Where would my floral fantasy take place? On a desert island surrounded by intricate floral wreaths woven with seashells, watching the waves lap the shore or in an urban city, watching the world go past as I strut in my towering platforms, bringing colour and joy into peoples ordanairy mundane lives; wherever my fantasy takes place, there is no denying that florals are the ultimate symbol of vitality. They bring us hope when we are low and bring us joy in our happiest moments, flowers commemorate special moments in our lives and can signal the loss of loved ones. Whatever the occasion flowers or floral prints will be there to signify the start of something new. For as long as I can remember I grew up hooked on floral prints; from dresses to jumpsuits florals were classy, elegant but at times edgy. Florals were my stepping stone to entering a career in fashion and allowed me to break the stereotypical mould of florals equaling a ‘twee feminine look’. Florals have no gender and both men and women can be empowered through wearing this simple print; through bomber jackets or jumpsuits floral prints have no limitations and neither should we limit it to a specific gender. After all I wouldn’t give a guy wearing a jumpsuit designed for women a second glance because I believe fashion is about freedom of expression so who are we to judge? Which is precisely why ILFW’s range -stocked in Topshop- offers a variety of gender neutral floral pieces that allow men , women, boys, girls and trans to live their floral fantasy without judgement. Be free, be creative with ILWF florals. 
Choosing a crepe sweetheart bandeau neckline jumpsuit, the crepe material is delightfully decorated with blue roses, artfully placed on a white canvas background. The first half of the jumpsuit is what I would title ‘perfection’ ; featuring a boned bodice, the sweetheart neckline supports larger busts with ease while the invisible straps make it easier to put away on hangers and keep your wardrobe in order. Despite its well supported bust, due to my petite frame I had to keep hoisting the bandeau up due to my significant lack of mammary glands but once I had placed a well padded bra, the jumpsuit was able to fill out with more ease. Despite my bra, the top half was slightly tight underneath due to my broad shoulders but it was not too uncomfortable to deal with. The second half of the jumpsuit was a completely different story; on the site I chose the jumpsuit because it appeared to have a straight, tapered leg and yet when the jumpsuit arrived the style was voluminous harem or peg leg trousers which although comfortable gave my small proportions a strange sense of dimension. Despite the odd appearance on the bottom half, the camera managed to make the trousers appear more tapered and less loose than it was in real life. My advice is unless you like harem or peg style tailoring only buy the jumpsuit if you are fairly tall. Despite me buying chunky cobalt blue platforms to even out the bagginess at the cuff of the trousers, it still made me look like I was playing at dress up. Despite my initial concerns at modelling the jumpsuit in public I found that the jumpsuit appeared infinitely more ‘wearable’ on camera than it did in real life and gave it the illusion of me appearing taller and better defined than I am in ‘reality’. 
Despite my misgivings over the jumpsuits size and tailoring I was still gutted because the jumpsuit design was exquisite, with the layered digitized blooms adding sophisticated warmth and vitality to a dreary shoot day in Central Croydon. The contrast of blooms against a neutral, blue tinged graffiti background was of course deliberate and played into the aforementioned ethos of ‘fashion as a freedom of expression’ and not as how the rule books insist we must dress. So whilst my small petite frame might have been slightly dwarfed by the larger than expected sizing dimensions I found that the fluidity of the crepe material was lightweight and allowed you to move without ease or the fear of flashing anyone unexpectedly. Despite its lightweight material the jumpsuit is not sheer, although the bust bodice is slightly see-through but not noticeably sheer. The quality of the material is good which surprised me because ‘crepe’ and me don’t always get along but I found the boned bodice and separate layer of lining within the jumpsuit to be ‘cool’ enough to stop you from overheating but at the same time use an opaque bottom half to stop you ‘flashing’ without realizing it. 
Pros – The digitized print bloom is fresh and current for summer, reinstating florals position as the number one seasonal print – The crepe material is good quality, meaning that the jumpsuit is worth its price ( providing you are tall!)- The jumpsuit is super comfortable and its light fabric makes it an obvious summer staple choice 
Cons – Those not blessed with supermodel height might struggle to not be dwarfed by the large proportions (even if you choose the smallest size which I did)- Sizing appears to be inaccurate and the dimensions of the top half of the jumpsuit do not match the odd bottom half, which appears to be more of a size 10 rather than a size 8
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Shop The Look: Jumpsuit- ILWF / Shoes- Primark / Jacket -H&M / Necklace- Joy
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