In a Heartbeat

It was my birthday a few weeks ago, and I spent the little bit of birthday money I was given on dresses. My, aren't you guys stunned by that revelation?! You've never heard of me buying dresses before; no sir, not once! Ahem...

One of the dresses which I had been returning to time and time again over the past months was a navy and cream heart print prom dress from ASOS Curve. I literally had it saved in my 'saved list' for several months. It looked like a beautiful dress in the prom dress style I love best, but the price tag of £50 was a bit out of my budget. So, when I saw it had gone in to the summer sale at the beginning of the month, and was reduced to just £15, I didn't hesitate to make my purchase. 

And voila! 

Now, when this dress turned up about a week later, I was quite surprised with the dress I tore out of the packaging. It seems I really hadn't bothered to read the item description properly. In my head I was expecting a light-weight, cotton or viscose fit and flare prom dress, not unlike my yellow polka dot AX Paris dress; something simple and fluid with no layers beneath it.

 So, I was really surprised to see this dress had a huge pleated skirt with tulle beneath it on both hips to create a big full skirt!

It was a surprise, but not a bad one. Who would be disappointed to find out a dress which cost them just £15 had a beautiful fifties style skirt shaped with tulle? Not me, even though I'm not quite sure where I'd wear it. Even if it never gets worn somewhere, it's still fun to dress up in around the house.

So... the dress is lined, and the skirt is also lined with tulle; although this is only around the hips and not the entire circumference of the skirt. If it had been added all the way around, this skirt would be ginormous. It's already much wider than my hips by a couple of inches on either side.

The dress from the waist down is fitted really nicely, but as you can see, on top it's far too big on me. I would normally be able to hide that with a cardigan, but I thought I'd show you a true review of this dress instead of dressing it in to an outfit. I'd say it's at least two sizes too big on top; my chest area begins about an inch or so in on either side. It's baggy around my boobs, shoulders, and arms, but I plan to get it altered to fit me properly. I don't have the largest of chests but anybody that does will probably find this dress a much better fit. It's certainly got plenty of room to accommodate ample bra sizes.

I should add, this frock has a zip to the side, and a fitted waist band in case anybody wants to know.

The dress is made of polyester, but it's a good thick fabric and fairly heavy, too. It doesn't feel like cheap, nasty polyester at all; it's actually quite soft to the touch. The fabric is navy, with cream hearts all over the front and back. The hearts are small around the bust and waist, and are gradually larger and larger as you follow the dress down to the hem, which I imagine was designed to draw the eyes to the waist and make it look smaller. Regardless of whether you care about making your figure look smaller, I think the print is pretty and fun, without looking tacky and childish. It's nice to see a dress with a heart print which isn't pink or red!

This is the print from the bottom end of the dress. Isn't it cute?

Since I was wearing a dressy prom dress, I dug out my pearl corsage bracelet, which I think I bought in Dorothy Perkins a few years ago. Although, It may have been from Accessorize. Either way, I think it's so pretty.

I can't help noticing how many new freckles I've gained on my hands and arms over the last couple of weeks. The annoying thing is, I've caught more on my left side than my right from being a passenger in the car, so while my left arm has larger, darker freckles from the sun, my right arm still has mostly delicate winter freckles. Oops.

I was also wearing my double cameo necklace which I won in Rachel's giveaway a couple of months ago. I adore it!

Outfit Details

Dress-ASOS Curve // Bracelet-Accessorize or Dorothy Perkins // Necklace-From a giveaway

So, overall I'm happy with this dress. It's beautiful, fun, and a real bargain!

You can find the dress still on sale for £15 on ASOS's website here, where sizes 20-26 UK are still available.

Make sure you stop by tomorrow when I'll be reviewing my new Zatchels satchel!