Practical Fashion - The Only Way Is Fancy

So, yeah, The Only Way Is Essex is one of my current fave guilty pleasures. It was pretty awesome during my recent visit to Dublin to read all about the cast behaving badly in Marbella. I'm pretty excited to see what happens come this fall. 

The TOWIE look has even been creeping into my personal style a bit. It's hard not to adopt a bit of their cartoonishly glam style of dress, as it's pretty cute. It's way more classy than J-Wowww or Heidi Montag anyways. It's an especially fun look to try out if you're a pregnant lady, as you've got the requisite big boobs.

Here's how to pull off a TOWIE-inspired look without looking like Snooki or Katie Price:

1) Party dress...day, night, whenever

You can't lose if you throw on a party dress for any occasion. Even camping (or glamping as they call it on the show). Dress it down for day with ankle boots or sandals and a cute jacket; throw on some jewels and extra-high shoes at night.

2) Boobs out!

...as in cleavage, not actual toplessness. Start with a bra that is properly fit (always!) and then look for something cute that is low cut enough, but not overly so. The best way to keep it classy while still showing off your chest is to make sure your bottom half is covered at least to the knee and that you also try to cover up as much arm and back as possible. It's also a good idea to try to keep your outfit on the "sweet side" (as opposed to the "sexy" side) when brazenly flaunting cleavage.

3) Spend your money on the shoes

One of the best things about the way the TOWIE girls dress is that they all seem to wear high street dresses mixed with crazy expensive accessories & shoes. Despite them maybe not being known for their brains, this is a totally intelligent way to dress. Spending a bunch of cash on a pair of shoes in a classic style and colour (black, taupe or a classic red) means that the shoes won't wear out and will last for several years, plus they won't go out of style.  This advice can also be applied to handbags. Plus, unlike a dress that you're likely to only wear for a season or two before getting sick of it, you can wear your expensive shoes every day if you feel like it (although it's not advisable to wear the same shoes 2 days in a row).

4) Show off your tan

So, I'm guessing that you don't want to be as orange as the TOWIE folks. It's a bit too orange, I'm afraid. Stick with fake tan (for serious - skin cancer is no joke. No tanning!) or bronzer, the less orange the better. If you wear colours that highlight the tan that you do have - turquoise, coral, white, brights - it will make you look extra tan-tastic.

5) Keep it reem (obviously!)

These fellas care about details. Every bit of your look should be well-maintained...makeup, nails, jewellery, underwear, every little thing. No hairs out of place. They talk a bunch about vajazzles on the show...that should tell you about the importance the TOWIE folks place on the little details. Just make sure to keep the nail polish to yourself...and off of your pet pig's hooves.

Tasmin Mocha Silk One-Shouldered Dress (reissonline.com)
Claudia Crochet Wrap Dress (monsoon.co.uk)
Giuseppe Zanotti Patent-Leather Peep-Toe Slingbacks (net-a-porter.com)
Herve Leger Crisscross Open Back Dress (shopbop.com)
T3 Featherweight Luxe Blow Dryer (sephora.com)

XOXO,
Emily