It’s the blue and white stripe shirt dress.

Head to any high street store at the moment and you’ll be spoilt for choice when it comes to this week’s En Brogue In Full theme. Whether they’re long or short, crisp or floaty, minimal or with added lace, blue and white striped shirt dresses are EVERYWHERE right now. As a serial blue and white dress owner, this is a fact I have to approach with caution…but it certainly wasn’t a reason not to get a new one to add to my collection this summer. Because this is one versatile piece of kit that every woman should have in her repertoire.

PHOTOGRAPHY: ZAC FRACKELTON

I already had the long blue and white striped shirt dress (Gap), the cheesecloth blue and white stripe shirt dress, and the slinky blue and white stripe shirt dress from previous years, but when Baukjen invited me to choose something from its current collection, I was automatically drawn to this particular dress. And yes, it IS different from the others – this is the crisp and smart blue and white stripe dress, suitable for posh events (I’m even considering wearing it to a wedding).

This dress is not meant to be ankle length (click on the link and you’ll see it sits at mid-calf on the model), but at 5ft3, it’s much longer on me! And that’s why I like it so much – the length makes it feel more dressed up and as a result, suitable for occasions that my other blue and white stripe shirt dresses are not. It’s surprisingly flattering, given all the material, thanks to the waist tie (remember, I don’t retouch any of these images, and I think this is one of the outfits I’ve felt most comfortable wearing since I first started En Brogue In Full).

I’ve teamed it here with some old favourites from Ancient Greek Sandals, but I’ve also worn it with white sneakers to dress it down for daytime. In all cases, though, the shoes will definitely be white (or at least, off-white). Because there’s nothing better with a blue and white striped dress than a pair of white shoes…

As usual, I’d love to hear your thoughts! Are you a blue and white stripe addict like me? What do you wear your shirt dresses with? And as I’m planning ahead, is there anything in particular you would like to see me tackle for En Brogue In Full in the future? Leave comments below!