Summer style for grownups

Let's face it - while the weather is <sometimes> lovely, dressing appropriately for summer can be tricky <understatement> Spaghetti straps? Capri pants? Shorts? With these conundrums in mind, we asked Amanda Carr and Jane Kellock of The Women’s Room Blog to suggest a few bold investments that will update your look and keep you cool as the heatwaves hit <hopeful>.

Oh, summer dressing! For the last few seasons, summer fashion trends have been a nightmare for us grown up women. It’s either been about a mass exposure of flesh, (short shorts and cropped tops anyone?) which can make us very nervous, or we’re all supposed to dress like we’re spending all summer at a music festival, floating about in butterfly print, maxi-length sundresses in semi-transparent chiffon. If we get one more email here at The Women’s Room asking if we are "festival ready" things might get unpleasant.

Exposing as much skin as possible is fabulous if you are 25, in fact it should almost be compulsory. As the wonderful Nora Ephron so astutely said, if you’re young, "Go, right this minute, put on a bikini, and don't take it off until you're thirty-four."

The fashion industry has amnesia about anyone over 30, who perhaps might not want to emulate the look of Rihanna. Add to that the nightmare of menopausal hot flushes and issues over-exposing upper arms and wrinkly knees makes summer dressing a challenge, to say the least.

Linen dresses appear for sale in February when you’re battling snow (really, who tries on spaghetti straps in sub zero temperatures?) and by the time it does actually get hot, experience has taught us it probably won't last long. It all hardly seems worth the bother. Why not shuffle through in last year’s sundress or sit close to the fridge/buy a giant fan and hope no one sees us until it gets cold again?

Amazingly, if you look hard enough there is good stuff out there, some of it is even joyous to wear. While we don’t want to come over all sartorial-age-police on you, we can confidently say that the following tips will help...

Replace your nan cardie with a kimono jacket

While we LOVE a cardigan and a bit of nan-styling, for really hot days we suggest swapping it for a lightweight, stylish kimono jacket. In either bold florals or a chic geometric print, they look great worn over jeans or dresses. Kimonos are having a bit of a fashion moment this season so now is the time to invest. Anyone still suffering hot flushes will appreciate gently flapping those wide and aerated sleeves to create a satisfying breeze.

Anthropologie has lovely ones, and if you are quick, you’ll grab a sale bargain. We’d also suggest looking at the real thing in vintage sales, or try Fuji Kimono’s website.

Get yourself a pair of gorgeous shoes

Nothing updates your summer look quicker than a great pair of shoes, and this season flats are definitely bang-on trend. Rock up with a pair of metallic sandals or summer brogues and no one will notice anything above your ankles.

Metallic silver goes with everything, it’s almost the new neutral, so ditch the classic-but-a-wee-bit-dull tan option and modernize with something metallic. We love the Whistles Holly sandals which even have Velcro fastenings (the joy of Normcore!*) or for a smarter option the Boden Penny Loafer is super-chic.

We love Grenson, one of the coolest shoe brands on the planet, nothing will make your children/grandchildren sit up and take notice faster than if you invest in a pair of its white Rose brogues or Clara tassel flats. Be warned, they might get ‘borrowed’, so keep ‘em under lock and key.

Think like a European

Who knows if we’ll be Europeans for much longer, but whatever the political situation, in our opinion grown up Spanish, Italian and French women know how to dress with classic style in the heat and it mostly involves nicely ironed linen.

Whenever we visit the hotter bits of Europe we always marvel over the simple elegance of a linen or cotton shirt dress, beautifully accessorised with pearls and a great tote handbag. Of course tanned skin does help nail the "cool in the heat" look.

COS is our we-just-happened-to-be-wandering-past brand for good value modern classic styling. Take a look at the simple cotton shirt dress in indigo. Or try Winser of London’s great classic in cotton poplin, with a comforting hint of stretch. Arrivederci!

*current hot fashion trend which involves wearing "ordinary" clothes your dad would have been proud of, such as chinos, boring coloured sweatshirts and dull shoes. Nope, we don’t know why.

Let us know about your summer fashion dos and don'ts on the thread.