This is a post dedicated to the wonderful summertime weather of England and more specifically of the north. For the past few weeks now I've been planning to shoot some lovely, rather summer focused outfits to get us all in the mood for some much needed sunshine. Each time I've set out to snap some photos the weather just hasn't been on my side and I've been faced with grey skies and down pours of rain which Manchester in particular is so famous for. Not one to be deterred too easily and refusing to let the dubious so called "summer weather" rain on my parade (quite literally) I decided I would shoot a look made for those drizzly summer days when your heart wants to embrace the summer season but the your head is telling you to be more practical. After shooting this look, true to form the unpredictable weather did a complete turn around on me once more and we've since been faced with wonderful sunshine and warm temperatures. I can't win and although I don't want to complain about glorious weather, I also can't help but ask "can't a girl just catch a break please?".

I guess the reason I decided to tell you this rather long winded story is because it so perfectly sums up how I feel about dressing for English summertime year in, year out. It's a complicated game of trying to predict the weather, trying to dress accordingly and quickly learning that outfit planning kinda has to go straight out the window. There are so many parts to British summer I absolutely adore and as I'm born and bred in Manchester I'd actually go as far as to say sometimes I actually even like the sporadic down pours! There's nothing quite like the smell of freshly mowed, damp grass or the smell of rain on warm pavements- for me it's nostalgic, it reminds me of home and it's in abundance in Manchester around summertime. I don't mind cool nights, muddy overcast festivals and to be faced with three very different types of weather all in one day. But I just wish British summer didn't come at the cost of being caught in a heavy downpour wearing my favourite sandals, a very NON-waterproof straw bag  or a tea dress which once wet leaves NOTHING to the imagination. 

The past few weeks has left me no option but to spend most days wearing the good old jeans and t-shirt combination, teamed with either a cardigan or sandals depending on that day's forecast. It's boring, it leaves me uninspired but it's logical and I'll be damned if I spend yet another day with soggy feet and numb toes. I recently invested in a classic beige trench coat and its been my saviour. Along with complain about the weather, the classic trench coat is quintessentially British and it's my personal believe everyone should invest in one- it goes with everything, it's timeless and it's Manchester weather proof. Whether I'm teaming it with my tiresome jean combo or over a midi skirt, it's an outfit which will forever look sleek, chic and well put together.  Ok so this outfit is hardly ground breaking, I completely get that. But it's what I've been wearing and it's exactly what you need for May showers and Manchester summers!

Sophia x