Look at me, managing outside photos three times in a row! You can thank the lighter evenings, and the fact my camera really doesn’t like the peachy light in our flat. The only problem is our postage stamp of garden is ‘shared’ with the downstairs neighbours (in that we own some of it but their bedroom door opens out onto it…) so I never feel comfy going down there and setting up camp. Praise be, then, for the balcony. Mine, all mine! It’s just a shame we back onto the train station, and the platforms look out directly onto it! I apologise if you’re one of the people forced to watch me posing like a loon whilst balancing my camera on a dustbin, but there are outfit photos to be taken and shoes to be saved…

Primark dress & belt, New Look sandals

First up, and for the hottest day of the year – Monday – I called upon my tatty gladiator sandals and a bird print shirt dress bought from Primark (last year? Year before? I forget). The buttons on the dress are a nightmare so I’ve had to bring out the big guns – a few jumbo safety pins – to keep this looking tidy. The shoes were always on their last legs and finally gave up the ghost as I took them off that evening, so they’ve now gone in the bin (a good thing, given that you’re probably staring at the pic going “wow, cankles”). They will be replaced with something less gladiator-ish and more on the dressy flip-flop side of things. Maybe with jewels. Definitely with fewer straps around the ankle.

Red Herring dress, Vivienne Westwood for Melissa shoes

On Wednesday I put on my tech hat (I do this sometimes) to help host an event for The Windows Collection at Claridge’s. Little tip for you all – don’t wear a dress with a tight-fitting bodice when you’re being treated to five courses of Gordon Ramsay’s finest! The food was delicious, but by the end the waistband on this baby was definitely straining! Still, I love it and was glad to have a smart occasion to wear it. I should have taken photos of the back, which goes down into a deep V, but is cleverly designed to zip to just above a bra band, rather than below. I love deep plunging backs but I can’t get away with going bra-less, so this is a lovely compromise. I teamed it with yet another Shoeper Challenge save – my Vivienne Westwood Anglomania for Melissa Lady Dragon slingbacks, a bit of a predictable blogger fave, and also the only way I’ll ever wear rubber shoes*.

*Wellies notwithstanding.