5 Outfit Ideas for Dinner & Drinks

Here in the UK, pubs and restaurants have re-opened and for many of us it’s the first time in a while we’ve done anything worth dressing up for. (Unless you’re like me and you dress up to put the bins out.) We all must remember to stay safe but if you have a special event that you’d like to celebrate with friends and family in a local eatery, here’s some outfit ideas for that special occasion.

There’s a reason the LBD never goes out of style. Most women are comfortable in a black dress whatever their taste and this one from ASOS is great for those of us who perhaps feel our days of showing off our bodies are behind us, because it's midi length and doesn’t ride up your thighs. The material is also very sculpting, so even though it’s bodycon, you can happily wear it to dinner with friends (I can personally testify to this as I wore it to my friend’s hen night, where I ate a lot of pasta!).

You could add a pop of colour with your accessories but I think pairing black with black looks so sophisticated and elegant, so I wore this with my Valentino-inspired heels from Dorothy Perkins. They are not excessively high and the straps make them secure and therefore comfortable enough to wear when you're propping up the bar all night. I also grabbed my faux leather jacket from French Connection and my black and rose gold crossbody from Ted Baker, which is the handbag I nearly always opt for.

The one that almost got away - I was going to return this H&M dress but am glad I kept it because it’s a very easy outfit to put on and immediately look glamorous in. I’ve used a belt from one of my floral dresses to make this more figure-flattering and to make the all-white look less stark. This dress looks more expensive than it is - the scallop detail and fit-and-flare silhouette are reminiscent of a Ted Baker design, yet it costs less than £30.

I wore this with my pink and rose gold crossbody from Ted Baker to amp up the cuteness and wore a pair of low block heels to ensure I could comfortably make my way to the restaurant.

Comfort is key when going out to dinner - life’s too short to prioritise looks over food! Culottes are therefore perfect because they look smart yet feel as comfy as a pair of pyjamas. I wore mine with my silk vest from Reiss - I love how the colours look together - and a pair of nude heels. They are not the most comfortable but are OK to wear from the car to the restaurant!

I’ve lived in floral dresses lately. More specifically, I've lived in this H&M floral dress lately! It is such a great day-to-night dress and works for so many occasions. Floral dresses make you look instantly dressed up even in the daytime so are easy to style for the evening - just add a pair of heels and a clutch. If you're going out for dinner, dresses with tie belts work really well because you can highlight your waist without the dress feeling too tight and uncomfortable after a big meal. 

This jumpsuit is youthful and flirty without showing a lot of skin - my favourite combination! The bardot neckline highlights one of my favourite bodyparts which is the collarbone. I think it’s such an attractive area to show off without being overtly sexy. The bottom of the jumpsuit is a culotte-style so again very comfortable but still dressed up for dinner.

Because it’s cropped, I love wearing this jumpsuit with my flat sandals from Dune so would wear this as a lunch-with-the-girls outfit but it can absolutely be dressed up for the evening with heels. I've also worn it with the same faux leather jacket from earlier and the Dorothy Perkins heels for an evening look.

If you liked my style, there's more where that came from! I'm emma_does_fashion on Instagram and I'd love for you to follow me.

3 Ways to Wear the Lingerie Trend in the Workplace

Yes, it is possible!

Many of us shy away from the controversial lingerie trend. If you’re anything like me, you are terrified by tiny crop tops (I wouldn’t have written a blog post entitled 'How to Style Big Boobs' if I could squeeze into those). But the lingerie trend isn’t reserved for the ultra-body-confident. There are many ways that those of us with a more conservative style can style these pieces, and it is even possible to incorporate this trend into our workwear wardrobes.

You actually may already have a lingerie-inspired piece in your everyday wardrobe: the slip dress. This '90s piece has been back in fashion for a while now and is one of those items that works really well for nights out as well as everyday. To style it for the office - yes, it can be done - balance out the slinky lower half with an oversized jumper or cardigan and add a sensible pair of heels in a matching colour. Very attractive and on-trend for SS20 while still business-appropriate - you have basically just turned it into a satin skirt!

Another office-appropriate piece that ticks the underwear as outerwear trend is the classic camisole with lace detail. To ensure this looks more outerwear than underwear, opt for a neckline such as a square, like this one from the White Company, rather than a v-neck and add a fabulous blazer on top.

Alternatively, try a vest with lace detail such as this black one from H&M. Styled with a pencil skirt or wide-legged trousers, this is a classic office piece that many won’t even realise is lingerie-inspired and therefore bang on trend.

By far the most wearable version of this trend is a sheer-sleeved top, and if you’re planning to wear the trend to the office, a sheer-sleeved blouse like this one from Topshop would be perfect. The classic way to style a blouse for the office would be to pair it with a pencil skirt and heels but you could also wear this piece with a pleated midi skirt to make it slightly more relaxed.

All of these pieces, as you can see, can be styled appropriately for work but are also great for days out as well as evening drinks. I love thinking of different ways to style the same piece so that I can make my clothes go further, so this blog post was a lot of fun to write! I hope you enjoyed reading it.

Always Elegant, Never Boring

I've always loved elegant fashion, although it didn't always have a name. I adore Instagram - I dread to think how many hours I spend each day, just scrolling - and have found so many wonderful accounts with a focus on elegant styling. I love a timeless look and elegance fits right into that. But how to keep your look simple and classic without meandering into that most dangerous of territories - how to avoid looking BORING?

COVER UP - AT LEAST A LITTLE.

Elegance is not all about being prim and proper. You can definitely show a bit of leg, or rock a plunge neckline. The key, though, is to choose one or the other. For the office in the cooler months, I often opt for a 1960s vibe, with a high-necked jumper, a mini skirt and tights. It's a classic look that feels true to my personal style, and you can make it extra-fun by really exaggerating the 60s theme, with smoky eyes, a nude lip and of course a towering bouffant.

STRIVE FOR TIMELESSNESS.

The beauty of the 60s look is that it's timeless. It's definitely my favourite era when it comes to fashion. I don't do the retro look every day but I do strive for timelessness in everything I wear. The catwalks may be filled with tiny crop tops that are basically bras, but in the street we always see practical yet stylish items like trenchcoats and jeans. Classic items in neutral colours are what I like to fill my wardrobe with - they never go out of style.

INVEST IN YOUR WARDROBE AND ONLY BUY PIECES YOU LOVE.

Timeless elegance does come with a pricetag. I like to buy clothes that I will wear a lot for many years to come, and these things are expensive - not always, but often. I do understand that not everyone can afford premium high street or designer, but rather than buying a dress you'll only wear once for a night out because 'it was only £9', why not put that £9 in a savings account and eventually treat yourself to something special, like my floral wrap dress below, which was around the £80 mark from Joules. Surely it's better to own 20 items you really love than 200 you only like.

KEEP UP WITH TRENDS - TO A DEGREE.

Building an elegant wardrobe doesn't mean buying the same thing over and over again and never taking part in any trends. Trends are an excellent way of keeping your classic wardrobe up-to-date and interesting. It's all about knowing which trends will slot in with your usual style, and only taking part if you really love the trend. For example, there's no point me wearing neon or underwear-as-outerwear just because it's in fashion, because this would never fit in with my personal style. Instead, I partake in trends like chain jewellery or puff sleeves, because these compliment the rest of my wardrobe while keeping it current.

BE CREATIVE.

Have a good think about the different ways you can style the specific items in your collection. Last week on Instagram, I talked about how I like to turn my summer dresses into maxi skirts by wearing jumpers or my Topshop cardigan over them. Have fun styling things up with different accessories - a floppy sunhat is chic and practical, and a pair of drop earrings will elongate your neck and glam up the most casual of outfits. I've got my eye on this feather pair from Pandora. They would be a funky, modern addition to any elegant outfit.

SIT ON THE FENCE.

A good rule of thumb is to stick to a neutral colour palette. That way, everything in your wardrobe can be paired with everything else, and you'll never be unsure of what to wear. This is good to bear in mind when starting to build your classic wardrobe, but once you've got a good collection of neutral pieces, if you don't add a pop of colour, you run the risk of looking like you're in uniform. To avoid this, allow yourself the odd frivolous purchase in a vibrant colour. Adding a splash of pistachio green or living coral to an outfit will freshen up your look and show that you know what's on trend.

YOUR FACE IS A CANVAS.

If you want to look elegant, it's not all about the clothes. Your hair, make-up and nails should be polished (pardon the pun) too. The world of beauty is an area where you can mix things up and experiment. There are so many imaginative YouTube tutorials available for you to follow at home and add an unexpected twist to your elegant attire.

LEARN HOW TO ACCESSORIZE YOUR ASSETS.

I explained in last week's blog post how to dress when you have a larger bust and when creating a classic wardrobe, it's definitely important to know how to dress for your bodyshape. This is not a hard and fast rule but it's good to know which silhouettes flatter you, then those styles can become building blocks for your classic wardrobe which you can modernise at your leisure. For instance, I've always known that wrap dresses suit my hourglass figure, but I never would have thought to wear a maxi one until that trend appeared a year ago.

JUMP ON THE SUSTAINABILITY BANDWAGON.

If there's any trend we should all take part in, it's this one. The fashion industry is notoriously bad for the planet and also has a horrible history of animal cruelty and sweatshops, neither of which are yet shadows of the past. However, brands like H&M and Ted Baker have added conscious collections to their rails and the fashion industry does finally seem to be waking up. In Glamour's SS20 issue, they ran a piece on #onesmallchange several top designers have pledged to make.

One thing you can do to help avoid waste is to rent items rather than buy. The Catwalk Club are a company on Instagram, sadly closed at the moment due to COVID-19, but when they open up again you will be able to rent luxury handbags for a fraction of what it would cost to buy them. They even have a Chanel handbag available for rent. This is a fantastic way to rotate lots of designer items and enjoy that 'newness' feeling without adding to the environmental issue.

I hope you found my ideas useful. Next week, I'll be talking about the accessory many of us wear every single day and don't give a lot of thought to - our glasses! (For those of you who don't wear prescription lenses, never fear, I'll be talking about sunglasses too!)

How to Style... Big Boobs!

It's so true that you always want what you don't have. Like many big-breasted women before me, my boobs have often felt more like a burden than a blessing. At 5ft tall (or short) and a cartoonishly exaggerated hourglass figure, they sometimes make me feel positively dumpy.

Gok Wan told me to wear wrap dresses, so I wore wrap dresses. Trinny and Susannah said roll-neck jumpers would make my boobs look like an extension of my chin, so I shied away from those. I learnt very quickly the art of dressing for your bodyshape, which is a concept most fashionistas turn their noses up these days. It is true that no one should tell you What Not to Wear. It is true that, if you want to wear horizontal stripes, you should feel free to wear horizontal stripes. Nowadays, I don't think I own a single v-neck item (although I do have one wrap dress!). These traditional hourglass-friendly silhouettes can often make me look matronly rather than chic.

However I don't think that dressing with your particular figure in mind is a completely outdated attitude. We feel more comfortable wearing clothing we know suits us. These 'rules' that are so often sniffed at today can be very useful, especially for someone whose body is changing - perhaps you have had a baby, or lost a lot of weight, or have had to change your diet for medical reasons. I feel you need to know the rules in order to be able to bend them.

Gok, Trinny and Susannah would definitely all agree that the waist should always be the focus when dressing an hourglass figure, and I think this is such a flattering look on ANY bodyshape, but especially if you have big boobs. That contrast between your waist and boobs is so feminine and lovely. Gok would have achieved this with a waist belt, but these days I own a grand total of 1 waist belt and instead own numerous high-waisted skirts and trousers (which weren't so fashionable back in the Noughties!).

Now for your actual boobs - what are the best necklines to flatter them? Well, all of them! I had a lot of fun revisiting Trinny and Susannah clips on YouTube for this blog post, and they are absolutely appalled by the idea of a big-titted (their words, not mine!) woman wearing a crew-neck. I completely disagree, but I listened back then. What changed? Well, it was probably about 70% a shift in my attitude, and 30% a really, really good bra.

Until I found Bravissimo, I hated bra shopping, but now I look forward to it! The bra-fitting experience at Bravissimo is fabulous. There's not a tape measure in sight. They look at how the bras suit you and where they are and aren't fitting and keep bringing different shapes and sizes for you to try on until you find the perfect fit. I love love LOVE the Gossard Glossies bra - I own three of them in total! The plunge shape is smooth so I don't get that bulging '4-boob' effect that I so often got with balconette bras (it probably didn't help that I bought them from New Look and focused more on prettiness than practicality) and because it fits me so well, it has a slightly minimising effect which means I can wear them with higher-necked tops without looking 'lumpy'.

My next brassiere-themed tip is this: I adore wearing boring bras. Lacy, embellished bras are stunning but let's face it - most of spend our days with our underwear covered up. A lacy bra may look beautiful when you take your layers off but underneath a lovely cashmere jumper, it will create lumps and bumps that completely ruin the effect. Boring bras make for a smooth base that you can wear anything over - and they don't itch either.

Bras can't do all the work for you - good posture is key. This is something I always forget, and then I'm sharply reminded of it when I look at my outfit photos later! It's a really difficult thing to get into the habit of, since I've been slouching my entire life - if only I'd listened to my mum when I was young! In my defence, I think those of us who are larger in the bust area are more prone to poor posture because, let's face it, our boobs are heavy!

Like I said, you can wear pretty much any neckline if you've invested in a good bra and you feel great in the outfit. However bardot necklines are becoming a firm favourite of mine. The traditional "rules" of those Noughties styling programmes will tell you that if you have big boobs, you should show them off, but we don't always want to! A bardot neckline covers the boobs without necessarily trying to hide them, and displays the underrated shoulder area instead. Since adding more and more bardot styles to my wardrobe, I've decided that the collarbone is one of the sexiest part of a woman's body. Again, if you put your shoulders back, you can accentuate the area beautifully.

Next is the dreaded plunge neckline. Many of us DD+ ladies avoid these like the plague, terrified of "falling out" or looking too "tarty". Since discovering my Gossard bra, which is also a plunge style, I've found that plunge necklines can actually look very sophisticated. My navy floral Joules dress is the perfect example of this. Again, it highlights that elegant decolletage but, because my bra fits me properly, my cleavage isn't stealing the show.

The number one so-called "rule" for styling big boobs? Wear what you love. Don't scroll past every turtleneck and shift dress because you think they won't suit you. Try things on. Experiment. You might be surprised.

How to Keep it Glam at Home

Why bother staying stylish at home? Well, it does wonders for your mood. When quarantine first reared its unglamorous head, I found myself staying in my pyjamas for FAR TOO LONG. I won't lie, it's nice to do this every now and then, but it makes me feel rubbish if I do it too much. Save your PJs for bed and dress yourself each morning as if nothing has changed. Lockdown? What lockdown?

On that note, upgrade your #WFH outfit and step away from loungewear! When working from home, most of my outfits are the same as I would wear to the office. That's because I buy my clothes with style and comfort in mind (and I've always had somewhat corporate tastes!). My red floral jumpsuit from Quiz is a firm favourite as it seems like I've made a proper effort but essentially I'm wearing a fancy onesie!

Instead of leggings or tracksuit bottoms (I jest - I don't own tracksuit bottoms!), I wear midi skirts, culottes and statement dresses in materials like cotton or chiffon. IMO these are more comfortable and less restrictive than jeans or leggings. I've got my eye on this Reiss ombre midi skirt and this gorgeous coral dress from Ted Baker - both are practical for working from home and also office-appropriate for when we finally return to the real world.

You might find this next tip distasteful, but trust me, it's worth it - iron all of your clothes. I iron pyjamas, pants and even socks. The process is therapeutic and the end result is a crisp, clean outfit every single day. If you're not as keen on ironing as I am, why not try a handheld steamer?

Once work is over, I like to change something about my appearance to signify that the working day has ended and me-time has begun. Usually I just put my hair up and switch out my jewellery. It's a small change but it makes me feel good. Other times, I'll pop on my sports bra from Bravissimo and some high-waisted leggings and do some of my favourite YouTube work-outs, such as a gentle yoga routine.

I love pyjamas (especially freshly ironed ones) and think we all should own at least one extra-special pair. I adore my Ted Baker pyjamas pictured above; every time I wear them, I truly feel that spark of joy. I've always been obsessed with delicate nightwear - when I was a teenager I used to wear satin chemises to sleepovers! My friends laughed at me but I felt so glamorous and a luxurious pair of PJs still makes my night! And to be honest, my friends still make fun of me for always being over-dressed.

That lockdown life is all about self-care for me. This is a great time to really focus on your skincare, and a good pamper could also boost your mental health. I try to treat myself to a red-hot bath and a face mask at least once a week. Your skin will reap the benefits and you will be fresh-faced and gorgeous without the need for makeup!

If you're finding it hard to motivate yourself to dress up for your home office, or home school, why not make it fun and take a picture of your #ootd each morning? You don't need to post it anywhere, but if you do, please tag me so I can see! My Instagram account is @emma_does_fashion. Thank you for reading, my lovelies!