Jess Cartner-Morley’s July style essentials: statement jackets, happy stripes and the chicest white T-shirt
Whether it’s a brilliant beach towel or the perfect party bag, our fashion expert’s monthly edit is full of summer winners
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Summer arrived with a bang in that heatwave, right? And it’s the World Cup. And Wimbledon. And nearly the end of term. Which means: it’s time to have fun.
Welcome to my secret shopping list for July: high-street treasures to snap up, an upgrade on the classic white T-shirt, a perfect wedding-party handbag and a towel to elevate your beach basket. Get them while it’s hot!
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Marilyn Monroe bookmark
Marilyn Monroe leather bookmark
£5 at National Portrait Gallery gift shopI love a nice bookmark. So pleasing. The best fiver I spent recently was on this leather one from the fabulous Marilyn show currently on at London’s National Portrait Gallery, with images from an Allan Grant contact sheet. A sliver of glamour to tuck between the pages of your sunlounger novel.
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A beach towel to spread with pride
Tide Stripe beach towel
£35 at the White CompanyThe White Company is so good: simple, timeless design, great fabrics. Affordable, and it feels luxurious. This fluffy striped towel will bring a snazzy Amalfi-coast-beach-club vibe, even if you’re sunbathing in the back garden. I also like the look of these beach towels from another new-fave homeware brand, Westwing, which are the same price.
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New balls please
Set of 3 personalised tennis balls
£35 at Anya HindmarchCelebrate Wimbledon fortnight with personalised tennis balls for the top seed in your life. A sweet and useful gift for anyone who plays. Anya Hindmarch is such a joy; I sometimes window shop her site to cheer myself up with all the jolly things. (I’m trying very hard to resist the retro allure of her Malibu raffia clutch bag.)
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A handbag friend for fragile hair
Champo flyaway fix, 10ml
£16 at SelfridgesAnyone else’s hair weirdly delicate at the front and snapping off after a couple of inches’ growth? I probably need to get better at taking vitamins, but in the meantime, this helps: a mascara wand of serum to smooth flyaway strands. It would also be good for finessing a clean-girl slicked-back bun if that’s your vibe.
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A high-street jacket that looks like vintage couture
Marisa Berenson x Zara voluminous jacket
£139 at ZaraMarisa Berenson, 1970s supermodel and granddaughter of Elsa Schiaparelli, has done a collection for Zara and it’s a corker. I’m in love with the caped puffball evening jacket. I’ve put my name on the waiting list for the insect place name holders (four for £39.99 and very Schiaparelli) and the decorative artichoke is frankly a bargain at £9.99, but the trophy piece is this diva-worthy, feather-trim, tangerine-hued evening blouse (£119).
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Everyone will be wearing: a PE teacher jacket
Half-zip windbreaker
£158 at Free PeopleThe jacket your secondary school PE teacher wore is the new Paris fashion week trophy jacket. See: Charli xcx in Saint Laurent’s Cassandre cropped windbreaker (£2,200; now out of stock). Very practical and now also very cool. My favourite at non-Saint Laurent prices is this Free People number. Accessorise with sunglasses rather than a whistle and a lanyard.
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Join the dots
Polka dot skirt
£49.99 at MangoPolka dots are cool now. They used to be quite Henley regatta, but these days they’re more Hackney Wick. They are also very jolly. Cool and jolly, what’s not to like? I’ve got a crush on these adorable polka dot slingbacks, £120 at Anthropologie, but I have to admit this chic skirt is probably the more useful purchase.
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A party bag
Occasion bag
£75 at DollisSo my issue with bags is this: either they’re too big and I’m endlessly rummaging like a fox in a bin, or they’re so small that I have to decide whether to take my keys or my lip balm because I can’t fit both. The Dollis occasion bag is small enough to dance with, but the drawstring closure means you can fit a surprising amount inside. A tiny bit retro, a whole lot cute. Handmade by a small London brand, in delicious shades of silk.
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A white T-shirt but better
Folded-shoulder T-shirt
£35 at CosWhat can be better than a plain white T-shirt, you ask? This one. The neckline is classic crew, but the shoulder is slightly extended, and stiffened with a double layer of cotton. If regular T-shirts look meh on you, try this. It has an effortless, just-threw-on-a-T-shirt vibe but with an extra je ne sais quoi.
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The return of the happy stripe
Happy Stripe tank
£30 at Gap £30 at NextHands up who remembers the Gap Happy Stripe Christmas jumpers of the early aughts? I was obsessed with mine. And now the grandaddy of dopamine dressing is back, as a summer racer-back tank, in fine-knit cotton crochet.
For more, read the best sunglasses for men and women with UV protection
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