Todays post has been a popular request. Occasion wear fashion can be daunting for a lot of people but you will also find more and more now the “good stuff” or the good size options are limited to a stores online website. When I’ve asked brands and various management why they explained most stores tend to keep their floor space for the high demand for more casual holiday style, swimwear or summer office wear, or occasion wear pieces within a limited size offering. This isn’t the case of course for all stores but it is becoming increasingly common, meaning occasion wear shopping is getting harder for a lot of people ( don’t ever feel like its just YOU, I promise, it’s not!:) x )
I’ve but various looks including fit and length styles below from fit and flare, to semi fitted and maxi dress lengths. At the very bottom you’ll also find a gallery of various of various looks that will give you ideas for all events be it wedding guest, a family event or a more At The Races feel.
Fit and flare
The “Full” dress and skirt effect is something that is always a popular occasion wear look. It works on all shapes and they usually tend to be extremely comfortable. The one I’m wearing above is from the Coast Curve line and you will find this style in various prints across Coast mainline as well as curve and as well as featuring limited edition pieces for Simply Be. Other brands offering fit and flare as well as full skirt effect styles would be Chi Chi London, Debenhams, Quiz ( who also have a curve line) and I’ve found their online stores to be fairly reliable in the past when it comes to postage.
Coast curve Bardot full skirt sizes 12-32 here/ Grey floral and white Bardot dress sizes 16-26 here / Chi Chi London navy and pink dress ( comes in various colours and prints) sizes 18-26 here and sizes 8-18 here
Semi fitted to more structured dresses
Wearing mint green fitted and frill dress here from Lavish Alice ( sizes 8-18)
For those who like something a bit more fitted but with a summer feel to it the likes of Simply Be, River Island, V by Very, Asos, Lavish Alice and 11 Honore are all doing fantastic pieces at the moment in various cuts and colours. If you want to go more into a fashion exploration, trying new brands can be pleasantly surprising too. This week for example I tried on two Michael Kors dresses which prior to this I would have assumed would have been small fit. To my surprise, and quite pleasantly, the size Large in both items fitted my size 16-18 frame perfectly. I wanted to mention it mainly that sometimes we do get wrapped up in a size mentality that we’re afraid to try new brands or test the waters to see something new.
Coral red ruffle sleeve sizes 6-18 here / Cushnie one shoulder pencil dress from 11 Honore sizes 16-20 here / Lilac semi fitted lace dress Debut at Debenhams sizes 8-24 here
Maxi dresses
Image from a collaboration last month for Primark Occasion wear
Maxi dresses are always a key favourite of mine especially because they can be restyled so easily on holidays too. The look above from Primark for their new occasion wear line would be a great brand to check out for some budget friendly wedding guest styles. In terms of all maxi dress options, the lists of fabulous styles are endless at the moment. Wallis have amazing offerings on their website including petite options as do Dorothy Perkins. Then the likes of Asos, Joanne Hope at Simply Be, Evans and Monsoon all who have embraced colour and various materials from soft floaty wedding guest abroad styles to the more detailed and embellished.
Yellow maxi dress: Wallis online sizes 8-18 here / Blue embellished maxi: Simply Be sizes 12-32 here / Red Ax Paris Curve long size dress sizes 12-32 here
MORE FASHION STYLES BELOW
