I'm just sitting watching flowers in the rain.

Trench coat: c/o Laura Ashley. Blouse: £4.50, Jack Wills, via charity shop. Pencil skirt: £1.50, Jigsaw, via charity shop (I know, I need to sew the hem up!). Chelsea boots: £8, Bally, via charity shop. Umbrella: mum's (similar here). Necklace: c/o Laura Ashley. Rings: Topshop and vintage. Nail varnish: rainy day, Topshop.

This blog is slowly but surely turning into a series of weather observations, but when you're British that's hardly surprising - it's a bit soggy, isn't it? Although I can never be bothered to carry an umbrella round as they're so encumbering when wet, sometimes I'll have to admit defeat, particularly when I came across my mum's old Mary Poppins style duck umbrella. Underneath its boughs (or, um, metal rods) I wore a classic trench coat, which Laura Ashley asked me to style up, along with four other bloggers. It's hardly difficult to decide what to wear with something as classic as a trench, particularly as the camel goes with pretty much everything. I chose a completely charity shop ensemble (coming to a grand total of £14!), keeping the palette muted to show off the piece I entitled my "raindrop" necklace. I mean, if you're going to go with a theme, you might as well go 100%.

I also had a chat with the Laura Ashley girls about the new furniture collections a while back, so feel sure to click through and listen to me rambling about chandeliers!