Best of British

With the Olympic Games and the Queen's Diamond Jubilee this year, it seems everyone on the high street is rolling out the red, white and blue. This is across home, gifts, womenswear and menswear. Of course, the American designers have been doing this for years, what with America's penchant for the Stars and Stripes, but we Brits don't really celebrate our flag - except perhaps in an ironic way!

The Union Jack is an easy bandwagon for the high street to jump on. We saw it in the 1990s when Geri Halliwell of the Spice Girls wore that dress and we seeing it now. I guess the aim is to turn even the most sceptical into an enthusiastic Anglophile. So how can you get into this trend without looking like a walking cliché?

• Vintage flag T-shirts - You'll find these in lots of assortment as they're the easiest way for brands to celebrate ‘Britishness’. Look for rockstar style graphics with fading and blurred edges. Note - this isn't the most stylish way to work the trend but it is the simplest!


• Celebrate British design - This seems to me like a very middle class sort of trend; akin to people wanting to know exactly which farm their steak was sourced from. But it does seem to be a concern on the high street right now with brands shouting about their British/English credentials and bragging about working with the likes of Abraham Moon or Harris Tweed. Over the years, British manufacturing has been dwindling as it's becoming increasingly difficult to keep up with the prices offered by manufacturers in China and the rest of the far east. This is a real shame because it means we lose whole ways of working and manufacturing processes. There are now few wholly British brands, there are quite a few high end ones; go to Savile Row and you'll find a few; but not so many on the more affordable end of the scale. You can try John Smedley who makes beautiful knitwear at a fairly reasonable price. Or up and coming brand, Cro'Jack who have quite a unique offering of outerwear, tops, knitwear and accessories - all made and designed in the UK.


• Combine red, white and blue in an outfit - The stylish way to wear the trend! There are loads of pieces out there, just waiting to be put together in your own homage to the Union Jack. The vivid combination makes these colours perfect for summer, see my Pinterest board for how to put an outfit together. Look for a combination of stripes and block colours. Plus, quite conveniently, you can wear blue jeans! Although I'd recommend bright blue chinos instead so you can incorporate this season's obsession with the colourful chinos.