mercury really begins to dip...

Couple Number 1 (Faux Suede Culottes + Leather Thigh Highs)...

Culottes: Boohoo, Boots: Dune, Blouse: Dorothy Perkins

... and Couple Number 2 (Faux Leather Culottes + Faux Suede Knee Highs)

Culottes: Miss Selfridge (Past Season), Boots: Primark (Past Season), Blouse: As Above, Gilet: H&M

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On the Fence...

Look, no bricks! Yup, trans-seasonal lighting difficulties have forced me off my wall and into the bush across the way... thankfully, though, the high neck and booty lines of autumn's Victoriana x '70s vibe have eradicated any danger of concurrent trans-seasonal dressing difficulties...

Two new season bargain buys to share today... the perfect retro-boho mini dress, picked up for £14.99 in H&M's Wimbledon store last week (and already, understandably, virtually sold out online) and the perfect OTK leather boots, reduced from £115 to an incredible £35... before being pushed back up to £57! Still a bit of a steal though, even if you didn't take the hint from my AW15 High Street Hit List post...

Dress: H&M, Boots: Dune

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