Aztec Stripes

A couple of weeks ago, I was a very lucky lady and won a giveaway on Naomi's blog Diamonds and Pearls. My prize was a £25 voucher to spend with F&F at Tesco.

I was naturally over the moon because it had been a few months since I'd last treated myself to some new clothes. It took me a few hours to narrow down my favourites, but eventually I chose to put the voucher towards two dresses. I bought this one (now on sale), which I'll share soon, and the dress I'm going to show you today.



When I first saw this Aztec skater dress online, I fell in love with it instantly and I knew I had to have it. The bright, patterned design was so eye catching and it looked a little different to anything in my wardrobe, yet in one of my favourite styles. I was quite honestly amazed that it was only £14! £14 for a beautiful viscose dress? Sold!



Isn't it gorgeous? I'm sure it's not to everybody's taste, but I personally love it! The dress is a short-sleeved skater dress with an Aztec print all over it, laid out in both horizontal and vertical stripes.



It's a little different to the average striped design; and it's probably the most wearable striped piece I've ever found for my personal taste. I love wearing patterned clothes and do so on a daily basis but I often feel broad-shouldered in stripes. I am naturally broad-shouldered, but I don't feel any wider than usual in this dress; I don't feel self-conscious about them. I think all those crazy Aztec patterns makes me feel like I'm not wearing stripes at all.

We're told that plus size women- or pretty much any woman who doesn't have the body of a Supermodel- should never ever wear stripes because they make us look bigger, but I've personally always thought that rule was ridiculous. I don't think stripes make us look larger, and so what if they do? If you want to wear stripes, wear stripes! If you want to dress up like a narwhal, do it; just so long as you're happy! If I like something, I'll wear it! But then, I've never really been one for rules... rules are made for breaking!



What I love most about this dress, is the use of colour; particularly the amount of cyan blue. It's so cheerful and not a colour you see often on pretty dresses these days. I wish I had more of it in my wardrobe. It's the happiest colour!



From the stock photos and description, I thought the dress had a fitted waist, and because Tesco dresses are often on the small side, I decided to size up. I really shouldn't have.

This dress actually has an elasticated waist and it's generously cut, so it's a bit too big on me, especially at the waist and around the boobs. I decided to keep it, though, because I love it, and I don't think it looks too over-sized on me. I think I can make it work by balancing it with fitted pieces, and by wearing it with a belt if I want a bit more definition.

Though I am tempted to pick up the smaller size, as well, because it's such a beauty, and I'd love to have a fitted version for when I want to look more presentable.



I'd recommend sticking to your normal size as the dress has a lot of room and good stretch at the waist. I can't speak for the correct size, but from wearing the size up the dress has plenty of room for large boobs; I'm a C cup (I thought I was a D until I was remeasured yesterday) and it's very loose in the boob-ular area on me. I'm not sure if this would be the case if I was wearing my normal dress size, though.

The waist, as I said, is elasticated, and the seam is concealed by a band of fabric, which I love because the different stripes seem to merge naturally together and it looks so much neater with the seams hidden.

It also has short sleeves, which I'm glad to say have a decent amount of room and haven't been cut too tight. They're still a little too short for me to feel comfortable wearing the dress without a cardigan or jacket, but that's mainly because I'm not confident baring my upper arms in public and I haven't been for a very long time. I'm working on it...

The dress is made from a medium-weight viscose, and it feels lovely and soft against my skin. It's the perfect weight fabric for Spring and Summer.

The dress is quite long for a skater dress; just below the knee on 5'6'' me. It should be perfect if you're a little taller and like your dresses long, but if you're much shorter than I am, you might prefer to get it shortened. It all depends on what length you're comfortable with.

The dress comes in UK sizes 6-22, and it currently retails for the bargain price of £14. That's practically free! Snap one up if you can, this dress is perfect!

I wore my dress with a blue cropped shrug from M&Co; a pair of purple Evans tights; my cobalt blue New Look ballet pumps; a cobalt blue Dorothy Perkins belt; and an adorable Cath Kidston brooch.

There's only one photo of me wearing the belt as I took photos with and without to show the difference in size / shape of the dress, but I wasn't happy with how most of my photos came out. I'm not all that happy with the photos I settled for, either, but after taking 100+ photos I was in so much pain that I had to call it a day and I really didn't want to scrap the outfit after putting myself in that state.

I've only recently worked out how to extend my sister's tripod to full height (yes, a gorilla would've worked it out faster); so I've been able to take photos in other spots in the garden. Everything's beginning to come to life again and I thought the purple plant, would make a pretty back drop. I think it's a ceanothus. It's just a shame the washing line runs across that spot and the ground isn't particularly flat.

Outfit Details

Dress-F&F at Tesco // Shrug-M&Co (similar designs here) // Tights-Evans // Belt-Dorothy Perkins // Brooch-Cath Kidston // Ballet Pumps-New Look