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18th February 2020

The versatile dress edit

Fashion - By Alexandra Stedman

Quick Read

Alex Stedman of The Frugality wearing a green and white checked dress from Topshop.
Dress: £49, Topshop. Shoes: Mimco (old). Photograph: Eva K Salvi. This post contains some affiliate links.

Okay so maybe not quite ‘all-weather’ but with chunky boots, pulled up socks and chunky flats in style currently, the day dress has never been so versatile. Layer with a poloneck underneath, throw a jumper over the top or wear your toastiest tights and boots – the looser the dress the better, generally. And the best thing about these is that they will take you through to spring and summer easily (I can’t wait to wear this Topshop dress with chunky tan flats on holiday).

Alex Stedman of The Frugality wearing a green and white checked dress from Topshop.
Alex Stedman of The Frugality wearing a yellow white polka dot Topshop dress. Styled with a white chunky knitwear jumper from H&M and black chunky studded boots from Very.
Jumper: H&M (sold out). Dress: Topshop (old). Boots: Very (gifted).

The good news is there are so many good versions out there right now, so I’ve edited it down for you:

Black and white floral print dress from Topshop.
Polyester dress: £29, Topshop

I feel like this dress didn’t ‘have’ to come with a matching scrunchie but here we are. I picked this because it has long sleeves, has a real William Morris vibe and would look great with trainers as well as chunky boots, or with sandals for a fancy dinner. It has real ‘Little Women’ potential, too – try with navy and burgundy accessories to give it a real Jo March feel.

Cotton dresses: £29.99, H&M

Aaah, the H&M dress of dreams. Already almost sold out online but I have seen lots instore. My heart is drawn to the bubblegum pink one but do you know what? It didn’t doo much for me when I tried it on. I actually would recommend going for the black version for longevity and just mix up with your accessories – try leopard print or bright trainers.

Chiffon dress: £34.99, H&M

I’m such a sucker for green dress and this one is truly love at first sight.

Black linen and silk dress from Cos.
Linen and silk dress: £125, Cos

This dress seems expensive for what it is, but I find that Cos uses great quality items and their clothes just last in a way that most other brands’ clothes don’t. You get what you pay for and this dress, in my opinion, is sublime. There is also, however, a more affordable cotton version here.

Green star print dress from Zara.
Cotton dress: £49.99, Zara

Bear with me, as this is styled so beautifully on the Zara site with a prairie blouse underneath and chic black sandals – it just makes me want to ditch my boyish jeans and crew-neck uniform for good and be this lady. It definitely has holiday potential, too.

Vintage floral print dress from Kitri.
Polyester dress: £145, Kitri

Vintage florals are really calling to me at the moment (I blame Charlotte Jacklin) and I adore the shape of this one – Kitri is a great place to look for dresses, in general (and you won’t worry that everyone will have the same, a la Zara).

Red and white lyocell and nylon Zara dress.
Lyocell and nylon dress: £49.99, Zara

And speaking of Zara, here’s another lovely dress that hopefully you won’t see everyone in. I like the sheen on this one and think it will really come alive when it’s toughened up with black.

White cotton Topshop dress with are ties.
Cotton dress: £49, Topshop

I’m always on the look out for a great off-white dress and this might be it. Loose, flowy and looks good with Converse? It ticks a lot of boxes, and would look way more expensive if worn with darker leather, like a khaki or tobacco cross body bag.

Warehouse poplin dress with frilled neck line.
Cotton dress: £49, Warehouse

I’ll be honest, I haven’t looked at Warehouse for ages but I just thought I’d browse for this post and found so many gems (including a retro bikini which I really don’t need at all!) – I love this cotton poplin dress – the frills, the fabric, the hemline.

Polyester dress: £55.99, Zara

I usually use cut-outs for galleries but I felt this dress also needed an ‘on’ model shot, too – I love the trapeze lines on this dress.

Lyocell (sustainably sourced) dress: £95, & Other Stories

I kept seeing this online when researching this article but it looked short but after seeing it on the site, I take it back, it’s wonderful.

Alex Stedman of The Frugality wearing a green and white checked dress from Topshop.

By Alexandra Stedman

Fashion Editor, Blogger, Realist

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Comments

  1. Jo says

    18th February 2020 at 3:50 pm

    Random fact – Carrie Hope Fletcher wears this dress in the promo for Andrew Lloyd Webbers Cinderella.
    Sadly I am only an admirer of a midi length dress as I am plus size. Still holding out hope that Warehouse do an Oasis and create a Curve range x

    Reply
    • Alexandra Stedman says

      19th February 2020 at 10:22 am

      This is so disapointing that more brands aren’t….I will definitely bear in mind when doing further galleries – Asos Curve do lovely ones but I use cut-out imagery so it’s hard to include them in these galleries! xx

      Reply
  2. swaraj735 says

    19th February 2020 at 12:08 pm

    Hello,
    That Cotton dress Zara(green polka dots) dress is really amazing plz post on shorts also.
    Thank you for posting.

    Reply
  3. Patricija says

    19th February 2020 at 12:22 pm

    WOW! I just found you blog and I’m already the biggest fan! This is so GOOD. UNIQUE, CREATIVE, INTERESTING… Everything that I’m looking for. Keep posting, best wishes <333

    Reply
  4. Tricia M says

    21st February 2020 at 10:52 am

    Loved the film Little Women so much and especially liked Jo’s outfits ( the waistcoats!!!). Sadly, I am too small to carry off a full length dress. I think I would look like a child but this is a great selection of prints. It makes me long for warmer, drier and sunnier weather after all the depressing wind and rain we’ve been having lately here. Have you got any plans to visit a really sunny place, Alex , just so we can enjoy seeing sunshine and colour ?
    Tricia M x

    Reply
    • Alexandra Stedman says

      21st February 2020 at 1:31 pm

      I loved Jo’s looks too, and her flushed cheeks and flowing hair….! I’ve actually really cut down on travel this year, saving for a kitchen so no sunshine until July 🙁 but hoping for some Easter UK sun (I always swear it’s warm end of April for my birthday!) xxx

      Reply
  5. Gopal Roy says

    25th February 2020 at 6:34 pm

    I’m loving everything about this outfit, and I love your hair, really gorgeous!

    Reply
  6. Ujjal Dey says

    25th February 2020 at 6:37 pm

    I agree with your ideas. Fashion is something that changes so fast. So it’s useful to keep some evergreen ideas in mind.

    Reply
  7. Bidyut Jana says

    25th February 2020 at 6:38 pm

    I love these ideas. I think as fashion-specific bloggers it’s easy to just chase the latest trends, since they’re moving so fast. It’s great advice to step back and create content with longer shelf life. Time to get started, I think.

    Reply
  8. Sourav Halder says

    25th February 2020 at 6:44 pm

    Very Awesome and Helpfull POST. It really helps me. thanks for sharing this.

    Reply
  9. Best Tractor Brands in India says

    14th April 2020 at 12:01 pm

    All looks great and stylish

    Reply
  10. Eicher 188 says

    25th January 2022 at 10:23 am

    Such a nice work you doing. Always do it.

    Reply

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