What to wear

English summer time has finally arrived, and with it the eternal dilemma of what to wear to keep cool in the office while staying smart enough for meetings. Luckily, this season’s tailored trends are widely wearable for both work and play.

Eighties style has made a spectacular comeback in the past year, so it’s no surprise that this season it’s all about the shoulder pad. Luckily, big shoulders go hand in hand with sharp suits, so this trend will be easier than ever to work in the office.

The label responsible for putting the shoulder pad back on the fashion map is French fashion house Balmain.  Their spring/summer 09 catwalk show featured eighties tailoring in a new and exciting way, mixing beautifully angular shouldered jackets with casual dresses and jeans. Take your cue from Balmain this summer and relax your style by wearing a floaty summer dress with your tailored jacket. Slightly smarter, try pairing your blazer with mismatched trousers – although jeans won’t work in the office, simple straight leg, peg or cropped trousers will.

If you can’t afford to invest in a new blazer simply pop into any haberdashery – John Lewis and all other major department stores will have one – and pick up a pair of shoulder pads, as big as you dare. Just sew them into an old suit jacket and hey presto – a brand new hip summer workwear staple and a taste of the eighties in the noughties.

Brighten up your day

The summer months mean bright colours and as the weather really begins to warm up, so will your wardrobe. Raspberry and tangerine are big news, as seen in collections from newcomer Alexander Wang and Matthew Williamson. Both showed how to model these eye-catching colours with class as they styled daring shades of pink and orange with nude and white.

Mixing your colours with neutrals, à la Williamson, makes them much more suitable for the workplace – zingy colours can often look a little overwhelming in a business environment. Grey, nude and white are great bases on which to layer your colour, so go for a suit or skirt in one of these shades and then pair with a bright top or shoes.

If you’re looking to invest in a new summer suit, LK Bennett have some great cream two-pieces, while Betty Jackson at Debenhams’ staple pale greys will make a great base for your colour. For colour on the high street, the best place to shop for seasonal brights is at trend-driven stores like Lipsy or New Look or online at ASOS.com or mywardrobe.com. Lipsy’s bright tunic dresses will look great over leggings or tailored trousers at work.

Louis Vuitton kicked off this season’s tribal trend with a catwalk show laden with chunky bangles, feathered dresses and beaded sandals. Brimming with print and colour, this show seemed to encapsulate what the summer fashion season is all about – experimentation. In the winter months, when we’re all a few pounds heavier and feeling a little on the glum side, it’s all too easy to stick to boring black or dull navy. But in summer it’s a different story, as we can all get away with a little bit more flesh on show and a lot more colour and print.

Dip into the tribal trend by experimenting with prints. Safari style prints on kaftans and blouses make for uplifting day wear teamed with your tailored trousers and suits. House of Fraser has a fantastic array of cheap tribal-inspired kaftans in store now and Warehouse has dedicated a whole collection, called Desert Sands, to this trend.

If you’re on a budget, then just concentrate on tribal style accessories. Opt for chunky bangles in wood or those with stitching detail as at Louis Vuitton, where models wore stacks of bright bangles during the Paris show. Freedom at Topshop’s jewellery collections are always strongly trend inspired and with bangles starting at £18 a pop, they won’t break the bank. If you’re looking for something slightly more individual and authentic, then online jewellers Pebble London have pieces sourced from around the globe as well as one-off pieces.

If tribal isn’t your thing that doesn’t mean you can’t experiment with a summer print. Peter Pilloto has inspired much of the new wave of hi-tech prints and the design duo’s spring/summer 09 show featured kaleidoscopic print laden dresses. French Connection’s abstract print Pilotto-style dresses and tunics are smart enough for the office.

Prints charming

Marni’s catwalk show, on the other hand, concentrated on surrealist prints that looked as if they’d been plagiarised from a Miro canvas. Enfant terrible of fashion Alexander McQueen produced perhaps the most outlandish of prints, with awe inspiring and beautifully executed x-ray images of animal skeletons on dresses and skirts.

Although you may want to leave the skeleton prints to wear with jeans after hours (Topshop have some fantastic printed T-shirts inspired by McQueen’s collection) you won’t have to miss out on all prints during office hours. White Stuff’s high summer Marni-esque prints on shift dresses and blouses are more than smart enough for work. Wear at weekends with a denim jacket and canvas pumps and in the office with smart heels and a leather handbag.