the British summer outfit struggle

Oh British summertime, you’re an absolute delight to dress for aren’t you?  I’m pretty sure we’ve experienced all 4 seasons in one day today.  Definitely had some biblical style rain, followed by drizzle, followed by bright sunshine, followed by gale force winds.  How one is supposed to dress for this is quite the struggle.  I can hardly claim to be the most practical dresser (if you follow my Insta you’ll know I’ve had my fair share of faux pas) but I like to at least try.  So much as I’d love to dress for the sunshine filled summer that all the adverts imply we’ll have, sometimes you gotta keep it real.  Sounds like I’m about to write a post with my top 10 raincoat recommendations here doesn’t it?

Fear not, no raincoats today (maybe another time though).  Today is about the cute summery outfit that is’t OTT summery but is still very much summer appropriate.  You get me?  I hope so.  You see, there’s quite a difference between dressing for ‘holiday summer’ and ‘home summer’ – for approximately 6.2 days in every 365 they’ll overlap and we’ll have one of those glorious heatwaves, but for the most part it just ain’t happening.  Doesn’t stop us wanting to dress like we’re on the Med though, does it?  Let’s face it – how many times have you seen (or been) that girl determined to wear short shorts and a cropped top because it ‘looked kinda sunny’ when in actual fact it’s freezing?  Yep, happens all too often.  Dressing for British summertime is a whole other kettle of fish to dressing for the summer we’d like to believe we have.  And more often than not it results in either goosebumps in a flimsy dress, or sweating profusely under a jumper.

Enter the ‘summery but not too summery’ items I’ve become a no.1 fan of lately – the culottes, and the not-too-cropped crop top.  I don’t know about you, but I’m bored rigid of wearing jeans all year round.  Yes they go with everything and ‘jeans and a nice top’ is the cliché outfit for any girls night, but it’s boring.  Bare legs with a side of goosebumps aren’t all that fun either though.  Culottes, voila!  Bloody loving them.  The whole gingham print and cute ruffle has that summery vibe, without being OTT and making you look like you’ve mistaken a meal at the local Italian for a night in Ibiza town.  Yes, culottes, I like you.

I’ve loved the look of culottes for ages and have a trusty M&S pair that I receive compliments on every single time, but I hadn’t found others that fit me quite so well yet.  Until now – what a pleasant surprise to see A) how long, and B) how high waisted they were.  Not gonna lie, I was skeptical about whether I’d fit my bum through the elastic waistband, but this gal needn’t have worried.  They fit perfectly, and you hear no complaints from me about a comfy elastic waistband.  Any trousers that are comfy enough to not make you want to take them off the second you get home receive a yes from me.  Bonus points for looking equally good with a denim jacket and flats as with cropped top and heels.  Hallelujah for finding a cropped top that isn’t bralet length too – I’m not prudish or bothered by flashing a little belly, but sometimes I’m just not feeling the super cropped look (which seems to be the only option for us tall ones).  Can see this one getting lots of wear!

Who relates to the summer dressing struggle?

trousers: WearAll | top: WearAll | shoes: New Look | bag: Yumi | watch: c/o Timex

This post is sponsored by WearAll however all opinions are 100% my own.

Lily Kate x

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