This outfit is one way to wear the unstructured shirt dress ensemble, and I’ve been wearing it frequently in our glorious Spring weather. Usually I have to wait till July before I can sport the breezy combination, but our weather patterns are changing. This is our third beautiful Spring in a row and I am blossoming along with the flowers in the warmth and sunshine. 

Shirt dresses are my favourite style of dress, which is why Topshop’s utility midi dress piqued my interest. Despite my dark green eyes, olive is not a colour I’m drawn to. So I usually keep its presence in my wardrobe to no more than one piece. Historically, the colour is represented in the form of a Summer dress (I’ve had olive shirt dresses before). I ordered the Topshop frock to see if I liked it enough to earn a spot in my wardrobe. 

I instantly fell in love with its cut and midi length. It’s unstructured overall, yet fairly structured on the hip and bottom. The rounded edge of the hem adds further structure on the leg line. The side entry pockets are fun, and the sleeves are a good width. The shoulder fit well too. A crafty little stitch on the placket of the sleeves keeps them scrunched all day long. I decided that the colour was fab as long as I could wear it with a white support act: pearls, footwear and bag. The white does a very important job of brightening the olive, which makes me happy. My eyes are the same colour as the dress, which tends to ground the colour against my complexion. Colour challenge sorted.  

After a five year hiatus, I’m back to wearing chunky pearl necklaces so pairing them with the dress feels natural. Although the dress is casual and looks great with casual flat footwear, I couldn’t resist pairing it with dressy white ankle strap pumps. Their vibe works with the dressy pearls. I finished off the look with a structured white satchel. The combination of satchel and pumps adds even more structure to the outfit. That isn’t essential, but merely how I wanted to style the dress on the day. I normally wear my other three shirt dresses with casual flat footwear, so the heels feel fresh.

I also like layering my flared cropped jeans under the dress to create newer proportions. I’ve worn short shirt dresses over regular length skinnies forever, but the longer shirt dress paired with shorter flared cropped jeans makes for a different look. The same ankle strap shoes close the gap on the ankle to create a more continuous line on the leg. The dress and jeans combination is an acquired taste, and might not be your cup of tea. I do like it. It’s a great way to insulate my legs when things cool down at night, so quite a practical option too. 

A new gold watch, wedding ring and eyewear finish off the look. I’m wearing sunnies in the photo shoot because of the glare, but wore this exact combination (no jeans) with my regular apple green specs to work with a client. We went straight out to dinner that evening, so I swapped out the heels for white ankle strap flats and added a very light blue denim jacket to combat air conditioning. I was very comfortable and felt fab all day. I’m thrilled with my new frock and happy that the colour worked out after all.

A glaring wardrobe hole prompted me to look for comfy gold flats that weren’t too dressy. I eventually kept the Born Remys, which were $45 and quite the find. Super soft, cushioning and with a little arch support. They fit my low volume foot and narrow ankle perfectly. The creamy gold suede is lovely and quite subtle (nice bookending for blonde hair too). The lime green lining matches my specs and makes me happy. Unfortunately, almost all the sizes are sold out. I got lucky.  

As I was searching I found many other fab and comfy gold flats. The styles either didn’t work for my feet or weren’t quite the right vibe for my style. But they might work for you. Some of the styles come in an assortment of colours if the gold is not to your taste. All the styles with closed toes and heels fit an orthotic very comfortably (you might need to go up half a size though). 

• Frye Melanie Slip On: A well-made shoe that is well worth the praise and price. It looks neat and polished on the foot despite its casual integrity. Good for both high and low volume feet. Amazing in the mirrored silver too.
• Calvin Klein Celia: A super little smart casual loafer for low volume feet. Might work for some wider feet too, but not if you have bunions. Dapper. Pretty shade of pewter gold.
• Isolá Camillus: Pretty cut-out detailing that looks refined and elegant. The T-strap style is cut very wide and does not work for low volume feet. Best on high insteps and higher arches.
• Kenneth Cole Reaction Pro Time: Comfy, cushioning and interesting. I love how this style looks like a ballet shoe on the foot. Fun! Good on wider feet with narrower heels. Too wide for low volume feet.
• 'Nara' Flat Sandal (Women): Super soft and good on higher volume feet. The style looks mega casual but the broad straps give it modern oomph.
• Banana Republic Telly Lace-Up Sandal: The futuristic gladiator if ever there was one. Super soft, mirrored gold, and excellent on high volume feet.
• 'Lily Moon' Sandal: Although not entirely flat, the small wedge is very manageable. Best on low volume feet with long toes. Not good on wider feet with short toes because your toes won't peep through the peep-toe. Read the rave reviews.
• 'Crystal' Tassel Flat Sandal (Women): A delicate tasseled sandal for a foot that does NOT need a lot of support.
• 'Skipper' Perforated Leather Sneaker (Women): This sassy sneaker looks SO much better in the gold and on the foot than in the photo. Feels like you're walking on air. Sporty Luxe Fabness. An avant-garde style by Munro. Leave no retail stone unturned. Available in many widths.
• Stuart Weitzman Women's Schooldays Ballet Flat: A beautifully made loafer that's less yellow gold in person. Cushioning and supportive. VERY comfortable. The scalloped edges are quite soft. Works well on both low and higher volume feet. Comfortable for bunions.

Browse the collection page to see the items alongside my descriptions.

Jeans with raw hems on flared cropped silhouettes and culottes are a great, trendy way to refresh your denim capsule. But few are available in short lengths, and regular lengths can be too long for proportions that are just flattering enough. 

The good news is that you can keep the finish of the raw hem and shorten the length. Simply cut the jeans to the desired length yourself with a sharp pair of scissors and leave the hems unfinished. There is no need to hem the denim or sew in a seam above the raw edge. The hem will fray perfectly after a laundry cycle and look completely fine (just like the original raw hem). Feel free to cut off some of the longer threads as the hem frays over time. 

My white Current Elliot cropped straight leg jeans were just a little too long when I wear them with flat silver oxfords. (I am that pedantic about pant lengths and will split hairs over half an inch). So I boldly, but carefully, hacked off a little less than an inch to see what would happen. The length was perfect and the hems looked great too. These relaxed fit flared crops have become a wardrobe workhorse and I wear them all the time. That means I launder them frequently, and the new length raw hems handle themselves beautifully after each wash. Take a pair of scissors to denim ladies, and sort out those pesky pant lengths.

The denim on denim trend — or “double denim” — means wearing two or more items of denim in one outfit. In other words, you’ll pair bottoms like jeans, a denim skirt, shorts or culottes with tops like a denim shirt, jacket, vest, tunic or chambray blouse. Or you’ll wear a denim dress or denim jumpsuit. 

Double denim has been trending for many seasons. The vibe is often thought of as overly masculine, stiff, too cowboy, or just too much of a good thing. Personally, I like the look of double denim when the outfit is pulled together in a certain way. These street style shots provide great examples of the vibe:

• Flouncy Fabness
• Mismatched denim and bare shoulders
• Lots of skin
• Magically Matchy-Matchy
• Statement white jeans with a dressy bag and shoes
• Fringed Fabness
• With Statement bling
• Skin and heels
• Pastel Denim
• With black jeans
• Snug fit and pretty support act
• Bling
• Column of Denim
• Another Column of Denim
• Skin, polish and glam support act

Based on these visuals it’s clear that adding a glam integrity to double denim is a fun way to wear the look. It makes the outfit less masculine, more alluring, more girly, and a lot softer. Here are seven effective styling strategies. Feel free to combine several of the tips in a single double denim outfit. 

1. Combine Two Denim Washes or Colours

Pair a denim blue top and bottom in different blue washes. Or pair blue denim with white or black denim. Pairing white or black jeans with a blue denim shirt, jacket or tunic is a popular rendition. 

2. Wear a Chambray Top

Chambray is a softer and a “denim-lite” way to wear denim on top. Think of a chambray top in all sorts of silhouettes, and not just a shirt. 

3. Add Feminine Footwear

Heels, pointy toes, ankle straps, pumps, cage heels, strappy sandals and any other shoe style that’s NOT Tomboy. Metallic footwear creates a nice juxtaposition with double denim because it’s neutral, glitzy and bright. 

4. Expose Some Skin

Unbutton the front of a denim shirt a little lower and showcase a lace camisole, or a bit of lacy bra if you dare. Scrunch long sleeves to bare forearm skin. Combine a sleeveless top with a vest. Wear a denim mini skirt, or a longer skirt with a high slit. Or showcase shoulders with an off-the-shoulder top. 

5. Add Bling & Polish

Add shiny jewellery to create a textural layer against the denim. Add a dressy and structured bag. Fingernail polish, toenail polish, and make-up adds that next layer of glam to the outfit. 

6. Wear Tailored Fit Jeans 

Wearing snug jeans increases the alluring-factor of the outfit, and offsets the fluid fit of the top. Although fashionable, combining baggy boyfriend jeans with a roomy denim boyfriend shirt or denim jacket and chunky flat oxfords does not have the same girly and glam effect. 

7. Create a Column of Colour 

Layer jackets or vests over a column of colour to break up the expanse of blue denim. Toppers can be fitted, fluid or oversized. You can even add a denim jacket in a contrasting wash to the column of shirt and jeans.

I’m back to loving double denim. I wear blue denim dresses. I wear blue denim tunics with fitted cropped white jeans. I wear a blue denim shirt (or jacket) with fitted cropped white jeans, and have also worn them with fitted cropped blue jeans and a snug blue denim skirt. I now make a point of adding heels, a structured bag and pearls to the outfit to glam things up. 

Over to you. Do you wear double denim?