So here comes a very simple post. Three dresses by three amazing designers with one common theme – the extremely feminine, pretty Spring dress. Yes they are a little saccharine, especially if like me, you usually err towards a bit of tomboy chic. But in January, we all need a little bit of sugar and spice and all things nice.

1. Spring freshness in a dress, from Valentino. Note the cute, printed shoes.

Valentino Spring/Summer couture (image from stylist.co.uk)

2. Pure and white, from Elie Saab

Elie Saab Spring/Summer Couture (image from stylist.co.uk)

3. Preppy checks from Dior

Dior Spring/Summer Couture (image from stylist.co.uk)

What to wear to class was obviously a dilemma. The last time I went to ballet, I was still part of  a world where wearing a leotard and pale pink tights felt completely normal. Fast forward into my late twenties and that look is not really a goer.

Pre-class, I had visions of resembling a mismatched elephant amongst a sea of lithe, elegant ballerinas, all in perfectly co-ordinated ensembles and wrap cardis.

Thankfully, my class had a reassuringly diverse range of both bodies and attire. From prim looking girls complete with leotards and a neat bun, to a super-cool punk chick with half-shaved head and black fish nets, to hipster types with christmas knit patterned hot pants (yes really). There be inspired by and come next class, I feel I can venture away from my conservative black leggings and t-shirt combo.

Fortunately, with the olympics coming up, sporty clothing is having a major comeback so there is an abundance of stylish options out there. You know it’s a bona fide trend when even Victoria Beckham – she of the uber-feminine silhouette – showcases a decidedly sporty looking collection.

Victoria Beckham's sporty S/S 2012 collection (image from Telegraph.co.uk)

Here are a few ideas, not just for aspiring ballerinas.

Let’s go from head to (pointed) toe.

1. A cute headband to keep those flyaway hairs at bay when pirouetting or running or headstanding. I like the simplicity of this one from Sweaty Betty. 

2. A comforting warm-up top.

This grey marl number from Wellicious is lovely enough to double up as weekend casual wear. Wellicious products are not only super-soft but they are also fair trade and ethical, with a percentage of profits going to charity. So you can do good whilst staying cosy!

Wellicious cover up

Also from Wellicious, this more ballet-inspired wrap top is very feminine and just the right amount of stretchy.

Wellicious wrap

3. A leotard.

Not for the faint hearted and I’m definitely not going here yet, but my yoga teacher has this leotard. The detail on the back looks really cool, particularly when you have a yoga-toned back.

Leotard from Dance Direct

4. Leggings

You can have a lot of fun with leggings and plenty of great patterned varieities exist on the high street. Frame studio in Shoreditch where I do yoga is THE place to spot funky legging wearers.  I like this pair from Sweaty Betty – they’re fun but not too out there.

Leggings from Sweaty Betty

Right, I’m off to stretch my aching limbs.

She’s manages to pull of a boyish yet still girlish charm (if that makes any sense). I’d say The Crush began circa 2006 when she rocked an amazing yellow Vera Wang at the Oscars. A few fave looks, covering off duty daywear to some red carpet glamour.

1. Off duty – boyish parka, cute girly skirt. nice boots. I wish I looked like this at the weekend.

Michelle Williams off duty (image from popsugar)

2. In a cute Chloe dress. Love the beaded bib.

Michelle Williams in Chloe

3. Simple, graphic stripes that are a refreshingly preppy alternative to the usual red carpet sparkle.

Michelle Williams (image from fabsugar.com)

So although this is officially not an Elle Tea Christmas gift lift, it does happen to be a selection of things that I’m sure would make anyone special in your life very happy. Enjoy.

Nice things for boys

1. A pocket square

These geometric Turnbull & Asser ones make a rather traditional accessory feel modern.

Turbull & Asser pocket square

2. Driving gloves

So they can channel Ryan Gosling. Never a bad thing.  Dents deerskin leather ones are a classic choice.

Leather driving gloves

3.  A Herschels backpack

Beautifully crafted whilst being practical, Herschels range of backpacks have just the right balance between style and outdoor ruggedness to make them very man friendly. My extremely fussy brother even has one and is rarely seen without it.

Herschels backpack

Nice things for girls

1.  A beautiful, silk robe

You can’t really go wrong with a pretty printed silk robe. This antique bird printed one from Beautiful Bottoms  (lots of gorgeous stuff here by the way) is subtle and lovely.

Silk Robe (from beautifulbottoms.co.uk)

2. Jewellery from Made

Not only is all the jewellery from Made fair trade but it is also very stylish and very fairly priced. Recent designer collaborations with the likes of Laura Bailey and Alexa Chung have upped their fashion credentials. A perfect gift for ethically minded fashionistas. I like these Matawi earrings.

Made earrings

3. A Liberty scarf

If the boys get pocket squares, then the girls are entitled to an equally desirable patch of silky loveliness. You can’t go wrong with a Liberty scarf and this Carnation berry print has all the promise of spring. It would brighten up any wintery ensemble.

Liberty silk scarf

1. Knitwear

Jumpers are having a bit of a fashion moment this autumn so there’s plenty of choice out there (see The Guardian for  a few nice ones)  - from luxury cashmere, to quirky prints, to the polo neck which is making a comeback. I love getting a new jumper to signal the start of the cold seasons.

My jumper of choice this autumn was discovered in a little vintage shop in Stoke Newington. It’s by a small label called LauraLaura (how fitting) that takes vintage jumpers and transforms them into new, unique creations using hand embroidery. I snapped up a lovely camel-coloured jumper embroidered the slogan “good as gold” but I also really liked this alphabet cardigan.

LauraLaura knitwear

The other really sweet thing LauraLaura do is make Peter Pan collars from recycled wool. I’m a huge fan of this type of collar and the LauraLaura ones are some of the cutest I’ve seen.

LauraLaura collar

2. Anything with cinnamon

This weekend, I can’t get enough of the stuff. Homemade apple and cinnamon muffins (see recipe below), roasted butternut squash and cinnamon, a milky hot drink with cinnamon, the list goes on. It is the archetypal autumnal flavour – warm, comforting, versatile. I’ve gone through a jar of it already this month. Yum.

3. Wellies

Strictly for walking through leaves of course. I recently stayed at a gorgeous little hotel in the New Forest (The Pig) which provided an array of Hunters for guests to borrow, meaning that everyone could mulch through the forest floor carefree.  Such a brilliant idea.

Hunter wellies for guests at The Pig

Apple & Cinnamon muffins recipe (from BBC good food)

• 400g plain flour
• 4 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp mixed spice
• 125g caster sugar
• 1 egg
• 4 tsp sunflower oil
• 350ml milk
• 2 cooking apples, peeled, cored and chopped

Apparently I have a ‘difficult’ face for specs – it’s too wide (don’t laugh) and my nose isn’t an ideal shape for keeping glasses from slipping down and making me look like a stern librarian.

Anyway, thanks to the patience of my dear friends/advisors, I have finally found a pair that not only fit (they’re extra, extra wide) but are also stylish enough for me to not feel too frumpy when I’m wearing them. Here they are in all their glory:

My new glasses!

As a result of this fairly extensive mission, I feel like I’ve tried on every pair of glasses in London and therefore am now a bit of a specs expert. Call me up if you ever need to go glasses shopping – I’ve got all the lingo and know all the brands!

One very cool thing I came across on my hunt, were ethical glasses companies which operate a “buy a pair, give a pair” policy. For every designer pair they sell, they give a pair to someone in the developing world.

As someone who literally can’t make their way safely downstairs without their specs, the thought of providing sight to someone who could otherwise not afford it, is just fantastic.

Warby Parker is a very successful American company that does just this. Their glasses are both trendy and reasonably priced as they “cut out the middleman” and design their own styles. I love the Tenley design below.

Warby Parker - Tenley glasses

Jimmy Fairly is the French equivalent of Warby Parker. They donate a pair of glasses to charitable organisations in Guinea and the Himalayas whenever someone buys a pair online.

I particularly like the user interface on the Jimmy Fairly site, with the sweet little icons for different face shapes and styles.

Jimmy Fairly

They’ve also got some mega stylish sunglasses which I might have to go back to next Spring.

Here are a few favourites:

1. Haider Ackerman

A less well-known name but after this show, he can’t be a fashion secret much longer. I loved the combinations of jewel-toned feminine silks with masculine styling and structure.

Haider Ackerman Spring/Summer 12 (image from gorunway.com)

Haider Ackerman Spring/Summer 12 (image from gorunway.com)

2. Alexander McQueen

Sarah Burton continues to amaze. I don’t think anyone else handles lace in the way that she does, constantly finding new ways to use it – whether it’s a royal wedding dress or a stunningly gothic evening gown.

Alexander McQueen Spring/Summer 12 (image from vogue.co.uk)

3. Burberry

Christopher Bailey obviously understands that summer in this country still requires jumpers, scarves and perhaps even a bobble hat. The Burberry show was one that very much felt like it could work just as well right now, rustling through the Autumn leaves, as it would on a Spring day next year.

Burberry Spring/Summer 12 (image from vogue.co.uk)

4. Temperley

You couldn’t really ignore the Temperley show this year, and not just because of the huge press interest resulting from a certain Middleton sister making an appearance.

The clothes were truly stunning, and the styling was elegant and super glamorous.

Temperley London Spring/Summer 12 (image from gorunway.com)

5. Celine

The Celine show doesn’t really fit with my wintery theme but I couldn’t possibly leave it out as once again, Phoebe Philo proved she is a master of subtle yet completely desirable clothing.  The lack of colour only serves to heighten the skilful and creative tailoring.

Celine Spring/Summer 12 (image from vogue.co.uk)

This means it’s time to get back into the black tights and start digging out the winter knits and coats. I love Autumn time fashion – it’s so much more interesting than summer dresses and nothing beats a soft, cashmere jumper teamed with a favourite scarf and kick-about boots.

In the spirit of getting cosy, I went to the Wool Modern exhibition yesterday. Just as I entered the building, there was a huge downpour of distinctly Autumnal rain – the perfect backdrop for browsing some gorgeous woollen creations.

It’s only a small exhibition but the pieces on display are perfectly formed. The exhibition is part of the Campaign For Wool, spearheaded by the Prince of Wales to highlight the importance of wool and to try to reverse the decline in the number of wool farmers. This is occurring due to factors such as an overall decline in sheep in wool-producing countries and falling prices for wool.

The idea of Wool Modern is to show just how versatile wool is as a fabric, and to inspire the next generation of talent to embrace wool in their own work.

My favourites included:

A dramatic, printed coat by Erdem, called the Savannah (excuse the terrible i-phone picture but hopefully you get the idea).

Erdem Savannah Coat

A beautiful Alexander McQueen evening dress, embellished with gold and inspired by military uniform.

Alexander McQueen evening dress

And finally a woollen and leather jacket, with over-the-elbow gloves, by Rick Owens.

Rick Owens jacket

The exhibition continues until 29th Sept and is at La Galleria, Pall Mall.

I intended to pop in to stock up on the basics they do so well – white t-shirts, skinny cropped trousers, super-soft cardis – but I got distracted by the riot of colour and went off brief.

I’m not usually one for wearing bright colours. My clothes tend to come in tones with harmless sounding names such as blush, ivory and, on braver days, soft coral. But in J.Crew, I found myself purchasing two items – the pencil skirt shown below and a lovely jumper – in a colour described as ‘vibrant flame’. Despite my initial terror at such a bold and brash sounding name, I’m enjoying the foray into a world of real colour.

J Crew Pencil Skirt

So far, the move has been well-received as a welcome change from my neutral tones, although my mother (Elle Tea’s sometime style advisor) is yet to be convinced. She knows my natural homeland is a gentler palette but for now, I’m enjoying the little fling with bright colour.

She will be pleased to hear I’m not intending to take the step of wearing head-to-toe ‘vibrant flame’. Although it does look fantastic in the picture below.

J Crew all-red ensemble

Note that J.Crew has literally just opened an online UK store  so the opportunities to indulge in preppy bright colours are endless!

So, if there’s one thing I buy this autumn, it has to be something completely justified and totally versatile. Right now, I’m thinking it has to be a midi –  they were my favourite feature of the A/W 11 shows and are now starting to appear in store.

Clements Ribeiro patterned midi (image from vogue.co.uk)

A few things to consider before I take the plunge…

Do I go for a midi skirt (more versatile but could require another new item to go with it which does not work with my space issue) or a midi dress ? Patterned or Plain? Voluminous or structured? Splash out as it’s my one autumn treat, or scrimp as it’s possibly a one season wonder? And am I prepared to wear heels more often as the midi could quickly descend into frump territory with flats?

Hmm, this restrictive one-piece-only regime does make decision-making a little difficult!

I’ll keep you posted on the outcome but for now, enjoy looking at a few of my favourite designer midis from Jonathan Saunders and Clements Ribeiro.

Jonathan Saunders' structured midi (image from gorunway)

Clements Ribeiro bubble midi (image from vogue.co.uk)