Wimbledon

Pimms, strawberries and cream, and striped blazers, Wimbledon is officially here! I along with the rest of the nation catch Wimbledon fever at this time of the year, and took a trip to SW19 this weekend to see it live in action.

My chosen attire was smart casual with a blazer (with the sleeves turned up, of course), belted t-shirt dress, big sunglasses, gladiators and oversized shoulder bag. Preppy chic was, as to be expected, in full force at Wimbledon with fedoras, panamas, chinos, loafers and blazers leading the way. However rather than looking dated and elitist the look was undeniably cool. Think preppy with a twist: Russell & Bromley's tassled loafers, pegleg chinos, cropped fitted blazers and Gucci-inspired fedoras.

Top 10 Festival Must-Haves

It is that time of year, Glastonbury is finally here again! Sadly I won’t be there to join the festivities as I get my act together and purchase a ticket in time however I will be tuning in to all the coverage. I can’t wait to see Neil Young and my favourite Britpop boys Blur.

However I have compiled a top ten list of festival essentials for all of you going to Glasto or any other festival this summer:

1. Bright Nail Varnish preferable in bright orange or yellow. For the perfect shade of canary yellow try Nails Inc’s ‘Carnaby Street’ – easy to apply, chip resistant and the colour of the summer
2. Dry hair wash – the perfect solution to the non existent shower problem
3. Fedora – keep off the sun, rain and look effortlessly stylish in the meantime
4. Cut-off denim shorts – the epitome of festival chic
5. Over-sized sunglasses – the bigger the better, channel Jackie O, coloured frames are always a favourite
6. Jewellery – pile it on heavily for bohemian chic
7. Lip gloss – work bright pinks and reds
8. Wellies – a given for the British elements
9. Dry hand wash – essential for all festivals
10. Berocca – energy tablets to ensure you don’t miss a thing

What are your festival essentials?

Anna Lou Jewellery

Anna Lou is bringing its beautiful modern designs to the masses this month with the opening of its flagship jewellery and accessories shop in Soho.

These bold and striking designs have been seen on many fashion-forward celebs this season including Kate Moss and Lily Allen.

My favourite items are the eye-catching charm bracelets and pendent, see below, which I can’t wait to get my hands on. If you like this then also try the much-loved East London favourite Tatty Devine for unique and quirky designs.

Love for Little Boots

What began as lust for Little Boots is becoming true love. I can't get the catchy 'New in Town' out of my head, the video is fantastic with its gang of dancers and urban setting. Mostly I love her style; the smoky eyes, chic blonde up-do, backless cobalt sequin dress, statement necklace and topshop metallic sandals. Blackpool should be proud!

Chinos

Normally found on university rugby teams and bumbling Hugh Grant types, the chinos are making a comeback and are a firm favourite this summer. These classic trousers look fantastic for the daytime casual chic look, turn them up, and wear with gladiators for an effortlessly sophisticated style or add skyscraper heels for evening. There are many styles on the high street now from the classic preppy look at Gap (below) to the pegleg (second below) at Topshop; it’s also worth trying the menswear departments for wider choice and an on-trend androgynous look.

Queen Sophia of Spain Flies Ryanair

This is quite possibly my favourite story of the year: HRH Queen Sophia of Spain flies on low-cost airline Ryanair from Santander to London on a £13 flight. She has now been crowned my favourite Royal, muchos respect.

Style of the Summer: The Fedora

My favourite accessory this summer is the fedora hat. It is effortlessly cool, can be worn with a multitude of casual chic outfits and is a godsend on bad hair days. It is regularly sported by such trend setters as Nicole Richie, Keira Knightly, Sienna Miller, Mischa Barton and Kate Moss.

The fedora is the must-have shape for the summer hat and it is not just for this season either, this style is completely timeless. It wins hands-down in the style stakes against other summer hats, such as the indie trilby, cowboy hat favoured by Britney et al, and the WAGs personal favourite, the baseball cap. Gucci have a beautiful fedora in their S/S 09 collection, as seen in their ad campaigns and on the catwalk (below), and TopShop also have a great selection of more affordable versions.

Milk

After hearing such rave reviews for ‘Milk’, I decided to rent it out last night, and it did not disappoint. Set in 1970s San Francisco, Sean Penn gives a fantastic performance playing gay rights activist Harvey Milk, and certainly deserved the best actor Oscar. James Franco plays Milk’s boyfriend Scottie and looked gorgeous throughout in his 70s ensemble, who knew flares could look so good!

Current Crush: Breton T-Shirt

The Breton T-Shirt, brought to us by Coco Chanel, is the key piece in this seasons wardrobe, and every woman should own one; I for one have been wearing mine to death. It works well with cropped jeans, this seasons short shorts, fitted blazers, denim jackets...the list is endless. It is also a favourite of the fashion crowd who want to achieve the casual chic look that the Parisians do so well.

Love or Hate: IT Sunglasses

The death of the IT bag has allowed room for the rise of the IT sunglasses in recent years. IT sunglasses are worn by such high-profile fashionistas from Kate Moss to Chloë Sevigny, and Mischa Barton to Diane Kruger.

We have seen various trends over the past few years including the aviator, bug-eye, Prada butterfly, Ray-Ban wayfarer, and this summer sees the emergence of the latest style to be seen in, the 50s retro style Ray-Ban Clubmaster.

The Clubmaster has already had celebrity approval from Diane Kruger, Mischa Barton, Lindsay Lohan, Ferne Cotton, Kirsten Dunst and Beyoncé to name but a few, they have taken over the Wayfarer as the style of the season.

Are IT sunglasses a trend worth buying in to? In a word, no. They do not have longevity as each season has a new style to buy into, and no one would want to be seen dead in last summer’s coloured wayfarers, would they? At least the IT bag had more staying power than one season; this is disposable fashion at its worst. My advice, choose a style which isn’t all over every fashion page to guarantee staying power.