Before I begin this, I don’t think I’ve ever really dressed conventionally. When I was kid, when everyone else was in denim shirts and leggings, I was in a dress and boots. And now, I choose colour over black and white, patterns and prints and styles that I’m told I ‘shouldn’t’.
I mean I’m a plus size woman over 35. So I should, of course, be wearing as much black as possible, floaty stuff that doesn’t cling and be trying to look like I don’t exist.
Yeah, no. I’ll rant more on this over the weekend I think.
For now, we’re hear to talk clothes from George at Asda. Now I know there are those who will poo-poo supermarket clothes. Not me. Firstly they’re often good value – note, I don’t say cheap. There’s a difference. What I’m after is stuff that will last, and given I have some dresses from Sainsbury’s that I wear on an almost weekly basis, that are still going strong long since their season passed, I’m talking long lasting items that wash well and don’t fall apart after a week. Secondly if you’re one of those people who has to head out of town to do a monthly/weekly shop, what can be easier, or more tempting, than spotting a gorgeous dress while you’re buying toilet rolls?
For me, most of my shopping is done online. I’m fussy – about colours, shapes, fabrics and cuts. Unless I’m at an event (like Curvy Con) or buying secondhand/vintage, mostly I’ll sit on a bus browsing my way through, hunting for something I like.
Asda have come up with an idea to try and speed things up for you. Their Dress Selector is designed to give you options that show off the bits about yourself you love, whilst hiding the bits you’re not so fond of, and finding things that work well with your shape.
So, in I went.
Yep, yep. Easy enough. Then let’s see what we fancy doing…
OK. And press the button and…?
I’ll admit. Not an obvious choice for me. Whilst I have no issue with my legs, I prefer a knee length or midi length dress as it works with my height a little better, and I’m really not a fan of a high neck. Still, I pressed the link and saw what options were there.
Unsurprisingly, given my size, not a hint of a mini dress – the shortest was the cold shoulder dress, which doesn’t show off my previously noted best bit – my bum (well, I like it). However, we did have one or two that worked much better. And so I filled my basket and waited for them to arrive.
And then played dress up.
Though I ordered it to try, the cold shoulder dress really wasn’t me – it’s a little too nineties, and whilst it’s light and floaty, it’s also dark in colour. Anyone who knows me, knows I love to wear all the brights.
However, my selection did include a couple of surprises.
Whilst this would have been an automatic choice for me, in the end I wasn’t convinced. I liked the pattern, and it went well with my jacket from Didi’s Boutique, but the cut was a little odd. I get the feeling it was made for someone with a much bigger bust. It was nice, but not quite what I expected.
This I wore almost immediately. It’s bright, it’s colourful, it makes no excuses, and being out of a stretchy jersey, it’s easy to wear. And at the bargain price of £10 – it’s perfect to use as a beach cover up, but put on a posh cropped jacket or a pair of heels and you can toddle out to cocktails easily.
But it was the last and possibly the least dressy of everything that I fell in love with.
Like it’s floral twin above, again this is £10. Navy and white horizontal stripes would see most people chucking on a denim jacket and pumps, but it’s so easy to dress up. Again I could wear this on the beach over a bikini, but it’s just as at home dressed up for a night out, for a barbecue at friends, or with a pair of flipflops and a cardigan at the shops.
And yes, there’s the booty.
Because it has the white it’s much lighter than the cold shoulder dress – much easier to accessorise with bright colours, and tones in with my hair less harshly than black does.
Oddly, I added this as an afterthought and was really rather glad I did.
So, does the Dress Selector work? Try it for yourself and let me know. I’m still not sure I’m a mini girl, but you know George, get some in that fit me, and I’ll give it a go.
The clothes mentioned in the above post were supplied free of charge by George of Asda for review as part of their Dress Selector campaign.