1.  Comfy, go-with-everything sandals – A comfortable pair of sandals that will go with everything is essential for summer, and with all the styles available too choose from, finding the perfect pair is easy!  Brights are definitely in this season, so grab a pair in neon yellow or pink.  If you aren’t into brights, go for a neutral or metallic, both are versatile and can be worn for day or night.

2.  Fun sunglasses - Break away from the conventional, because there are multiple ways to show your style with sunglasses this season.  Oversize 70′s glasses and cat-eyes create a chic look, while my personal favorite remains the wayfarer.  There are so many different colors and patterns to choose from as well!  So have fun with them and let your personality show.  I always have multiple pairs and colors on hand to keep my options open!

3.  The oh-so-versatile summer dress – Have at least one good summer dress that is versatile enough to wear at the beach during the day and can carry you all the way to cocktails at night, just by changing a few accessories.  Floral patterns make it so easy to do this, especially if they have a dark base, such as black or navy in the floral background.

4. Wedge or chunky heeled sandals – A lifesaver compared to stilettos, many chunky heels can actually be comfortable!  The perfect shoe to dress up or down, and can be worn with shorts, skirts, dresses and pants.  The only thing to watch out for is making sure you don’t get a style that is too bulky, especially if you have thin ankles.  The result can be quite comical when your feet look too heavy for you!

5.  Stripes! – Nautical stripes are always in for summer, but this season its all about standing out!  Having at least one navy and white striped tee in your summer wardrobe is absolutely essential, but you don’t have to limit yourself to just those colors!  Mix bright colored stripes, and even add striped accessories.  If you do keep it classic, pair the nautical stripes with white or beige bottoms, it’s a look that will always be in style.

6.  Floppy hat –They shade your face from the sun, and make any outfit look instantly more glamorous while keeping up with the seventies trend.  This is one addition you will be glad you got over anything else. I’m still looking for the perfect one, but this piece will be joining my collection very soon!

7.  The Perfect Swimsuit – Swimsuits are an area where it isn’t always best to get what’s on trend, but what is best on your body type.  Luckily, this season’s trends make it easy to find the perfect one.  Retro, vintage-inspired suits are making a huge statement for 2011, as are ruffles and crochet (not sure how I feel about this one yet – wet yarn brings an image of sagging suits in my mind).

So there you have it – your most essential summer wardrobe pieces.  If you liked this post, you can read more at my personal blog Indigo Impression for more!

I have professed my love for Stella McCartney and her gorgeous floral and fruit prints that grace so much of her Spring /  Summer 2011 clothing line. I truly can not get enough of all of these gorgeous prints on all of her clothing. My favorite floral prints are on all of her tops.  The shirts can be worn with so much and the dresses are all so perfect for the spring and summer weather.

The Silk Dress with Floral Print is a beautifully illustrated dress with flowers all over the front and back. I love that the pattern carries onto the sleeves and neck of the dress. The cropped sleeves make this dress perfect for nights that have a bit a breeze yet are not too hot for those Indian Summer nights.

SILK DRESS WITH FLORAL PRINT

The sleeveless Floral Print Top is a great shirt with ruched shoulders.The print on this shirt is bright large tulip flowers at various stages of bloom. The background scenery carries to the back of the shirt.

FLORAL PRINT TOP

Similar to the silk dress, the Silk Top With Floral Print has the same overall pattern but is a shirt, not a dress. The shirt has ruffle trim detail on the sleeves and a cream trim detail at the neckline. Unlike the dress though, the back of the shirt does not have the flower pattern carry over.

SILK TOP WITH FLORAL PRINT

The Stella McCartney Floral Print Tank Top is a basic white tank top with a vivid tulip floral print on the front. The colors are so bright and cheerful and it is easy to wear with so many colors. This shirt would look great with a paid of denim jeans or shorts.

FLORAL PRINT TANK TOP

All of the Stella McCartney Floral Print clothing are breathtaking with the attention to detail. The floral prints look like they were hand painted onto the clothing. You can not go wrong with any of these florals.

Stella McCartney must have been thinking of the outdoors when she designed her Spring 2011 clothing collection.  The reason I say this is that there are so many items, including, tops, jackets, skirts, shorts, and dresses that have a floral motif on them. The floral prints that she uses are not typical to what most other designers use because her flowers  look like garden scenes from a painting, and that is very unusual when it comes to most designers. Most other designers who design floral prints tend to go in a direction of cartoon like, non realistic flowers. I really love that McCartney’s flowers make you think that somewhere in the world there is a garden identical to her patterns.

Ever since I saw it on the runway I have been in love with the Coat with Floral Illustrations. This is the perfect spring time coat to wear. The colors are so vivid and it is easy to match so many other pieces of clothing. You can wear this coat over a number of different color dresses , pants and shirts, or shorts.  This  is a very attractive double-breasted button closure coat. I love the tabs on the sleeves and the oversized vent detail at the back which allows this coat to have so much movement.

COAT WITH FLORAL ILLUSTRATION

I also love the Stella McCartney Jacket with Floral Print. This is very similar in pattern to the coat and the main difference is the cut and length. While the coat ends at the upper thigh, the jacket is waist length making your choice in bottoms more important since it will show more. You can wear this jacket with shorts,a skirt, or a dress. The cut out detail at the bottom center makes this a very unique coat since it allows whatever is underneath to show through even when the jacket is closed. This jacket can be worn over a shirt with the intent to remove the jacket at some point. You can also treat this as suit jacket and use a shirt underneath simply as an accent that pops through at the cut out or peeks through the sleeves or neckline.

JACKET WITH FLORAL PRINT

While you can wear the Stella McCartney Jacket or Coat with whatever you would like, the pictures above are styled with other Stella McCartney floral print bottoms. The Coat is paired with the Stella McCartney Floral Print Shorts and the Jacket is paired with the Floral Print Mini Skirt. While not a necessity to wear the pairings together, I really do like them that way.

FLORAL PRINT SHORTS

FLORAL PRINT MINI SKIRT

There are so many other great Stella McCartney floral print articles of clothing including dresses, shirts, and tank tops. Make sure to check back often to find out more about the other Stella McCartney items. For more information about the above jacket, coat, shorts, and skirt just click on the links or the pictures.

With temperatures going up, it is time to rearrange your closet and put those long sleeve heavy dresses away for the next 6 or so months. While I am sure that you have some great clothing that you have rediscovered hiding in the back of the closet to wear again, I am also quite sure that you will want to buy a few new items, specifically dresses to wear as soon as it warms up a bit.

When it is hot out, the thought of wearing anything with sleeves is unappealing and a strapless  dress can mean you will have to spend your time constantly pulling it up. A great solution for these problems is to wear a fun and flirty one shoulder dress. These type of dresses can range from a simple strap on one shoulder to a loose and flowing short sleeve single shoulder. There are so many great dresses ranging from casual everyday ones to more formal dresses appropriate for an evening event or party.

Yellow is a true summer color. It is bright and puts an instant smile on your face. It is also currently a must have nail polish color for spring and summer 2011. The Mara Hoffman Twist One Shoulder Dress is a light weight silk above the knee dress that is ruched at the bodice and has a twisted overlay from the center of the chest that goes over your left shoulder to the back of the dress.

Mara Hoffman Twist One Shoulder Dress

A big trend right now is floral prints and the ASOS Floral One Shoulder Dress is lightweight, airy, and whimsical. This dress is asymmetrical and has a dip hemline to the back of the dress. As you walk the dress billows.

ASOS Floral One Shoulder Asymmetric Dress

Another hit for spring and summer is anything colorblocked. The ASOS Pleated Color Block Dress is a bright pink and orange dress with vertical pleats and is a trapeze style dress. There are wide color block panels across the dress and a small single strap on the  right shoulder.

ASOS Pleated Color Block Trapeze Dress

Ruffles are so ladylike and feminine. The Halston Heritage Ruffle Chiffon Cocktail Dress in Neptune Blue or Rose Gold Pink are light and airy dresses with tiers of ruffles and asymmetrical neckline.

Halston Heritage Ruffle Chiffon Cocktail Dress

A dress that can be worn both day and night is the camilla and marc Hillside Stripe Dress. I love that the stripes go in so many different directions. The skirt part of the dress is structured circle which makes it so unique. An elastic waist and draping at the shoulder make this figure flattering.

camilla and marc Hillside Striped Dress

No matter the occasion there is a great single shoulder dress perfect for any summer event you will be attending.

When I first heard that floral prints were going to be one of the top trends for Spring 2011 I can admit I was not too excited. To me floral prints remind me of my Laura Ashley Bedspread that I had growing up. My mom thought it was so pretty and girly while to me it made me feel less than happy. Finally when I got a bit older I was able to convince her that flowers were not my thing and I wanted nothing to do with them. I have rebelled against floral to this day. Don’t get me wrong, I do not hate flowers themselves, I just am more drawn to the more exotic flowers and less towards the standard roses, daisies, and lilies.  These standard flowers are what tend to be on much of the floral print clothes.

I decided though that I was going to have an open mind and not judge the new florals that Spring 2011 is to bring to us. As I saw pictures from the Spring 2011 runways I kept a close eye on the flower prints and I have to admit that I was pleasantly surprised about how fun and exciting the flower clothing looked.  The flowers of today are brighter, bolder ones that are nothing like that awful bedspread.

For more information or to buy click here

If you are like me and uneasy about flower prints, a good entry point for this look is with an accessory like a scarf. The Marc by Marc Jacobs Polly Jean Floral Jersey Scarf is a whimsical floral print what has flowers that are cartoon like. This scarf is bright and vivacious. You can pair this scarf with a simple pair of jeans and shirt as well as a casual solid print dress.  The best thing about this scarf is that you can wear it year round, not just in the spring.

For more information or to buy click here

The Charlotte Ronson Pleated Ruffle Dress is a great floral dress that was seen at the Sping 2011 Charlotte Ronson show. This sheer floral silk-chiffon dress is a feminine yet edgy dress since it is sheer. With a slip dress lining there is no fear of overexposure. The other great thing about this dress is that it comes with a belt so it adds shape to the dress and is not just a free flowing shapeless dress.

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The Milly Liz Floral Print Dress is a great dress for an afternoon wedding or any other event. The bold black and yellow flowers empire waist dress with spaghetti straps is feminine and complements your shape. The pattern is large enough to draw attention  yet subtle so that it does not scream ” look at me, not the bride” .

For more information or to buy click here

Tucker Yoke Blouse is a whimsical floral print shirt that has a bohemian feel to it. With natural colors this shirt  can be worn with almost anything. You can wear them with a pair of jeans or pants ranging in colors from blue to brown, to beige. The neutral palette shirt is sure to be a staple in your closet.

For more information or to buy click here

If you are still a bit hesitant to wear flower prints you can always stick to a bathing suit. A flower bathing suit is something that is not new but the way that Marc Jacobs interprets the flowers is what makes this so special. The Violet Garden Bandini by Marc Jacobs features flowers as well as bows at the hips and large bow at the top.

No matter your feelings about flowers I am sure you will be wearing some sort of floral print this season. These re-interpreted floral prints from the top designers are a must so break out of your comfort level a bit and take a chance. I am a flower convert and you will be too.