Category: summer dresses

Hello Summer!

This Time next week the kids we will be Greece and we will be following shortly after – a seismic shift in the fabric of daily life.

There’s just enough time to search for a few summer treats.  First stop, Freepeople.

These are the dresses to offer ease but also somewhere to hang your cream panama hat with a bit of sultry sun soaked style.

(All pics Freepeople)

Happily dreaming.

Laters, Kate x

Vika Gazinskaya x

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It started with this dress spotted in Pintrest.  So simple yet beautifully crafted – the flow on the placket, the upright collar, the slouch on the shoulder, the choice of colours, the block of colours..the clever, subtle curve on the blocks..

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And so the journey starts discovering a new label and what other delights to feast on.

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That blue at the bottom..

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You’re either a volume person, or you’re not.  I love it.  I love the sense of intrigue that’s added when a person steps inside.  Vita Gazinskaya has it down to a tee.

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Not that volume is the only choice.

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It’s clever cutting and ingenuity.

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A simple palette with bold designs.  Mi piace.

Laters, Kate x

Sunday Shopping x

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You now what you’re meant to do at the start of each season: Gatecrash the party and scoff all the canapes.  But somehow it never happens like that.  Take Sunday afternoon with it’s languid air of relaxation when sofas become blankets and fingers lazily skim across tablets.  And light upon the dream dress. OMG!! That’s it!!..

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It’s just like that dress that’s been lying in my great dresses folder in Pinterest for 2 years. OK..not exactly the same..the pockets are missing..the pockets are fab..pockets can always be added.  I love the white, but there’s only the option of blue, red or black.  Red could work.  But it’s a summer dress. You need autumn clothes.  But I’ll need summer clothes next year and WHAT?! Just £45?? It’s in the basket….and do they have any more bits of heaven?
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Oooh Palazzo pants..THEY could be transitional combined with all the shirt dresses purchased this summer…

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(All pictures and purchases from SilkFred)

And talking about shirt dresses – Oh my! It’s pure lust. The credit card doesn’t stand a chance.

And not a jumper in sight. Sigh.

Laters, Kate x

Dodo Bar Or

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In London we’re still breathing clear blue skies and warm rays. It’s so nice to be able to still look at light, cotton clothes without thinking goosebumps. This label – Dodo Bar Or, headed by actress turned fashion designer Dorit ‘Dodo’ Bar Or is one that unashamedly flaunts all things summer and features on my wish list radar.

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Sigh.  There’s what I’m doing in my present.  What I want to do in the future. And all the dreams inbetween.

Laters, Kate x

Stunning Storets x

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This is a new label for me: Storets (based in the States, but they do free shipping, even internationally for any purchases over $75) Their USP sings a happy siren song: Interesting fashion with a feminine element that won’t break the bank.

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Prices are roughly $60 – $150..but they look a million dollars – like straight off a red hot catwalk with the cats licking their paws to cool them down.

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The only downside is – and this could be due to the season winding down – when I looked, the only sizes available were small. Maybe that’s how they keep their prices so low..

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I can only hope they expand. In more ways than one.

Laters, Kate x

Mochi x

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There are many kinds of happiness in the world..I’ve just spent an utterly lazy, child-free weekend with the husband that I refuse to regret as I look aghast at the weeks to-do list, slightly lower down that list of love is my passion for beautiful embroidery and textiles..which is all the more ring-starred when it can be married to intelligent, bridging the distance fashion.

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Mochi is a brand whose identity lies deep in the love of ancient embroidery and needle craft.  It was set up by Palestinian Mochi Ayah Tabai to produce visually stunning, wearable clothes that celebrate world-wide stitching communities.

 

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Handcrafted by local artisans in their own countries, Mochi isn’t a melting pot of ideas but an acknowledgement of what each culture has to offer, from Jaipur, Palestine, Thailand, Uzbekistan to Hungary, all items produced are claimed under their own makers.
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A top from Palestine, so easy with a pair of denim shorts.

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A summer dress from Jaipur, ideal to dress up or dress down.

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Shorts from Uzbekistan.

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A crop top and skirt from Thailand.

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They appeal to my love of the past, of inherent quality and the deep vein of romanticism I have running though my middle.

6919e36881b95bf29832084b6d67d5fdIt’s a refreshing change from the polyester re-runs of the high street…we can have more, pay less and think we’re clever…or we can just put up our hands and say what we really love.

 

Laters, Kate x

 

Favourite season x

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Who can’t love and feel the force of summer where the smell of adventure lies round every corner?

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A summer dress, a pair of sandals, beach hair, don’t care and languid evenings to the point of feeling guilty.

 

Except I never will.

Laters, Kate x

Deja Vu..

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I’m in need of distraction: It’s the return day of the crittall door fit and there’s lots of sweaty men and heavy drilling in my house.  At least the doors have made it inside this time (she writes as something loud and metallic crashes to the newly fitted parquet floor). There seems to be an emotional kickback for days like this..You want to pretend that everything is totally normal…but you get to the evening and realise you’ve actually achieved nothing..yet desperately need a large vat of gin – because these days are in fact, the black hole of time suck.

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Time to mentally check out..and what better way than to surf through Pinterest..it was the summer dress above that first caught my roving eye..a simple flowing line, easy to wear but with a modern silhouette and pockets.  So I followed the bread crumbs and discovered Canadian designer Kaelen Haworth.

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Deceptively simple with thoughtful cutting.

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They’re edgy classics with a twist.

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(All pictures from Kaelen Howarth and Pinterest)

And always a joy to see they’re not designed by a man who’s a stick.  Maybe that explains their appeal.

Laters, Kate x

 

 

Sensi x

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Poor kids.  Summer uniform became compulsory on Monday, all light cotton and ankle socks…and it actually snowed here last night.  Not like an alpine blizzard but it actually settled…cars were covered. It’s an issue: Within one day we can experience a years weather: Spring, summer, autumn and winter…it certainly makes for interesting times.

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An ideal outfit would be this dress from Sensi Studio for the summer sun, teamed with a pair of wide legged trousers for the autumn drop (replace or remove as required)..and a duvet for the cold.

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Sensi Studio is a new label for me…I like the fact it utilises Ecuadorian artisans and their many skills with simple lines and interesting additions.

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They also make mean raffia bags and panamas.

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(All pictures Sensi Studio and Net-a-porter)

One to watch.

Laters, Kate x