How do you dress for summer when you’re conscious of well, everything? We’ve had a reader request from Hannah to see if we can put together a capsule wardrobe of lovely summer pieces that can make even the most body conscious lady feel a little more confident.

I’ve called on the team to help me with this after all we all have different hang ups and our own tips and tricks for feeling more self-assured. Let’s be clear here, this is not about covering up our so-called imperfections, it’s about giving a bit of a boost to body confidence which doesn’t half lift your mood.

A Summer Staple

Our first stop is dresses. From having issues with knees, ‘uncooked baguette like’ legs (we do see some funny things in ourselves don’t we!)  to short stumpy ones, a floaty dress is going to cover up a multitude of confidence woes. If you’re happier with your top half than you are your bottom, then why not show off those shoulders in a strappy maxi dress like this from Lipsy. It might be summer but black still works so well – think of all the ways you can accessorise it.

Upper Body Confidence

If you’re less confident about your upper body as well as your lower. Perhaps you don’t like your arms – Team Rock My are big fans of teaming the simple maxi dress with a loser fitting tee, tied losely at the lower waist or something like this knot linen top would be perfect. You can always roll the sleeves for to allow a little more flesh to be on show.

Cinch In The Waist

If you’re less into wearing a dress that doesn’t have any waist element to it there are a couple of styles out there that we love to help make more of your waist. We love a shirred, bardot dress and this spotty number from Next It’s going to sort out any upper arm woes and is a lovely flattering length for all heights leaving you feeling light and airy whilst being confident that you have a great silhouette. We’re also really into this floral number from ASOS – picture it teamed with a lovely tan leather belt to cinch in your waist and add shape. Another simple way of giving yourself more shape whilst being able to keep your legs covered somewhat is a midi length wrap dress. I really like the elongating stripes of this wrap dress from Zara. It would be perfect with a denim jacket which is another firm summer favourite of the team.

Another way to make the most of your waist line is to go for two pieces rather than one dress. A long line skirt (pleats are flattering and will add height) teamed with a cute tee or cami makes the perfect combo.

Flattering Shorts

One summer staple we haven’t touched on… The short. I know quite a few people who simply won’t wear them. I love a pair of demin shorts – they are so versatile and can go with everything. You’ll find me in them day or night. But the key… Size up. They can come up fairly tightly around the old thigh area, which largely we want in a pair of jeans but not so much in a pair of shorts. I really like the length of these from Fat Face. If you’re not keen on denim but still want something that is a decent length (why are so many shorts SO short!?) and a lovely fabric then these linen cotton blend ones from Boden are gorgeous.

On Your Feet

And finally just to touch on footwear. I have it on good authority that if you’re on the shorter side and conscious of short legs it’s best to probably avoid anything with a leg tie or a ankle strap that gives the appearance of cutting you off making legs appear shorter. For me, I’m quite tall and have big, long feet that I am always conscious of and I find that having a sandal with more straps or a wider strap is the way forward to tricking people into thinking they are much more dainty than they are. You can see some examples of these on my sliders post from last week.

I’ve put together this pin to round up the essentials for your body conscious summer wardrobe. I hope it’s helpful and please, as always, share what you wear to make you feel your very best in the summer months.

{PIN THE ESSENTIALS}


summer capsule wardrobe