You don’t need me to tell you that this years’ has been a long, hot summer, particularly those in the south and living shoulder-to-shoulder with everybody else in the city.

During the warmer months, metropolitan living comes into its own – Aperols in the park after work, late-night dinners with friends, giddy first dates under the twinkle of the beaming sun – but it also becomes increasingly harder to keep cool.

I’ve called the weird and utterly wonderful city that is London home for most of my life, and if there’s one thing I’ve learned, it’s that summer styling isn’t easy, but there’s one trick that I’ve extolled at large: sizing up in absolutely everything you own. 

Hear me out: if you’re anything like me, I don’t want anybody, let alone anything, touching my sweltering skin during summer. I want to feel like my skin and body can breathe and not feel cramped into a form-fitting dress or a teeny-tiny pair of clingy shorts. The goal is to get as close to wearing a socially acceptable tent as possible to keep circulation flowing and, in turn, Naomi happy, and I’ve found that I achieve this by simply buying my summer wardrobe in one to three sizes bigger than my usual dress size.

Take today for example. The weather’s about to hit unprecedented heights, which means I need to focus on wearing something oversized and floaty. Enter, Boteh (the summertime brand to know, if you don’t already). I’m wearing its black linen Zofie mini dress, which I ordered two sizes bigger than I usually wear and, in doing so, I’ll be kept cool all day long. 

The same goes for the Omnes trapeze dress I snapped up (one size larger than I usually wear) and the Jigsaw pieces I’ve added to my collection. The key is to keep it easy, breezy and breathable. While it’s hot outside, take it from a seasoned professional: the bigger the clothes, the better.  

Images: courtesy of Getty