Watch out Wimbledon! Tennis Fashion is here

Tennis. All you need is a racket, a ball, a court and a playing partner. But not if you want to start playing seriously. Sure – for a knock about at the park where what you like but tennis club rules are a different kettle of fish.

Thinking of becoming a member of your local club? Expect to find rules like this:

1) Tennis shoes must be worn.
2) Shoe tags must be worn by members.
3) Sports clothing must be worn.

Sports clothing is often defined as tennis whites – tennis shorts, white polo shirt and white socks. Lycra, rugby / football shirts and vest are a definitely no-no.

Of course, some courts are starting to relax their attitude to clothing but this is still a very traditional game and many clubs are eager to maintain their professional image.

Choosing an Evening Blouse

For special evening occasions stylish, elegant evening dresses always looks great. Nevertheless, evening blouses or top teamed with skirt or trousers, can look equally glamorous, and is becoming more popular this year.

Separates are much more versatile than an evening dress, and can be dressed up or down, depending on the occasion. A few key items can carry you through the season and you won’t need to spend a fortune on a single dress that you won’t feel like wearing when everyone has seen it!

Choose colour and fabrics with care – a slim fitting ankle length skirt in either velvet or silk material will never date, and look chic and elegant teamed with a white silk evening blouse or beaded cami top. For a trendy and daring look choose a sexy, form-fitting bustier! Online retailers, Littlewoods, Roman Originals and Coast have some fantastic items for sale. Trinny & Susannah have an affordable range of elegant evening wear available at Littlewoods, which is definitely worth a look.

Your evening wear can easily be changed by teaming the same basic ankle length skirt with a longer length patterned top. A key look this year is wide fitting trousers worn together with a flowing low neck top, cinched in with a glittering gold belt. Evening sandals can be teamed with the belt, along with earrings and other jewellery. If you want to be really daring, choose a transparent top in either chiffon or taffeta, with or without underwear!

Choosing a couple of key items plus blouses and tops for evenings is the popular choice for this season. It’s much more sensible in many ways and can take you anywhere. Another plus is laundering. If an evening dress becomes stained the whole garment needs to be laundered or dry cleaned, whereas a blouse or skirt is more easily dealt with. It’s no wonder that separate evening wear is becoming popular this year.

it’s all in the finishing touches

Many an outfit can be transformed with the right accessories. They can also help to bring something very last season right back on trend.

A prime example of this is the belt. Previously this is not an accessory I concerned myself with as I didn’t see the point in something you didn’t see however now with the rise in popularity of the cinch belt I am certainly a belt convert. Take any empire line top, tunic or dress of spring/summer 2007, add a coordinating cinch belt and it changes the whole look of that outfit. Also you can take a plain tee and make it look much funkier with this simple additional of a belt.

Another great accessory is the bag. I love how much this can change an outfit. Something quite formal can be dressed down with a big slouch bag and something quite simple can be glammed up with a sequin clutch.

And finally, give a little room in your accessory drawer for the wide array of patterned and coloured tights available. A great way to make summer outfits more suitable for our changeable weather, whilst still looking stylish.