Making the best of my wardrobe - occasion wear

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Whist preparing my last blog post on summer dresses it occurred to me that should I be invited to an occasion that I already have a few of pieces in my wardrobe that I could transform into occasion wear. I'd prefer to shop my own wardrobe than to splurge on a new outfit that in all likelihood I wouldn't get too many opportunities to wear. I'd be hard-pressed to get #30wears out of some of my dressier dresses so just by tweaking them by adding a jacket and some accessories means I will get some extra wears out of them! Occasions like weddings, christenings and parties are lovely experiences and my way of thinking is that I prefer to be able to buy a more generous gift because I haven't had to shell out for a new outfit!
I have a couple of colourful dresses that I think really lend themselves to occasion wear. The first is this red Whistles dress. I prefer to wear this with flat sandals as I do like a maxi dress to sweep the floor..... for an occasion I would go with gold. Metallics accessories can really elevate a look I believe!

Summer holiday dress capsule

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I have been trying to nail the perfect summer holiday capsule for a few years now. Typical for me to finally pull it all together in the year we have chosen to stay grounded! Anyway! In case you are going abroad and looking for some packing ideas......or you just fancy having a peek at what I would have taken I thought I'd share it anyway. There is nothing new to see here - all of the dresses are from previous seasons so sadly I can't share links to them. However I have found some alternatives - just in case I had to replace any of these! 
First of all though.....the item that has really bought this whole edit together is the addition of these little sandals to my wardrobe. They go with every single one of the dresses......which make me so happy as it really means I'm trimming down the amount I pack - I can take the absolute minimum!

Greek sandals via Etsy

Staycation capsule packing!

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As the school holidays are looming and I imagine lots of us will be staycationing instead of holidaying abroad this year so I thought I'd share some holiday packing tips! I'll admit that I find it more of a challenge trying to cover all British weather eventualities. But hey....it is what it is and we are lucky to be going away. I'm looking for ways to make the best of my wardrobe.
As usual I have also done a video where I talk you through this rail - see here.

Styling my last 3 dress purchases!

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I've had a request to do a piece on my summer dresses. I'll warn you now....this post is fairly low on words but photo heavy! If you'd rather hear me chat through these you can watch the IGTV to accompany this post here. 
When I had a sift through my wardrobe I realised it would be a mammoth task to share them all at once - I have about 20. So I am breaking them down in to smaller categories. To be fair it's been a great exercise to review this section of my wardrobe. What I have surmised it that I have a ton of holiday/hot weather dresses i.e lots of strappy and dressier numbers. However I discovered that I'm low on everyday dresses - I need some with sleeves for those cooler days! I did quite a cull of dresses when I did my Spring/Summer switchover and I've now identified and rectified the gaps. I've decided to start by styling my last three dress purchases with a variety of jackets, footwear and accessories. Expect to see lot of items on repeat - just to show how versatile they can be!
Now the first fo the dresses was actually bought at the end of December 2019. Many of my dresses have been purchased whilst we've been on holiday!). It's from Zara (all the best dresses are aren't they?!) so sadly it's no longer available......however I have found a few alternatives! 

Zara dress no longer in stock alternatives from the following:River Island - the most similar and reduced in the sale!Mango - with a longer sleeve (I always push mine up anyway!)H&M - a very purse friendly option

My TK Maxx finds and tips on how to shop there!

If you fancy watching me talk through these pieces - click here
Over the years I have had a lot of luck in TK Maxx and whenever I share the bits and pieces I've found on the blog or Instagram I usually get left a comment along the lines of 'I can never find anything good in there'. Well I'm hoping to inspire you to have a good look next time you swing by or even have a mooch online. This isn't a sponsored post.....my hope is that you just find it useful. A bit like eBay it helps to know your brands when it comes to TK Maxx and look with an open mind - just see what you can find! Tip no. 1 head straight to the Gold Label department (instore and online) for the big tag designer items such as Chloe and Stella McCartney. My favourite section is the Contemporary Designers where you can find things you would generally pick up in independent boutiques such as Iris Fashion or Feather and Stitch. A case in point would be this Star Mela dress I bought last year. I found it on the clearance rail for £36. These normally retail at the 100 pound mark. Which brings me on to another tip - when searching for this brand search only on the word Mela. Star brings up a whole of stuff whereas Mela brings the good stuff to the top and saves you having to filter through.

I'll link to whatever TK Maxx currently has to offer by each brand

Star Mela available at TK Maxx at the moment