Fashion Blog: Two White Summer Dresses: Designer & High Street

When the sun is shining and the backdrop is green and lush I can't wear anything else than a white summer dress. The contrast in colour makes me feel full of energy and lightness of the white like I am floating on air as I zip around during the day.

I have a collection of white summer dresses, I am quite drawn to smooth cottons, broderie anglaise and embroidered pieces. I recently had a short trip away and took two pieces with me.

The dress on the left is a High Street Luxe Find from Matalan, white broderie anglaise dress in 100% Cotton priced at £20 from the current season. It is fully lined in a jersey type cotton. The quality of the Broderie Anglaise was outstanding with no frays or misses. The edging was great too. It looks much better quality than the £20 price tag.

The dress on the right is Burberry London. The fabric is stiffer and smoother so suited to summery smarter events. It is a cotton and silk mix with a high thread count. The broderie anglaise is more styled and designed to the shape of the dress with lovely details around the neckline and sleeve edges. The cost was around £395 a few years ago, similar here. It is dry clean only and has returned from the cleaners each year looking brand new.

Matalan white broderie anglaise dress detail, below.

Burberry London white broderie anglaise dress detail, below.

Both dresses are great investment pieces. The Matalan dress will be a great cost per wear piece, especially as it is white and will last a reasonable amount of time (if cared for correctly) due to the good quality fabric and stitching. The Burberry dress has been worn every summer for a about the past six years so again good cost per wear, classic style with the quality for longevity, I expect it to last any more years.

I accessorised with this ombre dip scarf from H&M. Currently in the sale at £5.

I wore both dresses with my new season investment, a pair of Rag and Bone Summer Harrow Booties in Caramel at £395/$495 at MyTheresa.com, MatchesFashion.com and LesNouvelles.com. They look fab with everything summery, they are super comfortable (they are padded/cushioned on the insole), the heel is a very wearable height for day/walking and the tan colour and cut out at the front style is very leg flattering, especially if you are petite.

I don't always buy everything at full price, I tend to buy a mixture of full price, sale price and outlet price as well as a few consignment store pieces. I took about a month to decide to buy these boots, thinking mainly about how well they would go with my wardrobe of summer clothes and also how often I thought I would wear them with the year I have ahead. I also thought they would be ideal for travelling.