An English Summer Wardrobe
What to wear for a week of antiquing in England.
One of my favorite companies is House on Horizon. They are an antiques dealer that specializes in sourcing vintage European goods from England. I met Liv, half of the owner duo Liv and Sam, last summer and we became instant friends. We both have three little boys and a love of design. Liv is one of my best supporters for my own small business and likewise we have many of HoH pieces in our new home.
Recently House on Horizon announced they would be taking small groups on tours of England with a focus on antiquing. What a literal dream trip ~ traveling through the English countryside with two experts in European antiques. Liv and Sam will be taking their groups to all the best markets and shops in the country, as well showing the group around their favorite secret spots, pubs and favorite hotels.
Their first trip is quickly approaching and I was tasked by Liv to create a wardrobe that would fit the itinerary’s plans. Many of the attendees have been asking Liv what to bring/pack and she in turn asked me if I could pull together an English countryside wardrobe that would work for early mornings picking at markets, shopping with some of HoH’s best sources, and easy dinners out. Because many of the attendees have already paid for their big trip, we wanted to keep the costs down so you’ll see that a lot of the items on the list are currently on sale!
Gap is currently running 40% Friends and Family, Madewell is running 20% Spring Event, and my favorite jacket is currently $70 on Shopbop. Big English trip or not, this is a great time to stock up on some elevated looks for Summer. These looks are a perfect capsule wardrobe that can be mix and matched because the palette is focused and balanced.
Let’s start first with early morning picking at Antique Markets. The inspo reflects layers to capture the practicality of chilly English mornings and the mess of looking through people’s stuff.
My must have piece of these looks is the chore jacket. I’ve long discussed my love of the classic jacket but I can’t stress enough how critical this piece is to a week in England. It’s so English coded that you’d be remiss to not pack a chore jacket for a week in England. I especially like it paired with denim and chunky New Balances to add a bit of American edge.
You can shop all the pieces here!
Next up is shopping during the day. The group is visiting many of HoH best dealers in finding one of kind English antiques. These looks need to be a bit more elevated than the morning market and can easily go from an antique shop, to a nice sit down lunch, to a little sightseeing and exploring.
To me, these looks are really elevated by the accessories. Scarves, jewelry, belts really transition the chore jacket with a t-shirt and jeans to a more styled and well thought out look.
The must have pieces to me here are a blue oversized button down, a statement necklace and a beautiful scarf. I also love the pop of red to dress up a daytime look. You can shop all the pieces here!
Lastly at the end of a long day of shopping, it always feels good to come back to the hotel and change into a new look. I personally love an outfit change to help fight my jet lag and exhaustion. The dinners planned for the trip are casual so our looks are easy yet dressy. Here’s the inspo looks to set the tone:
One way to dress yourself up without special clothing is to go for a monochromatic look. I love wearing all white, all black or all navy. Then I use my accessories to enhance the look, usually with pops of red and gold.
Also, if you’re looking for a perfect dress for all occasions this summer, then you’ll definitely want to check out the Mother’s Day Sale happening over at Dôen right now. I especially love this, this and this.
I’m also SO impressed with this amazing Dôen Sebastian skirt dupe from Gap. It would make an amazing piece for England and/or Summer.
You can find all items from today’s post here! And stay tuned on IG as I bring many of these outfits to life!
Talk soon xx