I’ve had this orange floral midi dress in my wardrobe for a couple of months now, and I knew it would be the perfect dress for some occasion or other as and when one would come along. Strangely, when I ordered it I also ordered the green high-waisted trousers that I’m wearing here, but the intention wasn’t to wear them together. I tried on the trousers first, was happy that they fitted me and that I liked them, then I just put the dress on top because I couldn’t be bothered to take off the trousers straight away.
Light bulb moment… trousers in the PERFECT colour and silhouette to wear underneath the orange dress.
The dress/trousers combo was just ready waiting to be worn somewhere, and the opportunity came last weekend in the form of a concert that we bought tickets for months ago (back in the Spring maybe?). It was definitely one of those times we bought them and thought, November?! Well that’s just AGES to wait!!
SHOP THE LOOK:
The concert: Star Wars at the Royal Albert Hall. As you can imagine, having a husband who was a seven year old when Episode IV: A New Hope came out in 1977 there was NO WAY we weren’t going to this. They played the movie on the big screen, and the London Symphony Orchestra – who recorded the original score to the movie – played the score live in the Albert Hall. I can’t tell you how exhilarating it was, it was absolutely INCREDIBLE. Seeing orchestras play music live is always amazing, but to watch a film you know SO well and to experience the classical score (which is, of course, by John Williams) being played in real time is thrilling. It’ll be touring the UK (and possibly Europe?) so if you get a chance, do book tickets to see it.
Onto the outfit: November in London can be tricky. You’re almost guaranteed miserable weather, but it’s best to check weather reports last minute in case of freaky mild temperatures. WHICH IS EXACTLY WHAT WE GOT, alongside warm sunshine. Which meant hot tube trains, ughhh. So although my layering was kinda genius (even if I say so myself!), I did get too hot on the tube and while walking between stations. Can’t win them all!
But this somewhat crazy-layering look is one I really loved in the end. I had to explain to my mum that yes, it IS meant to be different lengths. Which is what I love about it. The colours (orange, navy, emerald, black, red) and the layers all came together beautifully in this mish-mash of an outfit. I like the fact that, upon closer inspection, the green of the trousers picks out the green in the dress.
The bright blue pinstripe of the coat picks out the blue of the birds in the print.
The orange in the dress compliments the tan of the boots.
The black of the boots matches the black bow on the dress.
Somehow, it works. I like a good layered outfit, and this has to be one of my favourites.
We took these pictures on the balcony of our hotel room at the Urban Villa hotel in Brentford where we stayed as guests of Adagio Hotels. We took these shots next morning when the sun came up, and oh, LOOK AT THAT LIGHT! I’d say the ‘room’ was wonderful but actually it was a suite with several rooms, including a fabulous kitchenette and this fantastic wrap around balcony. I need a balcony like that in my life simply to shoot my outfits every morning…!
Do add your outfits to this week’s link up – and if you’ve added a link to here or my button to your post you may be featured in my monthly Women Who Wear What They Like post!
BEEN TO ANY CONCERTS LATELY? HOW ARE YOUR LAYERING SKILLS DOING THESE DAYS? COMMENT BELOW…!
Like this post? You might also like…
– The same pinstripe coat worn with jeans and white Stan Smiths
– The same pinstripe coat worn with grey/red checked trousers and ghillie shoes
Disclosure: I was gifted the hotel stay by Urban Villas but was not compensated for writing this post (click here for my full disclosure). This post contains affiliate links which means if you click through and buy I may receive a small commission at no cost to you. All content is original, however, and opinions are my own and 100% honest.
Above: Outside the Royal Albert Hall (you can just see it top right) – we got caught in traffic on our way up to London and this was the only photo we had time to take…!
Dress: Warehouse at Asos
Roll neck: Jaeger c/o (similar)
Coat: Jaeger c/o (similar)
Trousers: Asos
Boots: Finery c/o
Earrings: Mango (I like these)
Watch: Henry London c/o
Bracelets: John Lewis / What Lizzy Loves c/o (similar)
Backpack: Beara Beara c/o
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Thank you for joining the #iwillwearwhatilike link up! This started as a campaign on Instagram in August 2015 where women over 30 wore everything on a journalist’s list of “inappropriate” items for 30+ women (including leopard print, short dresses and oversized sunglasses. Yes, really). It was so popular that I decided to carry it on weekly where women of all ages link up their fabulous style, never mind what anyone tells them not to wear!
The link up goes live every Monday at around 3pm UK time and will stay open for a week. Whilst the original article was of course aimed at the 30+, you can be ANY age to link up. The only criteria is that you’re wearing whatever you damn well like!
CLICK HERE to read the rules of linking up (and to grab the #iwillwearwhatilike button). Basically it’s just good manners to link back to here – to leave a comment is even nicer!
PLEASE NOTE: This is for linking up WHAT YOU’VE BEEN WEARING ONLY. Non-outfit links will be removed and you might be blocked if you turn out to be a repeat “offender”!
Please note that due to the new GDPR laws I’m unable to send an email reminder unless you subscribe to the mailing list of your own accord. CLICK HERE if you wish to be sent an email with a reminder to link up to the #iwillwearwhatilike link up as soon as it’s live!
Do share the love and visit as many links as you can (you never know what other lovely like-minded ladies you might meet) – the original Instagram campaign forged some wonderful new friendships so don’t miss out!
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