’40s inspired floral tea dress

I make no secret of the fact that I have a bit of a thing about floral dresses. I am also developing a real love of vintage clothes and retro styles, unfortunately I cannot always find exactly what I want in my size. There are so many new clothes inspired by vintage and retro styles at the moment, I just love shopping for new clothes.

The great thing about vintage and retro styles is that they have stood the test of time usually because they are flattering styles that look great. The tea dress was popular in the forties and is seeing something of a resurgence in popularity. It’s simple a line skirt and v neck is both feminine and flattering. A great choice of dress for daytime both the office and special occasions. I love this 40s inspired floral tea dress. Yet another item to add to my ever growing wish list.

I love this Ditsy floral print dress. The small size of the pattern is perfect for petites like me. It is a great way to wear floral without being swamped in pattern. It is a good way to look low key in florals if you don’t feel like a full on multi coloured bright floral print. The v neck and ruffles also give this dress a girly and flattering edge.

When teamed with some wedge shoes and jeggings or jeans leggings, this dress would make the perfect practical but stylish outfit for a picnic in the park or shopping and lunch with friends. The muted colours of this dress would also look amazing with a bright accessory like a neon pink clutch bag or chunky yellow bangles.

As much as I love bright colours, I have days when I just want to look stylishly subtle. This year there are many floral prints to choose from, some really bright and in contrast some really dark. The dark florals range from grey and grungey to black and white for a more crisp and elegant look. I love them all and they can even be teamed with some bright accessories for a really individual look.

Cotton Ditsy Floral Dress -  love the pretty design and the texture look of this dress, perfect for a casual look on a hot summers day.

Fenn Wright Mason Flower Print Dress - this black and white floral print dress is really slimming as it has a black centre panel.

Creation Dress - This dress has a really subtle but stylish floral print and the classic style of dress would be perfect for most ocassions.

Linen Blend Floral Dress - The print on this dress is really striking. It would look great teamed with  a cropped cardigan in a bright green or fuscia pink.

Penny Plain Dress - Angel Sleeve Dress

Quintessentially English and botanical gardens have combined this season for a trend that reminds me of an English Country Garden. First of all I spotted the Burberry advertisement in my copy of Vogue which combined a trench coats for the wet english summer combined with straw hats against a back drop of a traditional country gardens.

Then there were the flower prints at Roberto Cavalli which looked looked like typical English flora, although I am no expert. Botanical designs are big news this season (perhaps something to do with Darwins anniversairy) There were plenty of other vintage style floral prints around which when combined with lace and rounded collars made for a very traditional English Country Garden feel. I love the idea of combining floral prints with trench coats.

Amidst all the talk (and posts) about practical and warm clothing. I am longing to wear some lovely bright spring clothes. I have started to look out for some lovely spring clothes. You can’t get more bright and spring like than  a floral dress. This year florals are back in again. There are so many to choose from including ditsy floral prints to large vintage style floral prints. Here is the outfit I have put together with happy and bright spring days in mind.

Super Sunflower Dress - This is my favourite shade of pink. I love the large retro/ vintage style sunflower print.

Bright Green Bag - this bright patent bag is such an amazing accessory. It will add some colour to many outfits and looks great with denim. It also compliments the colours in the floral sunflower dress.

Hoss Intropia Cardigan - just in case it is slightly chilly in spring, this cardigan will look lovely with the floral sundress and make a really colourful and happy outfit.

I usually consider florals, a bit of  a summer thing but this autumn and winter they are defintely making a very welcome apearance. Floral prints are a great way to brighten up an outfit and cheer yourself up. These florals are a bit different from the romantic summer florals though. They include black, blues and purples aswell as autumnal tones of yellow and red for a warmer and more wintry look. There are all sorts if variations on the winter floral print from vintage retro styles to ethnic styles.

At Roberto Cavilli - Rich reds purples, blues and greens gave eye catching outfits for both day time and evening.

At Matthew Williamson - romantic floral designs were combined with pixelated florals designs, for a very chic and stylish look. 

pictures from www.style.com

Try combining winter florals with thick opaque tights, faux fur trims, chunky  knits and sassy street wear for a not so girly take on this traditional fabric pattern.

This velvet floral skirt is a great way to wear this seasons florals. With warm colours, a contemporary floral print and a lovely soft texture.

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Pictures from Style.com

I have recently posted on how stripes can be used as an optical illusion to trick the eyes into thinking that you look different and also on the mixing of patterns for spring summer 08. The spring / summer 08 collection from Thakoon combines both of these ideas in one. With bright bold prints teamed with blue and white stripy prints and a variety of different lines, taking the eyes off here there and everywhere. My eyes were so confused they didn’t know where to to look. This is a really interesting look but not one for someone who wants to fade into the background or merge into a crowd. The mixture of patterns and lines is both interesting and rather tiring on the eyes, so perhaps not ideal for the morning after the night before.

In a stark contrast to the business of these outfits, the collection also featured brightly coloured dresses in just one colour. These were nice but not nearly so interesting. If you would like to work this confusing look, then try combining these Emilio Cavallini Striped Capri Leggings with a gorgeous floral print dress.

The tea dress seems to be constantly popular and always in fashion. It has been around since the thirties and perhaps it is the massive popularity of all things vintage that is responsible for the constant re emergence of the tea dress each spring.I think tea dresses are great, I buy one almost every spring and I have already bought myself one this year and teamed it with an old fashioned petticoat for the spring. The beauty of the tea dress is that it is universally flattering. I love wearing girlie feminine clothes. The tea dress is both girlie and feminine and easy to wear.

With Mothers Day on Sunday, I am seeing adverts and pictures of flowers everywhere from traditional roses to bright sunshine coloured daffodils and the beautiful pink, mauve, yellow and red tulips. I love flowers and their beautiful colours and it is not difficult to see why they are such a huge inspiration for fashion designers.

This year the spring summer catwalks were awash with floral prints from tiny ditsy prints to large neon prints, to painted flower prints and beautiful border prints. There is really only one rule this year when it comes to floral prints and that is the brighter the colours the better.

At Aquascutum there were beautiful floral painted style prints

Stella McCartney showed some really strong and energetic floral prints with a  romantic feel

A Marc Jacobs the florals were multi coloured on a white background

At Gucci there were incredibly striking black, white and yellow abstract floral prints

This Japanese influenced floral print shift dress will be just the thing for a meal out with the family on mothers day.