BRIGHTS: DAY ELEVEN

DAY ELEVEN: Flatforms, House of Holland x Superga

At last, a brief respite from the pissing rain that has plagued London for the last week. I'm pretty sure that my calendar and everyone around me are lying when they say it's June, it feels more like October at the moment. 

Thanks to the aforementioned rain, my brand new flatforms have been hiding in the wardrobe in their box until now. I love a good flatform - ever since my Underground creepers came in to my life, it has been transformed. Unable to wear heels (thanks, kneecap), these are the one way that I can properly add some height without falling over or dislocating something.

I spotted these House of Holland limited edition Supergas at the Schuh press day and I essentially made a beeline for them so I was very excited when they dropped in soon after and the lovely Dom from Schuh gifted me a pair.

Now, you're probably wondering what exactly is bright about them, right? Well, you can't see from the photo above but check out the foxy foxing on these babies:

Its like a rainbow on my feet! Or as one of my male friends pointed out, they look remarkably like a shoe version of Refreshers. You can pick up a pair at Schuh [here], I'm eagerly anticipating the polka dot versions that are dropping in a few weeks.

Worn with: floral tee, New Look; necklaces, H&M; leather jacket, Topshop; Khaki skinnies, Topshop.

BRIGHTS: DAY TEN

DAY TEN: Green spotty silk scarf, Marni at H&M

I'm getting really, really bored of the rain. And the cold. And the wind. Not only is it messing with my hair, it is seriously starting to mess with my best laid wardrobe plans. I should be frolicking somewhere in technicolour, instead I'm drawn back to the monochrome ways of winter. If I didn't know better, I'd think it was October.

Everything that I've bought for the season has so far had one or maybe two outings if it's been lucky. There are sandals sitting in boxes in my wardrobe, untouched. This makes me monumentally sad.

I'm doing my utmost to cheer myself up with clashing patterns and colours but I'm not sure if it's working. This scarf is from the Marni at H&M collection from a while ago - this particular one was a gift from the PR team at the press viewing of the collection, I never saw the green one in-store on my morning of shopping madness but then again, I had my eyes firmly on the prize. Or rather, my shopping list.

Worn with: Neon stripe tee, Giles at New Look (menswear); sad face.

AT THE RACES

I'm interrupting this usually scheduled Brights blog with a bit of an off-piste post. What with the outdoor events calendar firmly under way and several of my friends asking what I'd recommend for a day at the races or the polo, I thought I'd do a little post about what I wore to the Investec Epsom Derby Ladies Day last week.

I was there helping to pick stylish race-goers for WhatBestToWear.com's competition and of course, we had to adhere as much as possible to the dress code - smart dresses and hats, etc.

Now, I love a good hat but I've never really worn a formal one as up until last week, I was a race day novice if I'm perfectly honest - luckily, I picked up my hat the other week in preparation for Ascot later this month but still had no appropriate dress! Cue a good level of panic, including the standard race around Topshop the night before to see if I could find anything to wear as most of my dresses are either black or casual.

Having panic bought a structured black dress, on the tube home I had a sudden fashion epiphany (fash-iany?) - the perfect dress was hanging in my wardrobe.

This navy structured skater dress with lace overlay and little grosgrain cap sleeves from Warehouse fitted the bill perfectly, matched my navy and black hat and was comfortable to boot. It had been languishing in my wardrobe since Christmas and I figured it that if ever there was an occasion for it to make its debut, Ladies Day was the one.

Unfortunately, the navy version is long gone but a very summery cream version is still available [here]. The best part? It's now on sale, from £80 to £60. I may very well need to get it to wear to Ascot.

Worn with: Cream and navy stripe jacket, Primark; cream and gold pumps, Office; hat, Marks & Spencer; bag, Marni; Wayfarers, Ray-Ban.

BRIGHTS: DAY NINE

DAY NINE: Spray-paint cable knit sweater, H&M

I have come to the conclusion that I have an addiction. An addiction to Swedish fast fashion. Recently there have been several additions to my wardrobe from H&M, one of the most worn has got to be this highlighter coral spray-painted sweater. 

It feels wrong to be talking about knitwear in June but I have become oddly addicted to wearing this particular piece in this cold weather - it seems to cheer me up in this never-ending grey weather. The first time I wore it, some kids from the local stage school actually pointed and laughed but then, they think Uggs are the height of fashion so I'll let it go. There's still quite a few of these neon wonders hanging around in the Regent' Street store but I can't imagine they'll be there much longer. I'm already planning my own DIY neon orange or yellow version with an old jumper and some spray paint in the near future.

Worn with: grey skinnies, Topshop; white canvas plimsolls, Converse; studded sunglasses, Valentino.

BRIGHTS: DAY EIGHT

DAY EIGHT: Navy and red striped jumper, Boutique by Jaeger

Happy Jubilee! Sorry for my absence for the last few days, apart from shooting on Thursday, I was at Epsom on Friday helping to pick contestants for the style competition with WhatBestToWear.com which was great fun - I'd never been to the races before so it was a really fun experience.

So, technically, this jumper may not be classified as bright seeing as the base colour is navy but let's just play along and go with the red stripes as a bright today in honour of the Queen's Jubilee yes? I picked up this jumper a few weeks ago in the Jaeger flagship - while the sale has yet to kick in fully, they had a few items already on sale, including this jumper, down from £99 to £75, you can still get it online [here].

While we haven't been anywhere near the Thames today, we have been toasting the Queen (repeatedly) in the pub. Even Holly the sausage has got in on the act, wearing her Union Jack jumper.

Worn with: khaki skinny jeans, Topshop; Union Jack socks, Marks & Spencer; Black canvas high-tops, Converse.

Holly wears: Union Jack LOVE jumper, Monsoon.