Don't you just love a good stripe?

An established staple in my own wardrobe, the stripe is a great "if all else fails" option. There's so much scope with a stripe. The classic Breton stripe is so stylish, but if you're feeling more daring, a painterly broad stripe can be a great mood lifter as well as showing a quirkier side.


Here are a few of my top stripe High Street picks, some are even in the sale which is always a bonus!

ASOS waterfall front cardi

Full Circle @ ASOS maxi dress

ASOS oversized 70's floppy hat

Top Shop scallop stripe swimsuit

Religion @ ASOS dress

Sonia by Sonia Rykiel @ASOS bow stripe top

ASOS shirtdress 

Dorothy Perkins multi stripe tee

Miss Selfridge tie front blouse

Dorothy Perkins neutral stripe maxi dress

Wallis cut-about stripe tee

David David @ ASOS brushstroke stripe dress

For the love of Sonia...

I've recently spent time looking through style.com checking out the latest looks from the SS11 catwalk shows. I must admit that I still get pangs of excitement seeing what's coming next down the runway. At least now I don't need to examine every look in detail & formulate a plan of what to incorporate into our next ranges (for those of you who don't already know, I was a womenswear designer for 10 years). Instead I can just peruse at my leisure.

I happened to follow a link on twitter to theSonia Rykiel show in Paris. As a lover of colour & print she's long been a favourite of mine & I wasn't disappointed. Before I share my thoughts on her latest show, I want to post a few pics of her new home collection, all of which is on my lust list!

I love the depth of colour, the combination of a floral print with stripes, in fact I love everything about this covetable range!

Now back to the catwalk...

The Sonia Rykiel show provides a light hearted quirkiness & always makes me smile, which must be a good thing...

These are some of my favourite looks from the show. I love the beautifully balanced cinnamon, coral, black & white colour blocking, the perfectly clashing red & fuchsia stripe combination, the teal & green blocking...And I especially love the oversized striped bag. I'm a bag addict, I admit it!

The vaguely Asian hats are a new take on the perennial Sonia Rykiel hat obsession, which I like. They're given a twist with the chunky beaded cord & tassels, an accessory which pops up elsewhere for SS11, but more on that later...