My dress from the latest Holly Willoughby edit for Marks & Spencer (and a trip to Bath)

How is your summer going?  My holiday to Turkey feels like ages ago now and I am busy helping my daughter get ready for starting university at the beginning of September.  One of our tasks was to get to know Bath a bit better - having only visited for open days - then her interview - we thought it was time to explore a bit more and help her get her bearings. 

So earlier this week we took the train from Reading to Bath Spa, we did a city walking tour around the main sites, we tried the buses, we went shopping, we bought some more essential items she needs for her course, we lunched, we laughed and generally had fun!  We stayed at a gorgeous Boutique Hotel, Grays and sat in bed and watched the Love Island final (yeah I know, don't judge me, actually I haven't watched the series but I did watch the final)!

Above: you might notice this photo was taken at Bristol which when travelling from Reading to Bath Spa you would not normally pass through!  However, signalling problems caused a delay and we had to go to Bristol and back to Bath Spa!  All good experience for my daughter for future train travel though.

When I pack to go away I try to keep to a simple colour palette, this time it was black and white with red, I check the weather forecast, and I always choose feet first to make sure I am comfortable if I am doing a lot of walking.  This trip I started with the new black and white cotton dress from the Holly Willoughby edit at Marks & Spencer, worn with white trainers and a pop of red.  

And this dress is so perfect.  It is a very light, very soft (sustainably sourced) cotton.  The skirt is lined.  It is a shirt dress with a very flattering waist and short sleeves.  It was ideal for a city break with temperatures in the mid-20's.  It looked fabulous with my white Vionic trainers but would look equally good dressed up with heels or espadrilles.  I think adding my Gucci belt would look fab too.  It is fast becoming the 'must-have dress of the season' and usually I avoid buying outfits that are too popular as I don't want to be seen at an event or restaurant in the same dress as someone else but this one won me over and I will take that risk!

The Printed Midi Shirt Dress in the current Holly Loves edit is still available online in all sizes, it is £49.50.  I wore it with my Vionic Keke trainers (now on sale) and my Aurora London Gigi cross body bag.

The weather forecast for our second day wasn't so great, so it was jeans, a summer knit and a pac-a-mac - although in the end we were lucky and mostly dodged the heavy rain!  My top is the Ivory Striped V-Neck Knit from Mint Velvet at £69.00 and my jeans are rebound denim from French Connection, bag details as before.

So light packing at it's best - two outfits, same colour palette so one handbag, one pair of trainers and a pac-a-mac!  Even I'm surprised I managed such a capsule wardrobe.  I also took red jeans and a top in case I needed a spare outfit!

I have a busy weekend coming up now, we have family arriving from Australia and Cornwall so I must go and get my spare room ready and make sure I have the right ingredients to bake a cake!

Happy weekend everyone.

Love
Michelle xx
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