Since moving out of London I’ve become entirely dependent on Instagram to see what women in the world’s coolest fashion capital are wearing right now. I didn’t realise quite how important my organic street style-spotting opportunities were when our work lives were normal and I spent a great portion of my week trekking around town for meetings, events and press appointments—just by some sort of magical, natural osmosis, I was absorbing the style beat of the city and intuitively gaining insight into what women were wearing in real-time. It has always fed into my editorial work, and lockdown has made it infintely harder to be truly in touch with genuine trends rather than social media-led frenzies.
Fortunately for me the medium of IG, and London-based women who document the outfits they actually step out of the house in, is filling the large void. That and the fact that we’ve already set our social media and fashion editor, Zoe Anastasiou, out on the hunt for street style looks IRL around some of east London’s hippest post-codes. So what’s proving to be popular for summer 2021? A finely tuned mix of classics and pieces made for peacocking—a standard London ratio of laid back: loud, then. Keep scrolling to see the trends you can buy on a lean budget that have a big seal of approval from the London set.
Lisa’s Valentino shirt is uber-luxe, we know, but there are bright shirts proliferating the high street right now.
Rental fashion business founder, Georgie of Rotaro, taps into the vibrant colour combination with hired pieces—a more affordable and environmentally sound method.
We can always rely on Fisayo to bring us a bold look—try pairing pink shoes with a green dress and wait for the compliments to roll in.
Florals are great and still a top choice, but we’ve noticed a sharp rise in gingham dresses. Cat’s, like many others’ in this trend group, is from a new slow-fashion brand called Molby who make them to order.
Both Cat (above) and Alice and Hannah from Belle & Bunty have chosen to go for the gingham dress + sneakers route. That casual-to-cute formula just works.
You can also ground these sweet frocks via chunky sandals, like Nicole here.
Ask any British girl right now what her most relied-upon item is and aside from comfy shoes we reckon it’d be a vest. They. Are. Everywhere.
Lizzy’s cream-and-white minimalist look of a vest and loose-fitting trousers is one we’ve seen repeated the world over, and it suits so many people.
Danielle knows it: Ribbed jerseys are the best choice, every time.
Okay, Bianca, we are not worthy! This Sleeper set was rented from By Rotation and is worth every penny for your re-entry wardrobe.
Retro prints and co-ords go together like strawberries and cream. London girls are keen on this LOVE set from House of Sunny.
Iman’s floral shirt and trousers from Zara has inspired us all to be a bit more out-there this season.
So yes, Joanne’s breton is a more expensive option from La Ligne, but trust me when I say the trend has totally filtered onto the high street and into vintage stores.
Although the sportier half-zip sweaters have given new life to the staple piece, a neat little Breton tee will never do you wrong.
Francesca managed to nab the Arket one of dreams before it sold out.
Next up, the autumn/winter 2021 trends we’re excited about.
