fashionHannah MacLeodComment

As smooth as silk

fashionHannah MacLeodComment
As smooth as silk
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Silk, my favourite fabric to wear. It is an expensive fabric which i do not wear often but when I do, the luxury does not escape me. This dress from Arket is no exception. Arket have been generous with the amount of fabric in the skirt which is important for silk to achieve the ‘swishing’ and ‘billowing’ movement of a bygone age that looks so luxurious and pretty. Designed as a casual ‘shirt dress’ the piece is balanced with the ‘smartness’ of the material. I like this because if you are anything like me, there are not many events in my calendar which call for anything too formal so a silk dress that can be dressed down or dressed up is worth the investment.

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For 100% silk, I would say that it is very good value at £150. However I suspect that in order to achieve this price point, Arket have had to cut back in other areas. The dress is very transparent in the skirt. This is fine until you’re standing in front of the light and then it is somewhat, er, risqué shall we say! A petticoat (of which M&S have many) would definitely be needed if you were to buy it.

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As I’ve already mentioned, if i’m spending quite a lot of money on an item of clothing, I like to be able to wear it dressed up, or dressed down. So here we have added a jumper. This one is 100% cashmere and is from M&S. Their cashmere is generally very good. Mum and I have found that the quality can vary from year to year strangely but this particular one is fantastic and I have a black one from 2 years ago which is also brilliant. It washes very well and holds its shape.

Immediately, adding a jumper makes the dress more casual and practical for the daytime. Here we have chosen cream, but grey, navy, forest green or wine red would also look lovely.

Wearing a plimsole with a dress like this is a very youthful and cool way of doing it, a look which we love. Of course a ballet pump (here) would also look great as would these boots (here or here) which are huge this season! NB, always make sure that the hem of your skirt covers the top of the boot.

And of course, beautiful heeled sandals (here or here) or a court shoe (here) would be perfect for the evening- with no jumper, maybe a belt and some gorgeous earrings.

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I’ve also gone for a footwear look that is big for this season but I do realise that it is not for everyone! It’s hard to see from the pictures but the fabric of the dress has very small dark red spots all over it. This is why the burgundy colours work so well. The shoes are old favourites that you will have seen me wear many times before but the bag is a current style from & Other Stories. It is a suede-style fabric on one side and leather on the other and can be worn as a clutch or shoulder bag. We did also have this waist-belt (here) with us which looked lovely with the dress but unfortunately we did not get any pictures of it. Sorry!

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I chose this jumper because I wanted to illustrate another big look for this season. The 3/4 length skirt with a long-line jumper. It’s also going to be a big look for Summer ‘19 too (if you can think that far ahead!) Victoria Beckham and Dior both went in for it big time.

This chunky knit jumper from Arket would be a very versatile piece for your winter wardrobe, obviously looking just as good with jeans as a silk dress.

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The order of the day with this post has been versatility. I think that it is so important for every piece in your wardrobe to work in as many different ways as possible. There is nothing more annoying in my eyes than buying a dress for a particular occasion and then it sitting in your wardrobe, never to see the light of day again!

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SUE

Dress, Arket . Jumper, Marks & Spencer . Coat, Zara . Plimsoles, Veja .

HANNAH

Dress, Arket . Jumper, Arket (in-store only but this would also work) . Bag, & Other Stories (in-store only but this would also work) . Socks, old. Brogues, old .

Photography & Artwork by Alexandra Mooney .

And for other options of silk dresses please scroll through this gallery…..

  1. CLICK ON THE FURTHEST IMAGE TO MOVE THE SLIDES ON

    1. Ganni, £490 (checked dress with yellow floral print)

  2. Ganni, £730 (yellow striped dress)

  3. Weekend MaxMara, £415 (ditsy print dress)

  4. L K Bennet, £295 (green floral print dress)

  5. Whistles, £329 (bold floral print dress)

  6. LK Bennett, £425 (navy and white star print dress)

  7. Rixo London, £305 (navy/metallic star print dress)

  8. Saloni, £825 (yellow knotted dress)

  9. Roksanda, £1395 (bright pink dress)

  10. Rhode Resort, £425 (bright blue print dress)