My husband - who was then my boyfriend - really improved my self-esteem and so I started to fill my wardrobe with full-circle skirts, floral patterns and all the polka dots I could lay my hands on. Around this time, I discovered two brands that became my go-tos: Lindy Bop and Hell Bunny.
I've stuck with Hell Bunny since then as the brand offers great sizing, flattering designs and lovely colours. However, they are also quite pricey to wear every day - although this doesn't stop me. Lindy Bop were my main choice for both evening and day wear as they had lower prices and I could always trust their sizing. Sadly, I've had bad experiences with this brand over the last two years in terms of irregular sizing, lower quality manufacture and missing orders.
This is why I'm really happy that I recently discovered Dolly and Dotty. This is fast becoming my favourite vintage-inspired brand and I have already filled my wardrobe with loads of their dresses in various sizes so I'm all set for a few stages of weight loss .
They go up to size 24 and judging from the reviews, their sizing seemed to be spot on. I was tempted to buy a few bits but I knew I had my operation coming up so didn't want to spend a fortune on dresses that wouldn't fit me in a few months. Although it was a huge struggle not to give in to my shopping urges.
After dropping a stone, however, and finding that several of my favourite dresses didn't fit properly any more - both positive and negative - I figured I might as well get a couple to try them out and so I had something to wear in a size or two down until I could get clothing altered. As they had a massive sale on, I treated myself to three dresses.
My order arrived the day after it was dispatched and I was sent tracking info, which I really appreciated after having my last two Lindy Bop orders vanish in the post. They were packaged well and looked even better than they did online. The fit of each of the dresses was spot on, although I did find out that I had dropped just over dress size so the Penny was a little loose due to the elasticated back so people could probably get away with sizing down.
The skirts are also longer than they appear online - I was a bit worried they'd be too short - as the models are wearing petticoats. This means they look gorgeous with or without petticoats so you have that option if you want to change up your look a bit.
In fact, the Sophie is my favourite dress so far, not least because I can fit in it despite it being two sizes down. It is in a gorgeous cherry print fabric, which I will be buying more dresses in, and has a really lovely full skirt that I can't wait to wear a petticoat under.
The Sallys are sailor-style dresses and almost fit because the fabric - which is slightly heavier than all the other dresses - has a good stretch to it. The Annies are in gorgeous floral fabrics - in fact, one of them is in the same pattern as one pair of my Irregular Choice shoes - and don't have as much stretch as the other dresses so I'll be shrinking into them.
Overall, I'm really impressed with Dolly and Dotty and will be happy to pay full price for more dresses in the future. In fact, I already have a few more dresses in my online basket that I really want to hang in my wardrobe. I really can't recommend this brand enough as their dresses are great, their fabrics are comfortable and their service is fantastic.