Fashion dilemma: wedding in Thailand

Yes. A friend of my is getting married in Thailand in a couple of weeks, and although I had about a year to think about what to wear, obviously I left everything for the last minute. Now, WHAT does one wear for a day wedding in a 5-star resort without melting the whole outfit in the 38˚ C climate? If it was a hippie-chic affair on the beach, I wouldn't be panicking - I would resort (no pun intended) to any flowery, floaty number, a straw hat and probably no shoes. But that's not the case.

So today I was looking through the SS09 collections for inspiration, I found that Luella quite fits the bill. There are several cute one-shouldered and bandeau dresses with enough frills and bows to compensate for the short hem, in colours that surely would look great with a tan.

This last orange one is my favourite - Net-a-porter has the grey version of it - but at a hefty £675, let's just say it's a little out of my price range.

A quick research around the high-street websites show that copycat versions of this Luella range either hasn't arrived yet, or they're not being sold online (I'm sure they're going to be copied left, right and centre, and if I had the patience to walk around Oxford Street, I would find them). The only one I found was this coral one at French Connection, which kind of has the vibe I'm looking for, although I'd like it much more if it had a bubble or ruffled skirt. It's not bad at £75, but skint as I am, I'll probably go vintage, DIY-ing the bows and roses.

The other great dilemma promptly solved by Ms Luella was the hairstyle. This look is fresh enough to wear under the Thai sun (the high braid and quiff gets the hair out of the neck and forehead, a welcome relief), and the net around the face is a great and fresh substitute for a hat, and super easy to DIY. Problem solved!