See The Sun Or Be The Sun

Spring can be cool in more than one way. When it gets unpredictable, uncomfortable, even gloomy, many of us try and lose the blues by stubbornly sticking to weather-inappropriate clothing.

Some will even take that to the next level, pretending it's high summer.

However, there are those who cannot stand the discomfort of bare skin anywhere south of 27 degrees - must they risk dressing like it's winter all over again?

Here's my compromise: cover up good, and trust your mood to colour. Even those around you may thank you for it.

OK, fine, the neoprene parka is optional, reserved for the very worst of what spring has to offer.

Leather trim dress, premium parka and platform heels: Asos

A bit of fun comes in all shapes and sizes. Cameo brooch: a gift

Celebrate Spring

For the 23th outfit post published on 23rd March, I felt I had no choice but to don a pair of bold floral print jeans and leap fearlessly into spring. Right. That decided, I realised that falling hopelessly for these wild things didn't mean I had the faintest idea of how I was going to make them work.

True, when in doubt, you can always go for that plain white tee or the steel blue racer back basic vest that goes so well with your eyes... or, you could skip the whole problem by covering up with a cropped trench coat, a pastel leather jacket, or a bleached denim biker.

But honestly, where's the fun in that? Where's the now in that? If you're going to buy into current big and bold trends, do it for love. And then, embrace those trends in full, in all their now-ness. There really is no way around it.

When a print you love is just loud, the looks you put together should not pretend otherwise. You can't mute it with anything plain anyway. To make your outfits right for now, you'll need more print. A bit like the way Mexicans (never too shy about their prints either) like to 'neutralise'  the hotness of spices in their meal with extra salt.

And the best part? You only need to dig in your closet for old tops (and shoes) of different styles and colours, preferably with some print on all of them. As a result, even if you take inspiration from others, your final looks will be individual. Here's my edit of what I found lying around - love how the feel changes with each print combo. 

I've dubbed the looks 'graphic', 'sweet', 'festival' and, considering the full bodycon-meets-matchy-meets-overly-clean effect, 'footballer's wife'. Too late now, but I think my lavender Mulberry Blenheim bag should have completed this last fashion victim look. Anyways, now it's your turn to pack a punch.

Graphic. Jeans: River Island (worn throughout), leather chelsea boots: New Look, navy stripe top and
owl necklace: Dorothy Perkins. Sunnies (above): Retro.
Sweet. Top: vintage, belt: Pull & Bear, leather ballerinas from Greece 

Cotton top and parka: H&M, leather boots: Sebastiano 

Knitted top: Women'secret, belt: charity shop, leather pouch: vintage, tweed and suede dogtooth stilettos: Alberto Zago, suede peacoat: C&A, belt on coat: Pull & Bear, suede and leather platform sandals: Zara