Dressing For A Summer Occasion With M&S - Summer Cocktail Party

what i'm wearing: A-line dress*, suede t-bar blocked heel sandals*, silver plated earrings*, cat eye sunglasses* - all Marks & Spencer

A couple of weeks ago, I was contacted by a Marks & Spencer representative regarding telling me all about the new website feature, Ultimate Dress Guide, which is a quick and easy guide to help you find the right dress for you for any summer occasion. From wedding guest to festival dresses, there is huge variety of frocks at Marks & Spencer and sometimes browsing online stores for something particular can be daunting so the Ultimate Dress Guide breaks it down for you, and a huge bonus is it also features the seasons top trends as well as a quick guide on what styles will suit your body shape.

I decide to try the guide out myself and had so much fun picking out different outfits for festivals, BBQs, and weddings - however I settled for this summer cocktail party outfit. I absolutely LOVE this dress - seemingly simple but the shape of it is really flattering and can easily take you from day to night, and also the colour is just amazing! You will notice that usually on my posts I put 50% of a photo filter just to balance out the colours and make the photos a bit brighter, however I really felt like you just have to see the raw colour of this dress so no filter here guys!
I also fell head over heels for these shoes (see what I did there?! :) ) - again, a simple design made so stylish by the see-through blocked heel. The shoes are so comfortable, I could easily wear them all day long.
Because the dress is such a stand out piece, I didn't feel it needed a lot of jewellery so I went for simple and classic hooped earrings and these sleek cat eye sunglasses - and voila, my summer cocktail party outfit is ready!

If you're planning on spending lots of time in the sunshine with a mojito in your hands this summer, here are my top tips for staying stylish:

• Pick a dress style that is loose, rather than a bodycon - being practical, in the summer it's nice to feel a breeze up your sleeve rather than get sweaty wrapped tightly in fabric. Also, if the BBQ is on the go, you won't feel conscious about eating all of the food! 
• Choose bright colours - although it looks chic and goes with everything, a black dress will attract heat. Choose a shade that is right for you, but try and stay away from black on scorching days. 
• Wear sensible footwear - this one speaks for itself really, think about how long you will be spending in your shoes and as it's an outdoor event you really don't want to be running around barefoot (unless there's a nicely cut lawn, then go for it!)