Flourish in five flowery summer outfits

Eco-stylist, Dawn Mellowship, puts a spring in your step this summer, with five outfits inspired by this season’s flowery trend.

Summer is here yet again and we are all patiently waiting for it to stop raining, but just because the weather is gloomy, it doesn’t mean we have to be. Fashion is taking its cue from nature and flowery garments and accessories are a sure fire way to boost your mood and remind you of lazy sunny summer days. If the thought of flowers sends you running for the hills, you can inject an element of floral rather than going the whole hog and causing unsuspecting passers by to mistake you for a field full of blossom.

Ethical fashion is all about protecting the environment and people, so it makes sense to purchase flowery fashion that causes minimal impact to the planet. To get you started I have chosen five outfits that will keep you cool and leave you looking blooming marvellous! Most of this items can be purchased online at The Natural Store, or via the actual labels themselves.

1) All in the yellow (as seen above)

Anatomy Muslin Lace Camisole Top, £75.00 – made from organic muslin.
Emmeline 4 Re Box Pleat Skirt – Honey Rose, £75.00 – made from vintage, reclaimed 100% cotton fabric.
Snood Shrug, £39.00 – handmade in England from reclaimed and vintage wool.
Terra Plana Goa Off-white, £75.00 – recycled, vegetable tanned natural hemp.

2) Party in pansy

Enamore Pansy Cotton Shift Dress, £150.00 – made from organic cotton sateen certified by SKAL.
Beyond Skin Larry B Pointed Toe Kitten Heel, £167 – made from purple satin.
Bourgeois Bohéme Sandy Small Beige, £32 – textile with silver metallic tinge.

3) Yummy flowery mummy

Enamore Short-Sleeved Kimono Top, £65.00 – handmade in England in hemp/tencel fabric.
Emmeline 4 Re Midnight Forest Skirt, £75.00 – made from vintage, reclaimed 100% cotton fabric.
Charmoné Monarch Ribbon Tie-Up Flat Cool Green Blue, £149.00 – made from Italian microfibre faux leather.

4) Short, psychedelic and sexy

Emmeline 4 Re Unique Neck Tie Blouse French Lilac, £60.00 – made from vintage, reclaimed 100% polyester fabric.
Ciel Denim Shorts With Waist Tie, £130.00 – Denim, My Wardrobe.
Terra Plana Juniper Shoe, £95.00 – recycled vegetable tanned leather.

5) Floaty Romantic

Pardess Frenchie Bustier Camisole, £115 – 100% organic cotton.
Pardess Petal Skirt, £170 – 100% organic cotton.
Hetty Rose Yuki Vintage Kimono Shoes, £320.00 – vintage kimono.
Sarah Donegan Marry Handbag, Tea Pot Lace, £120 – made from vintage textiles and trims, The Green Apple.

Dawn Mellowship is the UK’s first online eco stylist offering a range of styling services and online ethical fashion resources. No matter what the occasion, Dawn will find some fabulous ethical fashion that suits your style and personality. Her website can be found at ecostylist.co.uk.

Summer nights - ethical dresses for the evening

Finding an ethical dress to wear for a night out might seem a bit more challenging than finding daywear, but here to the rescue, as ever, I have managed to source a selection of beautiful ethical dresses that can be worn in the daytime or the evening. Three of them are made from 100% organic cotton, which is fantastic, because the growing of regular cotton uses 25% of all insecticides and almost $3 billion worth of pesticides every single year. Between 1 million and 5 million pesticide poisonings take place every year, leading to 20,000 reported deaths among agricultural workers (Environmental Justice Foundation). Pesticides also contaminate rivers around the world. Organic cotton uses natural pesticides (such as a mixture of chilli, garlic and soap), is handpicked and often rain fed, which is a much more environmentally friendly option.

The other three dresses use alternative fabrics, preventing the reliance on cotton, which uses up precious water resources - six pints of water are required to produce one cotton bud. Global cotton consumption has been estimated to be responsible for 2.6 per cent of the world's water use (EJF). Bamboo (used in the Ecoganik dress) is a fast growing grass that is organically grown. It is also antibacterial and antifungal. The Debbi Little Parachute dress is made from recycled parachutes, so prevents wastage and the Enamore dress incorporates innovative fabrics such as hemp and tencel.

Now all you have to do is choose which ones to go for!

1) Katherine Hamnett Cynthia Dress, 100% organic cotton, £239.99, Katherine Hamnett.
2) Camilla Norrback Moa Dress, creme, 100% organic cotton, 1275 kr, Mint and Vintage.
3) Ecoganik Bamboo Amy Kimono Dress in Paradise, 95% bamboo, 5% spandex, Couture Candy.
4) Debbi Little Parachute Dress, made from 1950s parachutes, £240, Equa Clothing.
5) Ciel Sophia Dress, 100% organic cotton, £162, My Wardrobe.
6) Enamore Eva Dress in black with vintage detail, 55% hemp, 45% tencel and vintage, £150, Enamore.