Fancy dresses for UK plus size women

February 22, 2017 3:56 AM

I'm looking for a formal dress for a wedding and don't seem to be inspired by my usual shops.

I want to wear something in a colour that's not dark blue, grey or black.

I feel like I've dressed really dowdy and matronly since having a baby and being a nursing parent and I want to feel glam and swooshy. I'm a UK size 22 and quite short. I'm not very rich, unfortunately.

If you can point me to a shop (online or somewhere in the North West) that will have things for the above criteria I will dance in your honour at the wedding.

posted by threetwentytwo to Clothing, Beauty, & Fashion (12 answers total)

I've used Yours and ASOS Curve for stuff like this before (I found the ASOS Curve dresses ran small, so it might be worth getting a couple of different sizes and sending back anything that doesn't fit well.

I realise it's entirely possible that these are the shops you're already not inspired by, though, as plus size in the UK seems to be a fairly small world.

Have you looked at supermarket retailers at all? Tesco/ASDA/Sainsbury's often have some surprisingly good, affordable party-type dresses that could work for a wedding.
posted by terretu at 4:10 AM on February 22, 2017 [1 favorite]

Response by poster: ASOS Curve, Simply Be and New Look were the shops I was thinking of in particular.
posted by threetwentytwo at 4:19 AM on February 22, 2017

Best answer: Navabi does seem to have quite a lot of black and dark blue but in amongst those are some brighter colours and more interesting cuts that might inspire you (that link should filter to size 22 dresses, arranged from low to high price, but isn't filtered for formality).
posted by theseldomseenkid at 4:51 AM on February 22, 2017 [1 favorite]

I looooove Dorothy Perkins - here's one random pretty dress but they have lots of options (yes, plenty of the requisite dark colors but also a decent selection of brights and patterns!)
posted by brilliantine at 5:06 AM on February 22, 2017

Debenhams is pretty good and has some online-only ranges if you've looked in store (including Dorothy Perkins). If you suit 50s-style dresses, Lindy Bop has a good range.
posted by penguinliz at 5:44 AM on February 22, 2017

Best answer: I think this season's stuff in ChiChi Curve is really pretty, albeit my tastes DO rather run to "floral poodle cake frill!!!" and yours may not.
posted by monster truck weekend at 6:18 AM on February 22, 2017 [1 favorite]

Not sure if they are formal enough, but boden.co.uk has nice dresses in size 22.
posted by meijusa at 6:46 AM on February 22, 2017

Monsoon has lovely dresses and they do size 22. They are mostly in the £100-150 range but some are less. Good luck!
posted by Lotto at 11:06 AM on February 22, 2017

Best answer: At the moment the UK high street seems to be all pastels OR navy. I hear you. It's awful.

Both Lindy Bop (sizes run small) and ChiChiCurve are okay as previously mentioned. I also have ebay searches running for used occasion dresses in my size (I make sure to specify UK as my location to weed out dubious Chinese eshops). I've had some luck finding previous seasons' nice brands at very good prices (hello Monsoon dress costing me £12), but obviously you don't get the luxury of trying things on.

I've not ordered from them, but have heard nice things about Little Mistress and a friend really likes Pink Clove (though I think they're not very wedding-appropriate?). I've had my eye on Studio 8 for some time - I tried on a really beautiful dress last year and liked how it was made. They do tend to be above £100, though.
posted by kariebookish at 1:57 PM on February 22, 2017

Eshakti? You can alter length, arms and neckline to make them more swooshy.
posted by kjs4 at 4:25 AM on February 23, 2017

Best answer: I really like Scarlett and Jo, I have my eye on this one which sadly is quite expensive, but so gorgeous.
I have a dress from Lady V Voluptuous which I like and have worn to weddings, but this season is a little sparse. Their main line does do up to a 22 in some designs though.

In a similar vein is Victory Parade which goes up to a 20, but check the measurements.

Forever21 Plus can be pretty excellent, especially their wrap dresses.

River Island and H&M also have decent plus size ranges (I think H&M is online only) that have fast turnover and can be quite glam. I can never find things myself, but my fave plus fashion blogger always finds the nicest things. She also wears a lot of Scarlett and Jo and is amazing at styling stuff, so I recommend looking at her for inspiration.

Just FYI, I wore a Chi Chi London Curve dress as a bridesmaid's dress in january, and the sizing was all over the place and I ended up needing two sizes up from the other chichi dress I have from them.
posted by litereally at 5:33 AM on February 23, 2017

One last one, AX Paris Curve, sold at Simply Be, has a lot of fancy dresses that might be what you're looking for. Simply Be also has a lot of other plus brands and their own line also has some gems.
posted by litereally at 2:36 AM on February 24, 2017