From wearing white to a wedding, to flipflop favours and couple power dressing – here’s how to nail summer occasionwear styling like a luxury fashion influencer
Summer brings with it a whole host of exciting events and occasions, from sporting events like Wimbledon or Ascot, to warm weather weddings and soirees. And the best thing about such occasions is, of course, the opportunity to get a little bit glammed up.
And as far as I’m concerned, no one does that better than luxury content creator Lydia Millen, renowned for her timeless and elegant wardrobe, while building a 1.4 million-strong Instagram following in the process. The 36-year-old recently brought out yet another collection with popular fashion retailer Karen Millen, too, so who better to ask for some tips when it comes to summer occasionwear?
Fresh from a friend’s wedding just the previous day, Lydia sat down with The Mirror’s Bethan Shufflebotham to share her biggest tips when it comes to dressing for events – from subtly matching with her husband, Ali Gordon, to finding the perfect wide-fit heels.
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You might have heard that shades of sky blue or buttermilk yellow are big for 2024. But in a world where fashion cycles are fleeting, Lydia makes a conscious effort to avoid being ‘romanced’ by trending colour palettes and patterns. Instead, she is urges fashion fans to ‘wear what makes them feel amazing’.
“The thing that’s most important about these occasions where we get dressed up, is more how we feel,” she said. “I think if you’re putting on something that you feel amazing in, that’s the important thing. That’s where you walk a little bit taller and feel comfortable, your shoulders relax, so whether it is a wedding, Ascot, Wimbledon – you’ve got to feel comfortable.”
When Lydia and Ali tied the knot in December 2017, the content creator had her bridesmaids choose their own dresses. She said: “I know when my husband and I got married I just wanted everyone to feel amazing, which is why I let my bridesmaids choose their own dresses because that’s really what matters to me most. If I have one piece of advice, if you feel amazing in it, it doesn’t matter what anyone else thinks just wear it, wear the boldly coloured dress or backless one, just wear it.”
In a recent video, Lydia and Ali both showed off their wedding guest attire, which was flooded with compliments for Lydia’s blue floral gown. But one comment really stood out to me. It read: “Stunning but I do think you’d be drawing attention away from the bride with that dress! Not in keeping with wedding etiquette!”
But Lydia says she ‘doesn’t care’ what colour people wear to a wedding. She told The Mirror: “I’ve always said this, and it’s probably a bit controversial. If someone had said to me on my wedding day, ‘I’m so sorry, I’m wearing white but I feel amazing,’ I’d have loved that for them.
“Nobody is ever going to compete with the glow and radiance of a bride on their wedding day. But if you do want to play it safe, maybe don’t wear white to a wedding.”
The power couple are masters at complementing each other’s outfits, with Ali matching the shade of his tie to the base colour of Lydia’s dress. Subtle nods like this look amazing in photographs together and give a cohesive feel to a summer look.
Lydia added: “There are so many ways to match with your partner and it doesn’t have to be like Posh and Becks doing leather on leather. There was one outfit we did together recently where I had a houndstooth coat on and out of nowhere Ali pulled out a pocket square that was also the same houndstooth and it was that tiny touch of it in his pocket that connected the outfits.
“But whether it’s the colour or shade of a shirt, it can be really subtle. As women we can go for hair bows or hats, there’s so many ways to do it but it looks really good when you have photos taken together.”
Lydia is set to attend at least five weddings in 2024, and has been to her fair share in the last decade, too, so has plenty of experience as a guest. As such, she’s learned a thing or two when it comes to surviving the entire day in full glam – and it’s all down to the choice of footwear.
“Comfortable shoes are an unsung hero of the wedding attire,” she said. “We get so lost in the looks of things but if you’re dancing and you’ve got a pair of uncomfortable shoes on there’s nothing worse than wanting to continue dancing. I’ve got all of the moves at a wedding and if I can’t fulfil that I feel very frustrated, so one thing I’ve tried to do over the years is perfect my footwear.”
The key? Don’t go ‘too high’ with the heels. Lydia recently picked up a pair from Emmy London, and said they’re ‘so comfortable’. She added: “Emmy London does a wide fit but it doesn’t look like a wide fit. I don’t know how she does it, it’s like magic – it still looks beautifully tapered, really elegant and I couldn’t believe it when I put them on.
“They’re the highest heels I’ve ever put on but so comfortable. That’s probably my biggest tip for a wedding. Another thing I’m loving is people having flipflops at their weddings to change into because I now have a collection of white flipflops from the weddings we’ve been to recently and they’re genius.”
Lydia’s latest collection with Karen Millen is perfect for weddings and events, from the botanical print dress with the contrast bow , to the simplicity and pared-back elegance of the square neck taffeta dress, or the ‘wildcard’ cape dress. Starting from £69, there’s ‘something for everyone’, with one really important factor for Lydia being that it is an accessible edit, bringing it out in main, tall, petite and plus sizes.
This edit is defined by effortless elegance, capturing Lydia’s signature style from her Instagram, TikTok and YouTube channels. It boasts flowing silhouettes, beautiful colour palettes and feminine details.
But if you’re looking for even more inspiration, our shopping writer Lucy Addicott has been scouring the web for some of the best wedding guest dresses for 2024. She has found some gorgeous picks from Coast, Never Fully Dressed and ASOS – discover her favourites in our round-up here. Alternatively, shop the full Lydia Millen x Karen Millen collection here.