Loulou Boutique Occasion-ready style, curated with love.

Loulou Boutique

Occasion-ready style, curated with love.

Latest Articles

The Nine-to-Nine Party Plan: Office Christmas Outfits That Go the Distance
Style Edit

The Nine-to-Nine Party Plan: Office Christmas Outfits That Go the Distance

That office Christmas party email has landed, and 'festive smart' is doing a lot of heavy lifting. Here are three wearable outfit formulas that take you from desk to dance floor without a changing-room meltdown.

Glass in Hand, Oven on Timers: Hosting Outfits That Look Effortless
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Glass in Hand, Oven on Timers: Hosting Outfits That Look Effortless

Hosting has its own dress code: you need to bend, pour, crouch by the oven and still look composed when someone produces a camera. Here is how to build a festive hosting outfit that works as hard as you do, from December drinks to New Year's Eve dinner.

The Optional Clause: How to Read Black-Tie-Optional for UK Weddings and Galas in 2026
Wardrobe Notes

The Optional Clause: How to Read Black-Tie-Optional for UK Weddings and Galas in 2026

Black tie optional is not a licence to wear whatever you fancy — it is an invitation to choose your lane. Here is how to decode the dress code for UK weddings, winter galas and festive evenings in 2026, with calm outfit formulas that feel formal without trying too hard.

Curtain Up, Coat Off: A Winter Matinee Outfit That Takes You to Dinner
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Curtain Up, Coat Off: A Winter Matinee Outfit That Takes You to Dinner

A winter matinee has a habit of beginning in pale daylight and ending in pitch dark, with dinner somewhere in between. This is the outfit formula that handles the stalls, the pavement and the table without a full change—polished enough for the theatre, comfortable enough for the walk, and warm enough for a proper UK cold snap.

After the Last Dance: A Polished Guide to the Morning-After Brunch
Style Edit

After the Last Dance: A Polished Guide to the Morning-After Brunch

The morning-after brunch has a dress code all of its own: polished but relaxed, festive but not fancy-dress. Here is how to rework one piece from the wedding into an outfit that feels like a soft reset, not last night's leftovers.

Canapés, Velvet and 'Smart Casual': Dressing for a Winter Engagement Party
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Canapés, Velvet and 'Smart Casual': Dressing for a Winter Engagement Party

Engagement parties are the warm-up act with real style stakes: celebratory, photographed, and rarely black-tie. Here’s how to decode the winter invitation with velvet midis, satin separates and a glint of sparkle—without overdressing the couple’s big news.

Quietly Considered: A Guest's Guide to the Small Civil Wedding and the Lunch That Follows
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Quietly Considered: A Guest's Guide to the Small Civil Wedding and the Lunch That Follows

A small civil ceremony followed by a long lunch calls for a different kind of wedding guest outfit: polished, comfortable and deliberately understated. Here is how to get the balance right in 2026, from smart separates to shoes that handle town-hall steps and pub gardens.

The Unknown Guest: Dressing for a Wedding When You Haven't Met the Couple
Wardrobe Notes

The Unknown Guest: Dressing for a Wedding When You Haven't Met the Couple

Attending as a plus-one when you don't know the couple can feel like sitting an exam with no revision. Here's how to read the invitation, pick up on venue clues and land on an outfit that feels respectful, comfortable and quietly confident.

The Long-Day Dress: How to Tell in the Fitting Room If It Will Last the Reception
Wardrobe Notes

The Long-Day Dress: How to Tell in the Fitting Room If It Will Last the Reception

A wedding guest dress has to do more than look good in a mirror. This is the practical fitting-room routine we use to check sitting, standing, eating and dancing before the tags come off.

The Hosiery Hierarchy: Picking Tights for Every Winter Invitation
Wardrobe Notes

The Hosiery Hierarchy: Picking Tights for Every Winter Invitation

A good pair of tights can pull an occasion look together — or quietly undo it. Here’s our friendly guide to deniers, colours and shoe pairings for winter weddings, festive drinks and everything in between.

Say Cheese, Not Costume: A Christmas Photo Outfit Formula You'll Frame
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Say Cheese, Not Costume: A Christmas Photo Outfit Formula You'll Frame

Festive photos shouldn't look like fancy dress. Here's how to build a Christmas card outfit that feels like you, photographs beautifully and works for everything from the front room to a garden drinks party in 2026.

The Layered Guest: Dressing for a Cold-Weather Wedding in 2026
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The Layered Guest: Dressing for a Cold-Weather Wedding in 2026

A November wedding in the UK rarely sticks to one temperature. Here’s how to build an occasion-ready outfit that handles chilly churches, heated marquees and gravel car parks without losing the polished guest look.

Skirt, Top, Dance Floor: Why the Occasion Co-Ord Is Your Wedding Guest Wildcard
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Skirt, Top, Dance Floor: Why the Occasion Co-Ord Is Your Wedding Guest Wildcard

The wedding guest dress has had a good run, but the occasion co-ord is quietly stealing the spotlight for 2026. Here is why separates deserve a place in your guest wardrobe, plus the silhouettes, shades and styling tricks worth looking for now.

A Place for Everything: Choosing an Occasion Bag That Works in Real Life
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A Place for Everything: Choosing an Occasion Bag That Works in Real Life

The best occasion bag isn't the tiniest one you can find — it's the one that carries what you need without ruining the line of your outfit. Here's our friendly audit for choosing, pairing and packing a bag that earns its place at weddings, christenings, race days and festive dinners.

Pews and Polished: A Christening Guest Outfit Guide for 2026
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Pews and Polished: A Christening Guest Outfit Guide for 2026

Christenings sit in an awkward spot between smart and practical — long enough for a stone-cold church, comfortable enough for a village hall buffet. Here's a friendly guide to hemlines, colours, layers and shoes that land in exactly the right place.

One Piece, Whole Outfit: Why the Occasion Jumpsuit Earnt Its Place in 2026
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One Piece, Whole Outfit: Why the Occasion Jumpsuit Earnt Its Place in 2026

Dresses get the glory, but the occasion jumpsuit is the piece quietly doing the heavy lifting for UK weddings, parties and race days. Here's why one-piece dressing works, how to get the fit right, and which new arrivals are worth a try-on.

The Borrowed Dress Diaries: Is Wedding Guest Rental Worth It in 2026?
Wardrobe Notes

The Borrowed Dress Diaries: Is Wedding Guest Rental Worth It in 2026?

Renting a wedding guest dress sounds like the obvious answer to a wardrobe full of one-wear outfits. But between delivery windows, fit anxiety and the emotional pull of owning something beautiful, the decision is more nuanced than the adverts suggest. Here is an honest look at when rental earns its place in 2026.

Hats, Heels and Mud: A UK Race Day Dress Code That Actually Works in 2026
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Hats, Heels and Mud: A UK Race Day Dress Code That Actually Works in 2026

Race day style has a reputation for being either fiercely formal or faintly fancy-dress. In reality, the best-dressed people in 2026 are the ones who read the enclosure rules, dress for the weather, and choose shoes that can handle a grassy car park. Here is a practical guide to Ascot, Goodwood and your local point-to-point.

Buy the Almost-Right Dress: Five Alterations Worth Booking Before the Big Day
Wardrobe Notes

Buy the Almost-Right Dress: Five Alterations Worth Booking Before the Big Day

The almost-right dress is often the one that fits you best—after a small trip to the tailor. Here are five common occasion-dress fit fixes, what they cost, and how to style the before-and-after.

Cocktail Doesn't Mean Cocktail Dress: A UK Wedding Guest's Guide to Getting It Right
Style Edit

Cocktail Doesn't Mean Cocktail Dress: A UK Wedding Guest's Guide to Getting It Right

Wedding dress codes can turn a happy invitation into a mild panic. This friendly guide decodes cocktail, smart casual and black-tie optional for UK weddings, with outfit formulas and hemline advice that take the guesswork out of guest dressing.