Chelsea boots and dogtooth

For me, there are two staples to the high street this winter, which will be making their way into my wardrobe just as soon as some money makes its way into my pocket.

First up, dogs tooth. With an uncharacteristic dose of fashion foresight, I've been loving dogtooth ("houndstooth") for the past few winters. There's something about it that is so metropolitan, that somehow screams "high-flying career girl". Just me? I've probably been watching too many New York based Rom-coms again. I digress.

With dogtooth, there is a thin line between getting it right, and getting it so, so wrong. Generally, the larger the print, the riskier the look. However, even subtle dogtooth is not a good look when done head to toe. And wearing clashing prints is a definite no-no unless you want to risk being mistaken for Cher Lloyd (trust me, you don't).

Back to basics

The good news is that traditional black and white dogtooth makes a great base for a monochrome look, rendering it perfect for that highly coveted day-to-night look, heading straight from the office to a Christmas party. Case in point is this dogtooth bodycon dress - chuck a black blazer over it for daytime, but let the pattern flow free when the sun goes down .

The softer approach

However, it does not have to be about bold, harsh patterns, as demonstrated by this mocha oversized jumper (£42, Topshop), great for wrapping up on chilly winter days.

To carry the dogtooth look into the summer, this sleeveless dogtooth shirt would look great dressed down with skinny jeans and black pumps, or glitzed up with black leggings, heels and oodles of eyeliner.

Accessorise it!

If an outfit of dogtooth is too bold for you, take a basic outfit and accessorise it! This snood (£7.99, New Look) is great for a casual weekend look. For the office, pair these dogtooth court shoes with an a-line dress or pencil skirt (black, naturally).

Jazz up your classic LBD look this Christmas with the dogtooth clutch (£10, River Island). For a more modern look, go for a coloured base - emerald green and wine red are both prevalent at the moment, and relatively easy to pull off.

But for me, the ultimate dogstooth item on the high street is this dogtooth mini skirt (£22.99, Mango- although it is also available on the Mango website, I prefer the ensemble on ASOS)


Chelsea boots are my other wardrobe staple this winter. Perfect for wearing with a knee length skirt and winter woolly tights, or tucking skinny jeans into, Although they are two-a-penny on the high street, the perfect pair proved to be very elusive- once I had an idea in my mind of what I wanted (black, leather/waterproof, slight heel, minimal embelishments...), the ideal pair proved very hard to find. Suede is plentiful, and although it's cute, I wasn't budging on the waterproof criteria (my mother's practicality seems to have rubbed off on me more than I realised). After talking myself out of a few practically perfect but wildly over-budget options, I settled for these little beauties.

Miraculously they were only £20, from an independent trader in Bluewater. I just can't help thinking how good they'd look paired with the Mango dogtooth skirt!