What To Buy Whilst It’s Still Summer To Wear When It’s Not Summer

We’ve reached a sartorial turning point of the year. The dregs of summer sales remain in store, with flimsy dresses lingering on corner rails like the person who awkwardly won’t leave your house party when everyone else has gone home and you’re all ready to go to bed (“Yeah, George we’re all going to sleep now… everyone has left… there’s no more alcohol… what do you mean you missed the last bus, this is London? Have you not heard of Uber?”) And new autumn/ winter collections are dropping in high street stores faster than you can say overdraft charges. Navigating the way between your wardrobe, latest trends, seasons, actual real life weather and your bank account has become more challenging than navigating your way through tourists in Covent Garden on a weekend. Do I buy nice floaty summer dresses or do I start making a dent into a strong knitwear collection that I’ll definitely live in from September until, well, probably May?

What do I do?

What you really need is pieces that make the most of spring/summer style, that can still look on point when the mercury drops.

Luckily, this season has a few major pieces that’ll last long into the next with just some styling hacks. Slip dresses can be worn solo, layered over a T-shirt, and then later on, slipped on top of a finely woven roll-neck jumper with opaque tights.

Off-the-shoulder tops with sleeves were made for late summer nights. On hotter days, keep things breezy with loosely-cut shorts or thigh-grazing mini skirts. Then, when the inevitable British rain and

Velvet. Love it or hate it, everyone will be wearing it. Try it now in the form of a slip dress or camisole top.

Everywhere I look, designs are spilling – no, overflowing – with ruffles. A trim on the cuff here, or frothily falling from a hemline there; it’s a trend that’s going nowhere. A blouse will do perfectly for now, teamed with cut-off denim shorts. Later, it’ll look perfect with raw denim, loafers.

Photography by Rebecca Spencer
I’m wearing Boohoo Top, Topshop Jeans, VVA Poppy satchel, Isabel Marant heels