Earn your stripes

Normally, at about this time of the year, I am starting to look at the new season. The weather has usually turned (it always seems to at the start of the school holidays) and summer has faded…. But not this year. Oh no. The long, hot, summer continues and two showers a day minimum are de rigueur. So I find myself slightly discombobulated on the blog front. It should be time to think autumn, but the prospect of anything vaguely autumnal is the last thing on our minds. This week I am falling back on a failsafe, but one that still feels modern. I give you the stripe. But not in a mumsy way for these are definitely a whole different kettle of fish.

Here are my top ten:

Striped Shirt Dress £29.99 This dress from Zara is perfect for everything – wear to work, on holiday, or at the weekend with flat sandals, espadrilles or block heeled strappy sandals.

Off the Shoulder Dress £29.99 A more casual style which will be perfect for holiday season.

Flower Stripe Bardot Top £34 This top from Oasis is gorgeous for wearing with shorts and jeans on holiday and casually at home. The best of the stripe and floral worlds combined.

Stripe Frill Shirt £32. Wear this with shorts or dress it up with tailored trousers and skirts for work.

Pinstripe Frill Shell Top £36 For several months during the summer  it feels like retailers forget that real life continues and we aren’t all permanently on holiday or at weddings. But this top is perfect for the office with all sorts of bottom halves – trousers, culottes, skirts…

Seersucker Stripe Top £34. Ideal for casual summer days, this is lovely with shorts, skirts and denim.

Striped Wrap Skirt £49.99. Mango has nailed the stripey skirt with this wrap number. Another versatile piece that can take you anywhere.

Striped Linen Blend Trousers £49.99. There is something seriously cool about these wide legged numbers from Mango. They won’t be for everyone or for everyday, but you need a little bit of that in your wardrobe.

V Neck Jumpsuit £17.99 H&M . This has to be the ultimate in laid-back summer chic.

Off the shoulder Playsuit £17.99. Swap your little summer dress for this playsuit from H&M, perfect for the beach or pool and summer evenings.

Sometimes all you need to do is change direction – quite literally – for everything to feel different.