How to wear your boyfriend shirt

MiH shirt, Whistles skirt, Bally bag, KG shoes

This week on The ICONS Update I shined the light on yet another "Unexpected Hero": the boyfriend shirt. Mind you, the boyfriend shirt doesn't actually have to be your other half's work shirt (although in some cases it does look pretty cool!), it's just a shirt style that is a little oversize in all the right places. Why it looks so cool? Because it gives your more feminine items a relaxed and effortless feel. Try it with your prettiest pencil skirt or with a printed trouser to see what I mean. Today, I am wearing it with my Whistles fringed skirt, instantly giving it a more day feel.

For more tips on how to wear a boyfriend shirt and my top 5 styles to buy now, check out this week's issue of The ICONS Update.

How to get dressed (stylishly) in 45 seconds

Other Stories dress, Accessorize bag, Chanel shoes

Beyond busy day today! Quickest way to get dressed when I have days like this: little black dress (mine still available here £55 from Other Stories) + flat sandals, but choose your prettiest ones you own so don't feel sloppy ;-) Hello Chanel!

LWD (Little White Dresses)

J.Crew dress, Gianvito Rossi sandals, Chloe bag

 Quick!! Now it's the time to bag your timeless investment buys!! When will you ever tire of a Little White Dress for instance? I bought this last season and love it even more today (in fact I kind of save it a bit because I'm so afraid of ruining it..). I've been doing some high street, designer and sales trawling and hopefully you will find some of them in your perfect size. (P.S the Topshop one is amazing for the price...)

Topshop  £65

Isabel Marant Étoile  Casey ruffled cotton-blend voile dress  £335 Now £234 Save 30%

Self-Portrait Macramé lace midi dress £320

SEA Trellis guipure lace-paneled crinkled-gauze dress £340

Needle and Thread Geo crocheted cotton-lace dress £200

Alice + Olivia Vinny embroidered cotton-poplin mini dress £195 Original price £390 50% off

The season update: the denim midi skirt

J.Crew top, Zara skirt, Gianvito Rossi sandals, Chloe bag

I even went as far as buying (and returning) the Chloe one (to my surprise, it actually looked quite cheap considering the astronomic price, but it does look amazing on my style crush Tash Seftone Chloe skirt £713), and then settled for this Zara version that I bought whislt out in Spain for my birthday.

Chloe SS15

I like to wear it with all my boho tops, but pair it with sexy heels or else I feel like I'm taking the trend a bit too literally. I just saw that Topshop does a great style and very similar to mine for only £30 Topshop £30. It's a great easy piece to wear in the day, you probably won;t love it forever but I reckon you will be pulling it out from the back of your cupboard cyclically in the years to come.

Topshop £30

Have you been in... Madewell recently?

Tassle scarf dress $158 from Madewell

A few weeks ago, in The ICONS Update, I sang the praises of Madewell, J.Crew's little sister and my latest obsession for affordable, quality essentials (you can visit my ICONS page here). If, like me, you have a thing for J.Crew you will also love Madewell, just think J.Crew but with a more casual vibe, a tighter edit and cheaper (yey!) prices. 

Just before the weekend I received my first order (delivery to the UK will be available from August, until then you can shop it from Net-a-Porter), and I've been so excited to try my new items. I actually ended up wearing what can only be described as a beach dress with my wedding shoes on my anniversary date (I just had to wear it straight away), and I haven taken off the woven flats and monochrome Antonello bag. 

Sandals $108 from Madeweel and cotton bag $520 from Antonello

There's lots for you to look at, so explore the website, the monogrammed bags and some of their fabulous guest brands. Here are some more of my favourite pieces... feeling lucky that a friend of mine is going to NYC because I'm ordering all, and for once, go GBP!!!

Off the shoulder maxi dress $158, fringed tote $78, and woven sandals $158 from Madewell.com

distressed denim shorts £75, Cotton T-shirts £25, Broederie playsuit £150

Cotton blouse £90 all from Net-a-porter

WIT mama Friday: a family break in Tuscany with Smith and Family

From time to time I stop for a moment and I realise that my family really needs a little bit of Laura TLC - I'm always so busy with work and life in general that making some time outside my normal routine to dedicate to my family is the only way forward. Sometimes it can be as little as an afternoon off to take Greta on a play date or booking a baby sitter for a dinner with my husband, but from time to time a weekend away from all distractions is the perfect solution. So last month I decided we were going to take a short break all together.

I had been looking for hotels that are 'family friendly', this because despite being a mum, I haven't forgotten how annoying children can be when you are not! Being a mum certainly makes you more tolerant, but I still like to respect people that don't have children, and therefore I like to opt for hotels that can accommodate a family with children and all of their 'quirkiness" ;-)

I was put in touch with Smith and Family, which is an extension of the renewed and trustworthy website Mr. and Mrs Smith that I always consult when I am looking for a special or small, boutique hotel around the world. "Smith and Family - a unique collection of child-friendly hotels and family self-catering properties that are as suited to children as they are to their parents. Curated by experts and personally visited and approved by parents, the hotels and houses selected are unique, stylish and thoughtful and are going the extra mile to ensure that family time is enjoyed by all." All of their hotels are anonymously reviewed "Smith and Family is a hand-picked, anonymously reviewed collection of the world's very best child-friendly hotels and family stays, every one of them selected and approved by parents we trust. We've appointed a trusty parent panel from our insider address book of stylish and travel-savvy parents" and I was one of them ;-) !

 

So about a month ago I looked through their selection, and decided to go back to my home country, to spend a long weekend away from it all, after which head to Florence to spend more time with my family. We chose to stay at a hotel called Monteverdi about 2hrs from Pisa airport and 1.5hrs from Florence. It's more of a 'borgo" than a hotel, with small and bigger rooms and houses scattered around the existing village. Despite having terrible weather we had such a lovely time... so relaxed and slow... just what we needed. 

 

They have an amazing garden, Greta loved exploring for hours and finding bugs, butterflies and smelling the rosemary bushes. I'm sure had the weather been better we would have spent our days by the pool, but the restaurant was so god we just spent our days at the restaurant, the wine bar and eating their incredible home made gelato and talking long baths and showers in our incredible bathroom. Here are some photos that will do most of the talking...

There's quite a lot of benefits from booking through Smith and Family - I never read the small print so I wouldn't have been aware of it, but if you have a family and know how much planning it takes to move your family from one place to the other, some of these benefits will definitely speak to you!

Hand-picked hotels

•  parent-approved, member-reviewed and regularly reassessed hotels, personally visited by the Smith & Family team

Best rates guaranteed

• All our hotels guarantee the best rates available for your dates
• If you find it cheaper anywhere else, we’ll match the price and give you a £50 voucher too –

Free membership

• Free membership to our BlackSmith travel club, entitling you to year-round exclusive discounts of up to 50%
• Free extras at any hotel booked through Smith, including bottles of champagne and spa treatments
• Paid memberships come with a percentage of every booking paid into your loyalty account (3% for SilverSmith members, 5% for GoldSmith)

Ever-ready travel service

• A 24-hour expert Travel Team, and no booking fees, whether you book online or by phone
• Nothing is left to chance: need help? Just give us a call.

Things to invest in the sales part 1: the Dolce Gabbana LBD

Dolce dress, Anya Hindmarch clutch, Gucci shoes

Yes, worth saving up for or, like me, going to the outlets to buy one! I've wanted a Dolce and Gabbana signature LBD for a long time and back at Christmas when I was in Italy I made a trip to the outlet just outside Florence and was so lucky to find a style i loved and in my size. It's not a given that you will find one, I had been going for years and never found one at the right price or style, but perseverance payed off.

 

Today it's also the first day of the matchesfashion.com sale, so worth keeping a close look at selection of Dolce pieces going on sale in the n few weeks. I saw a similar one to mine on The Outnet (click o the link) this morning at 50% too - a really classic shape that will always be 'in'. And don't forget to go in store as well - perhaps wait to the end of the sales, as I was in there for a client last year around that time and they still had load of LBD's.

There's no point in saying why it's so eternally useful - to me it's the LBD. I love the figure hugging style, it's incredibly constructed inside and outside to fit your body like a glove (mine has a slip inside that literally suck you in). It's actually one of those dresses that look better on curvier shapes, as it really embraces a woman's curves, so don't be put off if you are not a  size 6 and stick thin!

Five of the best shirt dresses

After years not wearing shirts, (I'm quite busty and I didn't they think they suited me), I not only discovered the virtues of sports bras that help minimize your chest, but also that shirts can work even if you are not super boyish. The trick is buttoning them up all the way if they are a little fitted, and sizing-up + leaving them opened if you opt for a boyfriend style. This has opened up a whole new chapter of shopping purchases which also included shirt dresses (I avoided all together anything with buttons). I bought this J.W. Anderson dress a while ago but it's still available and to me it's the modern version of a work dress. I have lots of meeting today and when I want to look the part, this is what I reach out for. I pair it with black accessories and a trench over my shoulders for a laid back effect -  it would be a great buy for any working woman.

1. Liza Marie Fernandez £390

2. Iris and Ink £165

 3. J.W. Anderson sleveless shirtdress £465

4. Topshop dress £36

5. Carven £250

The making of The ICONS Update

Ahead of each week Petro and I are working hard at delivering the next issue of The ICONS Update into your inbox with a little bit of inspiration on how to update your everyday wardrobe staples. Unlike other websites and magazines who advise on "what's in fashion" (we love those too by the way!), when we thought about Wardrobe ICONS magazine we wanted to create something that shows you "what never goes out of fashion". So we have pages like "Style Sheet" that take one wardrobe staple like the white shirt or the grey sweater and give you 4 easy ideas on how to wear it right now with items your already own - because let's face it, fashion is constantly evolving and even though a  white short will always be "in", the way you wear it this season is not going to be the same way you wear it next season. We thought we would group these on Pinterest so you can easily access them (or even print them and stick them in your wardrobe). We like to take a peek inside the wardrobes of our fashion crushes and have had the times of our lives at the homes of fashion fabulous Kim Hersov, The Fashion Guitar, Candice Lake and and our very own Deborah Brett.

At the NYC apartment of The Fashion Guitar

At the London home of Candice Lake

We also  have shopping pages like "Our Obsession" and  with a tight, quality edit of our favourite investment buys. We have bigger, meatier features like "The Experts" which is an interview with woman in the fashion industry who's style we admire - we've had the pleasure of talking to incredible icons such as Jenna Lyons, streetstyle super stars like Caroline Issa and Yasmin Sewell and fashion insiders with power jobs like UK Vogue's Kate Phelan. You can find all of our cover stars in our ICONS Update archive here.

We like to cover every aspect of our lives so we've had "The Work" issue woman issue, "The Mother's Day" issue, investment issues (remember our shopping trip to Chanel or my feature on how to by a designer bag in Louis Vuitton), but also High Street issues and trend reports with lots of affordable ways to buy into designer looks.

Last week we looked at all things bridal and this week we are looking at what to wear to weddings now. Buying something new is not always possible, so Petro and I decided to follow Jenna Lyons advice and choose some outfits that felt more like "us" and looking into our wardrobes for four outfit ideas that you can also reproduce. We shot the feature in my back garden and had such fun! See the full result here. I also looked for the perfect shoe for every type of wedding (beach wedding!??!) and Petro focused on ideas on how to dress your bridesmaids.

Plus, this week we are giving five readers the opportunity to win £100 to spend in Marks and Spencers. I have found some true gems in the past and the pink and red lace dress I'm wearing for an upcoming do is defintely one of them. The dress is so gorgeous it's sold out but will be available again on the 15th of July so ear mark it in your diaries!

We hope you are liking our Tuesday bite size magazine but welcome any feedback, so let us know what you think and to thank you for your time we will send the most helpful reader a little thank you present in the form of a little Tory Burch leather coin wallet. Just email me on laura@wardrobeicons.com with "Feedback" in your subject.

LF x

Scrapbook from Florence

Last week I took some time off to spend some quality time with my husband and Greta (more on that and my amazing Monteverdi stay on Friday), meet my brand new niece and chill out in my hometown of Florence with my family. Every time I go back there are a numbers of things I love to do: take Greta to the playground in the amazing park by my mother's house (Giardino dell' Orticultura), eat lots of ice cream (also Greta's favourite activity), go to the sea side in Forte dei Marmi for the day and of course, take a trip to the outlets. 

Collecting my lamps from Mr.Turchi's crazy shop in Impruneta

This time I also got some time to walk around the city center, and hit dome of my all time favourite shops like Il Papiro (for 'Grazie' hand cut cards) and Aquazzurra (I thought I would stand a chance to find my latest obsession - these red sandals...), as well as having some things made by local artisans that these days I can only get done in Florence where "lamp shade makers" still exist and electricians can turn a vase into a lamp. We also walked around the gardens at Forte Bel Vedere with the most spectacular view over Florence and spent a day at the seaside in Forte dei Marmi where I have the most wonderful childhood memories. I thought I would put together a photo scarp book of my favourite moments and secret addresses of must go-to places to visit if you happen to go to Florence.

My suitcase

I spent the first three days of our holiday with my husband and Greta on a family mini break at Monteverdi - but more of that on Friday for my WITmamaFriday post

Some fun in Monteverdi - or as Greta would say: "Silly mamma!"

The view from my mum's kitchen window always takes my breath away

At the Giardini dell' Orticultura by my mother's house. Greta love ride the lions!

The obligatory tour of the outlets - I went on a rainy day and there were hoards of Japanese tourists that had the same idea!

I loved this red sequin dress, but sadly it was too big and it was the last one

I ended up buying this raffia Prada hat though!

I headed to the Aquazzura shop on the Lungarno and tried these fabulous neon woven espadrilles

Il Papiro is one of my all time favourite shops that sells hand made cards. I always buy the new baby ones the 'Grazie" ones.

First outing of my Other Stories dress and Mango shoes for dinner with my friends

I bought these black espadrilles from a tiny shop in Via de' Ginori for 29euros - what a bargain. Here with my Isabel Marant earrings and Mango clutch.

My sister made me discover this fab kids shop called Baby Bottega - I am throwing a summer party for Greta in the garden and stocked up on all sorts of goodies (plus a few more non party related).

My favourite activity: cuddles with Virginia

At the amazing Forte bel Vedere (a must of you are sightseeing in Florence)

My favourite gelateria is Gelateria Ponte all Carraia but this one near home is also good - they geared up with disposable kids bibs too. So clever!

Day trip to Forte dei Marmi - my grandparents bought a house here in the 1940's and we've all been coming here all our lives. Sadly we sold the house a few years ago but we still come to the same "bagno".

Lunch on the beach. I was so happy!!

Showing off my new hat and my semi-new Valentino sunglasses

On the beach until dusk.. the Italian way!

Happy!

 For more photos of my Italy trip, take a look at my Instagram account here