Thursday, August 10, 2017

Mama Style >> The Perfect Wedding Guest Dress (On The One Day It Didn't Rain!)



Just recently, I've started to feel a tiny bit more like I finally know what it is I want to be wearing. After months, possibly years of toing and froing between all kinds of things trying to work out what I like that suits me in my 30's, whilst being practical for playing the Mama part, I think I'm there.

With a Summer wedding coming up, I was frantically looking for something to wear that would be comfy enough to chase after the kids but also make me feel dressed up enough for a wedding. Walking around the high street gave me no inspiration with racks of strapless dresses, with the risk of every vaguely nice thing being worn by other guests too. The kids were easy, a quick 5 minutes in one shop in town and they were sorted, me? Not so much.




I was emailed a few weeks before the wedding with a review opportunity for J D Williams, an online store packed with everything you could need to refresh your wardrobe this summer in sizes 12 - 32, regardless of your shape. I don't buy clothes online that often as I struggle with my size and shape, but loved having the chance to review something just for me, so got started looking through the site. This was perfect timing for being a guest at a friends wedding shortly after!

I could have spent a fortune on the website, I finally decided on a dress that although was totally out my comfort zone and packed with colour, but looked just the thing for a summer garden wedding, some sandals to wear with it and lastly a mid length denim skirt which would be the perfect item to dress up and down through all the seasons as a little extra. I'm a curvy size 16 to 18 depending on brand and often struggle with waist lines on dresses and fit for denim items, so this was a big test for me.

The Dress


The dress looked beautiful in the picture on a tall slim model, but what would it look like on me? I was delighted when it arrived to see it was made from more of a jersey fabric, the sort of material that doesn't need ironing and has a good amount of weight to hang well and not blow around too much. I love dresses with sleeves and although this has slashes and ties at the top, it covers the bits of my arms that I want covering. I'm no model, but here it is!




This dress is currently on sale at just £25 and I absolutely love it! It's so different for me as someone that usually wears head to toe black. I loved indulging in a bit of colour for a change. I added a belt to break it up a little around my waist, but it does pull in with gentle elastic so wasn't overly needed. Although it's a maxi dress, it's not overly long. I'm 5'4 and it ended nicely at my shoes without being too much. I could have made it longer though by removing the belt or shorter by bringing the elastic higher if needed.




The kids loved seeing me in something so different and Alf took this next picture and kept telling me how lovely I looked, I actually felt it too which is pretty rare!




I loved my dress and it did just the job for the beautiful garden wedding (on the one day recently it didn't rain luckily!) and I can't wait to wear it again. Although super summery, I plan on wearing this into autumn with boots and cardigans too.




Sandals


With a week of rain before my friends wedding, it was clear that a garden wedding may come with a little unwanted wet grass and mud, so I decided against wearing these sandals so that they didn't get ruined, but having tried on since, they are the most comfortable sandals I've had.




These sandals are by 'Sole Diva', described as a violet knot wedge sandal and best of all, a EEE fitting for my wide feet! Sandals are so hard to get right with wide feet but these fit perfectly without fear of the dreaded 'foot overhang' or baby toe peeking out. These are just £20 on the website and the perfect summer all rounder for day and night, dressy and casual. I wish I'd had chance to wear them with the dress, but they are too pretty to risk mud with!

Denim skirt


The denim skirt is bizarre because it fits like an absolute glove! Anyone with curves, particularly those with extra junk in the trunk will appreciate how hard it is to find jeans and denim skirts that don't gape at the back or dig in on the tummy. I wasn't able to get a decent photo (hopeless photo taking husband), but this image from the site shows it better than I could, though it is a lovely shape and very slimming.




This skirt is from Simply Be via J D Williams and is a special 'shape and sculpt' and actually does exactly that, I'm super impressed! Normally I'm all hips in this kind of skirt, but this just works. This can be worn in so many ways and will look fab with boots in colder months, as well as being easy to style over summer. This dream fitting skirt is now a true wardrobe staple and I MUST try the jeans from this brand too!


I'm so happy I found the perfect dress to wear to the wedding, as well as two more treasures to see me through summer and beyond. I am truly converted to the ease of buying clothing online now and knowing things can fit like this without the hassle of shopping with kids in tow, I'm totally sold! To see all the beautiful things J D Williams has to offer, you can visit their website by clicking here.


Do you think it was the perfect wedding guest choice?