5 Affordable Trends London Girls Are Wearing This Summer

by Hannah Almassi

Since moving out of London, I've become entirely dependent on Instagram to see what women in the world's coolest fashion capital are wearing right now. I didn't realise quite how important my organic street style–spotting opportunities were when our work lives were normal and I was spending a great portion of my week trekking around town for meetings, events and press appointments. Just by some sort of magical, natural osmosis, I was absorbing the style beat of the city and intuitively gaining insight into what women were wearing in real time. It has always fed into my editorial work, and lockdown has made it infinitely harder to be truly in touch with genuine trends rather than social media–led frenzies.

Fortunately for me, the medium of IG and London-based women who document the outfits they actually step out of the house in are filling the large void—that and the fact that we've already set our social media and fashion editor, Zoe Anastasiou, out on the hunt for street style looks IRL around some of East London's hippest postcodes. So what's proving to be popular for summer 2021? A finely tuned mix of classics and pieces made for peacocking—a standard London ratio of laid-back and loud, then. Keep scrolling to see the trends you can buy on a lean budget that have a big seal of approval from the London set.

London summer trends 2021: pink and green outfits

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@lisafolawiyo

Lisa's Valentino shirt is über-luxe, we know, but there are bright shirts proliferating the high street right now.

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@georgiehyatt

Georgie, the founder of rental fashion business Rotaro, taps into the vibrant colour combination with hired pieces—a more affordable and environmentally sound method.

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@fisayolonge

We can always rely on Fisayo to bring us a bold look. Try pairing pink shoes with a green dress and wait for the compliments to roll in.

London summer trends 2021: gingham dresses

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@catlpatterson

Florals are great and are still a top choice, but we've noticed a sharp rise in gingham dresses. Cat's, like many others in this trend group, is from a new slow-fashion brand called Molby, which makes them to order.

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@belleandbunty

Both Cat (above) and Alice and Hannah from Belle & Bunty have chosen to go for the gingham dress + sneakers combination. That casual-to-cute formula just works.

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@nicoleocran

You can also ground these sweet frocks via chunky sandals, like Nicole here.

London summer trends 2021: white vest outfits

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@lucywilliams02

Ask any British girl right now what her most relied-upon item is and, aside from comfy shoes, we reckon it'd be a vest. They. Are. Everywhere.

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@shotfromthestreet

Lizzy's cream-and-white minimalist look of a vest and loose-fitting trousers is one we've seen repeated the world over, and it suits so many people.

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@daniellejinadu

Danielle knows it: Ribbed jerseys are the best choice, every time.

London summer trends 2021: statement co-ords outfits

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@biancaffoley

Okay, Bianca, we are not worthy! This Sleeper set was rented from By Rotation and is worth every penny for your re-entry wardrobe.

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@georgiehyatt

Retro prints and co-ords go together like strawberries and cream. London girls are keen on this Love set from House of Sunny.

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@imanleila

Iman's floral shirt and trousers from Zara have inspired us all to be a bit more out there this season.

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@thestylistandthewardrobe

Yes, Joanne's Breton is a more expensive option from La Ligne, but trust me when I say the trend has totally filtered onto the high street and into vintage stores.