4 reasons why this is the perfect summer dress! A yellow dress from Marks and Spencer

A few weeks ago now, Chris and I had our first weekend away of the year in our VW Camper van. I packed lots of jumpers and warm clothes because spring really hadn’t kicked in yet. However, once we’d gone through Bodmin Moor in Cornwall, the sun shone, and I felt I needed a new summer dress. I popped in Marks and Spencer in Truro and spotted this gorgeous yellow dress….

I never thought I would buy into the yellow trend. I’ve never even considered purchasing anything of any shade of yellow until I saw this dress, and it’s almost certainly the only yellow item of clothing I’ve owned since I was about seven years old. I think that’s what attracted me to this dress; it brought back very vague memories of childhood – I can’t remember if it was me that owned a summer dress just like it, or my Mum, but one of us definitely had a peasant-style dress with fluted sleeves just like this one.

Along with the weather, and my yellow dress purchase, the other surprise of the weekend was seeing several stunningly beautiful daffodil fields. I don’t know about farming flowers, but I still don’t understand why the flowers hadn’t been picked to sell. Maybe it’s just for the bulbs for next year? Anyway, when we realised that my daffodil yellow dress matched perfectly, and we saw the opportunity to stop the camper next to one of these fields, an impromptu photo-shoot obviously ensued!

The other item I bought in Marks and Spencer was the straw hat. This was a spur of the moment purchase when Chris pointed out how useful hats are for Instagram photos! I honestly don’t purchase clothing just for the Instagram opportunities! I did actually need a straw hat – I have another one with a big floppy rim, and just the hint of a breeze blows it off my head so I never bother with wearing it. I loved the 1930’s or 1940’s feel this straw hat had, so I went ahead and bought it, and I’m very glad I did.

Shop the look:

We took so many photos that I loved, I’ve decided to put some of them in this slideshow, but scroll down for more photos we took the next day when we went to the beach…

The reasons why this Marks and Spencer yellow dress is so perfect for your wardrobe this summer: Firstly, it has short sleeves. I’ll be honest, I’m taking a leaf out of Louise Pentland’s book and worrying less about having my upper arms on show, but if it’s something that concerns you, then this dress is ideal. The sleeves aren’t even tight, so you’re not going to get sweaty armpits in it either!

2. It’s the right length. (For me anyway; I’m 5’6″.) For summer holiday travels, when I’m stepping off open top bus tours; climbing over stiles, stepping onto a boat; squatting down to take the perfect photograph; I don’t want to be worrying about flashing my all and sundries to all and sundry. However, when I’m partaking in all the above activities, I also don’t want to be accidentally stepping on the fabric of the dress, tripping up and landing on my face on the tarmac, grass or water. I love the way a floor-length maxi dress looks, but they just aren’t practical! This yellow peasant dress is the perfect length.

3. You can eat pasta and pudding to your heart’s content and never need to worry! I’ll admit that this tiered style of dress can sometimes look a little frumpy, and if the wind blows forwards it might billow out to give a maternity illusion, but on a calm weather day, I thought this dress was surprisingly flattering actually. The weight of the cotton fabric was just right, but the pattern also gives plenty of room for you not to feel uncomfortable after a meal out.

4. You can bring the sunshine in this dress, even when it isn’t shining in the sky! It’s such a cheerful colour, it makes people smile and I’ve had a lot of compliments in it, which is nice!

I think this dress is so perfect actually, I decided to wear it for my recent family birthday party. This is quite an important decision as you know these photos are going to hang around for a while, so I wanted to look good, but also be comfortable. This M&S dress fitted the bill, and I think yellow does suit me after all!

Shop more yellow summer dresses: (Click the pictures to take you to the Marks and Spencer website.)

I have decided I want to be a daffodil farmer when I grow up! Have you embraced the yellow trend or are you steering clear?

Linking with #visibleMonday at Not Dead yet style and #iwillwearwhatilike at Not Dressed as Lamb.