How to wear shorts for Autumn

I have a little ritual whereby I put away all my jeans in the middle of June and get them out again come September. However I love wearing shorts , so much more than skirts as I find them much more comfortable and less self conscious. I am , therefore always looking for ways to wear them in the Fall , while the weather is still hot and I still have a tan. Obviously really summery flimsy styles are not usually season appropriate but there are some styles that can work longer and harder for you combined with the right items. One of my favourite looks and which I am wearing in my post is a tailored smart pair of short or a skort ( genius invention!) combined with a shirt . It looks quite smart and breezy still thanks to the shirt but you still get to have those pins out. I also love boots with bare legs and the beginning of Autumn is pretty much the only time you can realistically get away with it!
I follow some simple rules:

1. Keep the shorts dark : They nod to trousers and work or school wear so they are in keeping with the general vibe of the season. Alternatively go for cream or muted autumnal shades and stick to the colour scheme for the whole outfit.
2. Go for stiff , thicker fabric : Flimsy layering is great for Summer outings, but transitioning into the new season means that fabrics imitate winter clothing albeit in the form of short. Suit fabrics, wool blends, boucle , denim and stiff silky fabrics are perfect and also texture to the outfit.
3. Keep the top covered : Balance is everything, jumpers, sweaters, sweatshirts, shirts, blouses cardigans and blazers or even a lightweight parka over shorts look amazing. Keep the cleavage under cover !
4. Accessorise for Fall : Ankle boots, sneakers slippers and Oxfords complement shorts perfectly. I personally would steer clear of thin heels and styles like pumps and high heel sandals.

Shirt  Pull and Bear here

Skort Zara

Bag Zara 

Boots Marks and Spencer (old) similar here, here

Here are some style of shorts that would look great now and you can even combine the wool , thicker ones with tights for when the weather really cools down and channel the 70's trend as seen on so many catwalks.

Zara Tweed Skort here

Reiss Linetti long Tailored Shorts here

Miss Selfridge Petal Shorts here

Top Shop Washed Red Check Shirt here

Reiss Gaia Sweatshirt here

Miss Selfridge Dacota Embroidered boots here

Top Shop MIA Ring Boots here

New look sequin Mules here

Pick of the day. the fist buys for fall

The days are slowly getting shorter and although we are technically still in Summer, there is a general shift towards autumn and all that it entails. In terms of my wardrobe , bright colours now seem a bit past it and I am starting to veer towards darker tones that will transition me into the new season. One of the sites I always check out when I want to update my look , either at the beginning of the season or mid through, is Zaful. They have new items every day and are really good at high fashion dupes at a fraction of the price. I find their dresses  amazing and most of them are great value for money and many of my favourite dresses this Summer have been from this site and I am hoping to get some great finds for Autumn and Winter. One of the first thing I was looking for was a black long sleeve midi dress  and again I found some great items . In particular I wanted something floral because I am not quite ready to go full on dark and floral are lovely for autumn and are also a huge trend as seen on all the catwalks.

Zaful Long Sleeve Chiffon Dress here

I love the big florals on this dress and will definitely wuld wear it as well when it get colder with some nice boots and a coat or even a nice chunky cardigan coat.

Zaful Oriental Print Long Sleeve Midi dress here

This is another dress I swooned over. Oriental prints are big news and the wrap effect is extremely flattering and you could even wear it slightly undone over jeans .

What is first on your list this season? 

A Dreamy Dress

For a girl that considered herself something of a minimalist with a casual style , something strange appears to have happened. Looking back at recent posts I am seeing lots of ruffles , embroidery and print and I have to say I kinda like it. There is something about a whimsical dress on a hot Summer day by the sea and I prefer these sort of dresses more for the daytime.
One of my favourite dresses at the moment is this gorgeous Off the shoulder striped dress  from Zaful. The print is beautiful and the extra billowy sleeves give it a dramatic effect that is really beautiful. Also, it is a perfect transitional dress as it gives you a bit more coverage. I'm wearing in a casual way but of course add a pair of heels and it is a stunning outfit for a more formal occasion or even an evening out or a romantic date. I wore it on my date with the Skoufdog and as you can see we are perfectly matching!

 The thing I love is that it has an almost old film star appeal, the sort of thing an Italian starlet might have worn back in the day.

Zaful     striped dress           here

The dress is actually under $20 dollars at the moment so it is a great investment in a very versatle item.I got a size medium and it fits great as I wanted it quite voluminous, but you could probably size down if you wanted it a bit more fitted.

Picks of the day, a difficult choice!

Hello, the new season is well and truly here , at least as far as fashion and retail are concerned .The stores are full of new things to tempt and excite us and I for one think that this will be a really great season so I will be finishing of the month with lots of shopping guides to get in the mood for September. One of the items to invest in at the moment is a very useful transitional dress  that can be worn on it's own while the weather is hot and layered accordingly when temperatures drop.

Top Shop Floral Lace Mini Skater dress       here

This Topshop dress is a perfect example, the colours are more autumnal although still light enough to wear now, and the short length combined with the high neckline and half sleeves mean that you will get lots of wear out of it in the coming months.

Topshop Chambray Shirt Dress                here

This is possibly one of the things you will get the most wear out of. Roll up the sleeves or unbutton it over your swimwear now, and then layer it with chunky knitwear come Winter. This is literally an all year round dress.

                                    Forever21 Denim dress                here

Denim is big again and anything but conventional. I love a denim dress, it can be worn quite smart with the right accessories or dressed down for a casual weekend look.

It is a great investment and a classic style like this will last you for years.

That's all for today, but keep coming back for more shopping guides and please let me know if you would like me to feature something in particular !

How many trends can one two piece tick!

I received a great surprise the other day. On a bit of a whim I ordered a peachy pink two piece comprising of an off the shoulder floaty crop top and high waist wide leg pants . I sort of regretted afterwards thinking that there is no way I would realistically wear it and told myself off for being rather reckless!!

When I opened the parcel I still wasn't sure althouh the fabric was lovely and I liked the fact that the bottoms are lined so they are transparent.Al in all though it looked like a lot of colour and quite a lot of fabric. I tried in though and I was very pleasantly surprised the top sits where the bottoms end so if you are self conscious about your tummy area like me it is covered with just a hint of flesh showing when you move which I find very sexy.
Also the culottes are a great length and actually look like a skirt and the colour is actually ok unless you are totally averse to brights. It is sort of a peachy pink which I would imagine would look great on all sorts of colourings. For me it is a keeper, I just need to book a holiday to with them!!

Zaful   Off Shoulder Top And Wide Leg Capri Pants

I got a size Medium and I am a uUK8 / US 4 .I also can't wait to wear them seperately as they will look great with more neutral basics as well

The keyhole maxi dress

A maxi dress is sometimes considered a bit frumpy and conservative although this is not the case. The right dress with some seductive details like the keyhole maxi dress can be just as feminine and seductive as it's shorter counterpart. In fact that added mystery combined with the peek a boo effect of the cutout will turn into a modern femme fatale!

                                            Zaful    keyhole maxi dress    here

This dress is genius with the silky fabric and beautiful ruffles it is sure to steal the show! Gorgeous !

                                                

                                              Zaful Cut Out Maxi dress here

 If  keyhole is not your thing , sexy cut outs and slits can also add some interest to your maxi dress. This one in particular is a lovely flattering cut that shows off just the right amount of flesh!

I have teamed up with Zaful to offer  an extra gift for you all. The prices are already pretty amazing 

 so if  you want to be more fancy this Summer just do it!

Discover our newest summer arrivals!

Surprise code: ZFEN

The ruffle wrap skirt

I don't know about you, but personally I do not have many skirts in my Summer wardrobe, in fact I don't tend to own many skirts full stop!. I am not sure why that is , perhaps I find it hard to style them and also they don't always sit right on me or are the wrong length.

However, I was determined to get myself a skirt which I did. I found a very cute wrap skirt with ruffles for added effect at Stradivarius. For those of you not familiar with Stradivarius, let me enlighten you. The brand belongs to the Zara family and supposedly caters to a younger demographic than Zara woman, but I recently they have really upped their game and for me I have found many items recently that are very stylish and fashionable for any age and can definitely hold their own campared to the Zara woman range. Also, another positive , the price point is lower and they offer worldwide shipping just like Zara!

Anyway, back to the skirt, what I loved about it was the length, which is quite short, but not show your underwear short and the playful ruffles really sealed the deal for me. Also the wrap waistline means it can be pulled in around the waist and of course it has stripes and we all know how much I love stripes. I think the best way to style something like this is to keep it simple as I would say it is a daytime skirt. I added an old Stradivarius silky top and a vintage belt, a vintage camera bag and some greek leather sandals. I also wore my cat eye sunglasses from Zaful who have a great range of fashionable sunnies at ridiculously low prices.

Skirt Stradivarius ( on sale)  here similar here and here and here

Top :old

Bag and Belt :vintage 

Shoes : greek sandals

The skirt is actually on sale at agreat price so if you like it grab it quick. It also comes in black and a chambray blue if you want a plain colour.