I try to be realistic about what people will spend when I do these edits. When we’re shopping and see something we like, the first thing almost all of us do is look at the price. What with money not growing on trees and all that. If I see something nice in a shop, then check the tag and find it to be out of my budget (or just overpriced), I move swiftly on. By the same logic, if I spot a contender for this monthly roundup but then discover it’s prohibitively expensive – which happens a lot these days, “sticker shock” being a familiar syndrome in an era of fashion hyperinflation – I am not inclined to include it.
But we can’t be sensible all the time. I don’t need to remind you that it’s better to buy fewer good, long-lasting things than loads of cheap tat. Then there’s the fact that, sometimes, an object is worth spending money on not because it’s objectively worth a lot of money, but just because it’s worth a lot to you. Plus, June is my birthday month, so you have to indulge me, OK? So, there’s a couple of splurges in here, should you be in the market for a dreamy dress or two. But also: the £46.75 swimsuit that’s in every chic holiday luggage, and some utterly brilliant earrings for less than £20. Because, that’s real life.
The perfect holiday dinner sandal
Cut-out strap sandals
£28 at River Island
I’m a huge fan of this particular shape of flat sandal, which I find to be sufficiently aesthetic to wear with a dress for a nice holiday dinner, eliminating the need to pack any heels. The key is that the upper of the shoe doesn’t cover your toes, and doesn’t extend too close to where your foot bends at the ankle. Straps across the front of the ankle rarely look good without a heel. Dismiss anything with a kitten heel (impractical), anything with a dividing post between the toes (blisters) and anything with metal touching your skin (hot). These are pretty perfect, in tan suede or chocolate leather.
In praise of the party skirt
Crystal maxi skirt
£155 at Odd Muse
This is a two-in-one to introduce you to a useful concept (the party skirt) and a useful brand (Odd Muse). A really fancy long skirt – think pearls or fringing or feathers – looks chic for a daytime summer do (white shirt, flat sandals, sunglasses) and will be perfect with a neat sweater and kitten heels for winter parties. This maxi skirt comes in white, mint and black (now almost sold out in the latter). Odd Muse is one to keep an eye on. I hummed and hawed and missed out on the Odd Muse piece I coveted this season – the pearl-dotted Ultimate Muse Embellished Midi Dress, £165, now sold out in most sizes – but the skirt is equally fabulous.
The most adorable earrings on the high street right now
Domino earrings
These earrings hit that perfect sweet spot of being novelty enough to be interesting and a bit of a conversation-starter without ever suggesting that you’re anything less than sophisticated. J’adore.
A high-street dress that looks like catwalk (caveat: it’s £595)
Elizabeth dress
£595 at Reiss
£595 at Next
There are two ways of looking at the £595 price tag on this Reiss dress. The first, obviously, is that almost £600 is a lot of money for a dress from a high-street store. But the second is that this dress genuinely passes for top-dollar designer fashion, and a dress with this level of detailing – the pearl and amber teardrop beads at the shoulder cut-out are divine in closeup – would cost five times that from a fancy label. A fellow fashion editor wore this dress at an extremely snazzy fashion dinner in Italy, and it not only passed as designer but was much complimented.
I heart Pucci
Printed silk-trimmed mini dress
£345 at the Outnet
When I was in my 20s, I had a Pucci dress. God, I loved that dress. When I read that Marilyn Monroe was buried in her favourite Pucci dress, that made perfect sense to me. Anyway, that didn’t happen, because I wore that dress on so many nights out – including one where I fell in a swimming pool – that eventually the jersey lost its spring and the colours faded. I still miss it and I still obsess over Pucci, so I hereby point you to the Outnet, where you can often find some summer treasures, like this mini dress with distinctive swirly epaulettes, which is snazzy-beach-lunch perfection and reduced from £690 to £345.
A not-Pucci-but-fabulous bikini
Rhodes cup-size bikini top
£52 at Boden
Matching classic bikini bottoms
£36 at Boden
Speaking of Pucci. I’m generally a black-or-navy swimwear gal, but I’ve fallen hard for this structured Boden bikini top and matching classic bikini bottoms in the joyful, Amalfi-coast-lunch blues, yellows and reds of the Wildflower colourway. Also available in navy and white stripes if you’re feeling sensible.
after newsletter promotion
Diamonds. Because, diamonds.
Lab-grown diamond solitaire studs
From £180 at Fenton
We’re hardwired to love diamonds. Lab-grown diamonds – which are very much real diamonds – are disrupting the industry. Fenton is a small, female-founded British jewellery brand using pioneering solar diamonds, grown using renewable energy instead of fossil fuels. A pair of diamond studs, with solid 14-carat gold, starts at £180. Never going to go out of style.
A perfect tissue T
Iphi top
No self-respecting Jane-Birkin-in-Provence is complete without a barely-there superfine T-shirt. Blacktogrey is a sustainable label making simple pieces designed with end-of-life recycling in mind. (Send your worn-out piece back, and Blacktogrey will do the recycling for you.) The boat neck detail elevates this top.
The cossie that’s a hit at John Lewis
Las Flores swimsuit
£46.75 at John Lewis
John Lewis tells us that this one-shouldered swimsuit has been a huge hit: customers love it because the shoulder detailing and sturdy, non-transparent fabric make it perfect for wearing as a top, so it does double duty on holiday. A smart buy.
Under-the-radar but excellent M&S trousers
Carpenter straight-leg trousers
£32.50 at M&S
Poor old M&S has had a time of it, hasn’t it? At the time of writing, online orders are still paused. A silver lining for me has been that when I’ve nipped into M&S to buy things I couldn’t order online, I’ve spotted a few nice bits that I’d missed on the website. These Carpenter straight-leg trousers have little touches of utility styling that make them feel weekendy – deep pockets at the hip, a hammer loop, robust fabric that turns up easily when needed – but a sleek outline, and belt loops if you want to smarten them up.
An H&M bargain
Jacquard weave dress
£37.99 at H&M
Let’s end on a steal. I love this H&M jacquard weave dress for two reasons. First, the fabric, which is nubbly and tactile and looks way more expensive than it is. Second, the fit, with soft gathers at the waist and a slight scrunch to the side, well-thought-out details that blur the details of your outline in a graceful way. The pale pink is sold out in most sizes, but the ivory is cute too.
