Lydia Bright isn't afraid to take risks, whether it's riding the wave of ultimate reality soap The Only Way is Essex or taking part in The Jump, and that fearless streak is something she's now bringing into her fashion ventures. Partnering with retail store Outfit, Lydia's SS17 Summer Edit of UK high street brands features bold prints, denim midis, off-the-shoulder tailoring and a whole lot of attitude.
"When I picked out my edits, it was very much clothes that I would wear," she tells HELLO! in our exclusive video interview. "My style is very much your average girl, so every item was something I saw in the shop and just run to straight away."
Take a look at Lydia's top high street picks from Outfit in our exclusive video
High street store Outfit stocks brands including Topshop, Wallis, Miss Selfridge and Dorothy Perkins, as well as Oasis, Warehouse and more – all brands that Lydia, who runs her own online fashion boutique with her sister, says make up her favourite go-to summer looks. So she was delighted to be asked back for a second season of picking her favourite pieces.
"I was over the moon," she says. "Of course I love the brand but summer is my favourite season in fashion! I love colour and print, so I was like a kid in a candy shop. I think fashion's very much about experimenting, trying new shapes, styles and colour palettes to find what suits you. I love following trends but to do my own thing as well. I think that's part of finding your own style."
Her picks include denim midi dresses layered over a simple white T-shirt, pretty pink florals made edgy through liberal addition of denim jackets and sneakers, and capitalising on off-the-shoulder trends in pale colours to really highlight that summer tan. The mix of styles and shapes favoured by Lydia is a great hint to her ultimate style icon: Sarah Jessica Parker.
"I was absolutely obsessed with Sex and the City growing up. I used to watch it back to back," she says, adding that it had a lot to do with her most famous ex-boyfriend, TOWIE star James Argent. "Actually that was one of the only reasons I wanted to go on a date with Arg; I thought he looked like Mr Big."
"When I first got asked to do TOWIE I was working as a waitress in a cocktail bar in Marbella," she adds. "James was on it, he was my ex at the time – obviously he is now, but it was on-off, on-off. I didn’t want to rain on his parade, but I remember him saying, 'Just come on [the show]; it'll be an experience. It's something you can tell your grandkids in years to come."
Discover Lydia's summer edit at Outfit by visiting outfitfashion.com to find your local store.