Sports Day

Jacket: Pull and Bear
Leggings: River Island
Sports Bra: La Redoute
Shoes: Nike for Urban Outfitters
Bag: Primark 

I really like this trend for pseudo-sports wear becoming perfectly acceptable daywear, but I do find it strange how, up until quite recently, it was considered the stereotypical look of the 'chav'. Although its origins conjure up images of thirteen year old anarchists causing unadulterated havoc by smoking fags outside the school gates, it's current association is more urban cool.

The trend has been slowly filtering down from the catwalk to the high street, and the now autumn/winter 2014 is set to be a blur of 'go faster' stripes, racer backs and sneakers.

DKNY

Marc by Marc Jacobs

One big bonus about this trend is comfort - it usually centres around leggings, hoodies and trainers, which makes for a nice break from squeezing into skinny jeans and stomping around in clumpy heels. It doesn't have to be figure hugging, it can light and loose, which helps in the hot (ish) weather we're getting.

And if you do fancy going for a jog or hitting the gym, you're already dressed. No excuses...

(I should mention that I found this look hard to accessorise. It turns out that I was just one gold necklace away from Vicky Pollard.)

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Tie-Dye Blue

It's been around for a while now, but tie-dye is blasting at full force this summer. So I picked this little number (above) a few weeks back from Urban Outfitters and have been wearing it whenever possible. It combines two main trends for summer 2014. One being tie-dye, obviously, and the other being the colour blue. According to Harper's Bazaar, these are two unstoppable crazes, especially when put together.

Graham & Spencer Velvet Cami

MiH Jeans Dress

J.Crew Bikini

Tie-dye has moved away from its original 'Hippie' background and is now at the forefront of high street fashion. It's had quite a journey. In the 70's it was seized by the peace adoring, shower ambivalent hippies, but then was reclaimed by 90's grunge.

Now, in the 2010's it's set to be a major player on 2015's resort season. Resort wear (or cruise wear) typically refers to upmarket stores or collections frequented by affluent members of society. Resort stores allow these people to kit themselves out in the latest trends, ready for their winter escape to some island in the tropics, populated solely by the rich and famous. 

But tie-dye is still very present on the British high street. The catwalk hasn't captured it yet!

You can find lush pieces in loads of stores: 

Tie Dye crop
Bone White for Urban Outfitters

Dark Dimension leggings
Yayer.com 

Tie dye/fringe crop
Topshop

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The Oriental Explosion

Yep. That's me on a Brighton rooftop, trying to look calm and collected whilst having internal seizures due to the fact that I'm sitting on an almost-too-thin ledge about 50 feet above the ground.

Anyway, it's meant to suggest the beginning of summer, which means vibrant prints and block colours become standard practice. As summer's answer to Ebenezer Scrooge, I'm not good with colour, and tend to reject it wherever possible. But it can look great, and definitely does show that you're able to welcome the sunny season with arms, that might be slightly burnt, but still remain wide open.

Prints, however, take more care. It's basically impossible to carry off an outfit that includes more than one type of print without looking like a circus attraction. It's better to mix with plain clothes, allowing the print to become the stand-out feature...

...which is why the kimono is so great. They are everywhere right now. In some sort of oriental high-street explosion, the kimono has become the perfect summer cover-up. It's a great way of making a plain outfit a little more suited to the season. An otherwise gloomy black number becomes instantly rejuvenated by the bright colours and floral print.

According to the magazines, the kimono is part of a wider trend that combines western elements with eastern stylistic traditions. Vogue, in Spring/Summer 2013, predicted a "Nouvelle Japonisme" would take hold of the high street in 2014, and this is precisely what has happened. The styles are perfect for the western summer, because they tend to use light fabrics and don't rely too heavily on that classic colour that persistently pervades British fashion in particular - black.

Etro 

Emilio Pucci

Obviously, the catwalk styles are always more extreme than the styles found on the hight street, but the concept is still clear. The trend is not entirely innovative - for years, designers have taken inspiration from the far east and used it in conjunction with western ideas, and it is no coincidence that Tokyo and Beijing are two of the biggest fashion hotspots in the world. But the orient has never hit the British high street as hard as it is hitting it right now.

The oriental explosion brings easy ways of dressing for summer with light materials, bright colours and eccentric prints. They can make a colourful outfit even more colourful, or a a relatively gloomy number at least acceptable for June/July. But I'm going to continue to walk proud in my all black, we'll probably only get sun for a week anyway...

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The Spring/Summer Subversion

It's that time again. The pastels are in their prime, florals are making their inevitable appearance and bold colours are boldly striding forth - spring/summer fashion is in bloom.

Pastels and bolds are fantastic, if you can pull them off. If you are like me, however, this is not easy to do. Pastel colours and pale skin were not made to co-exist, the combination usually results in an 'I've just got rid of the flu' look... Bold colours can work really well, depending on the undertone to your complexion. For me, red is a no-go, it brings out the pink in my skin and I end up looking like a lobster. 

So I propose black. Yes, it's a wintery colour, but we're British! It rains all the time anyway.

Black is eternally stylish, it never really goes out of fashion. Instead, season by season, it moves in and out of the forefront of colour trends.

But black was definitely present at the twenty-fourteen fashion weeks, and they proved that it doesn't have to be associated with the more 'sombre' seasons.

Take a look at Yves Saint Laurent 'Black Magic' at Paris Fashion Week

It's sophisticated, but not too heavy. It's smart, whilst still emphasising the complexion of both models.

And black is pervading the high street as well. A personal fave of mine are the black dungarees that are making a frequent appearance in the high street shops. Urban Outfitters have some great styles.

These tapered dungarees are great for spring. Their smart/casual style can work for both day and night - the 3/4 length leg would work perfectly with flats for the day time, or with a pair of heeled ankle boots for the evening. Plus, the dungarees can be coupled with something colourful, so if you are one for the pastel trend, the two can be combined. 

But, just because I tend prefer a more casual style, I prefer the classic denim dungaree - which also look great in black. These vintage dungarees are a throwback to 90's fashion, which has been making a huge comeback on the high street over the past year.

The whole 'oversized' look so popular with 90's fashion does risk looking a little sack-like...but the black dungarees add a little 'chic'-ness to the whole look. It's classy, but at the same time oozes that effortless cool that simply says "yeah, I threw this on...I haven't even showered yet, I don't care, I'm too cool to care"

Though it is a fine balance. Unfortunately the dungaree will always be associated with the stereotypical redneck American. So, without careful consideration, it becomes less high-street cool and more Texan farmer...

       ...and no one wants that.

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