The Ultimate 70s-Style Patterned Midi Dress #iwillwearwhatilike

Elegant 70s style patterned midi dress in autumnal colours - bell sleeves, tie waist (Hobbs AW17) | Not Dressed As Lamb, over 40 style

I’m so glad I’ve finally got round to showcasing this patterned midi dress on the blog at last – have you EVER seen such a wondrous mix of sludgy 70s-style colours and print?

My obsession with all things 70s inspired hasn’t waned in the slightest it seems. The other week I did 70s Ralph Lauren country style with a floral maxi, and today it’s a mind-bending swirly print of epic Abigail’s Party proportions.

Hobbs have knocked it out the park yet again with another stunning AW17 dress – I didn’t think I could love a dress more than the yellow velvet dress I featured last month: please don’t make me choose between the two…!

I wore this dress to the eRetail Europe conference in Amsterdam a couple of weeks ago where I gave a presentation (I wrote a blog post about my fears before the conference and a follow up post explaining how it all went) – if you follow me on Instagram you may have seen my InstaStories in the hotel room before I left, showing off this beauty.

It was everything I wanted in an outfit where I was the only “influencer” – meaning, everyone else was there representing their business or their employer (a question I was asked all day – delegate: “Who do you work for?” Me: I work for myself…!” 💪). And being a fashion blogger you have a certain reputation to uphold. So as I knew back in May I was going to this conference I’d been thinking for a while about what to wear.

Elegant 70s style patterned midi dress in autumnal colours - bell sleeves, tie waist (Hobbs AW17) | Not Dressed As Lamb, over 40 style

SHOP THE LOOK:

 

Hobbs Edie midi dress with bell sleeves    Asos Speaker pointed heels, black    Fiorelli Mia grab bag pinstripe    Scholl Light Legs black compression tights    Zara gold asymmetric drop earrings    Debenhams oversized amber sunglasses

 

I FELT SO GOOD IN THAT DRESS WITH ITS STUNNING SWIRLY PATTERN, RICH COLOURS AND THOSE BELL SLEEVES

I saw the Edie dress in the summer at Hobbs head office when I went for a meeting with the team – the print caught my eye immediately and when I took it off the rail to see the shape it was lust at first sight. I asked if I could wear it to the conference, so a sample was kindly sent to me as it wasn’t yet available to buy – thank you Hobbs, I felt SO good in that dress with its stunning swirly pattern, rich colours and those bell sleeves! They may drag in food a bit when you’re at lunch (I had a few near misses) but I received endless compliments about the dress on the day.

The good news is that it IS available to buy now, and today there’s an extra 10% off the Hobbs site – use code EXTRA10 (don’t say I don’t spoil you)!

I kept the rest of the outfit as simple as possible: I wore Scholl’s new compression tights (perfect for plane travel and being on my feet all day), the still-popular black Asos heels and my fave gold asymmetric earrings from Mango.

Breast Cancer Care bag

The other fab piece in this outfit is the Fiorelli Mia grab bag, part of their range of bags to raise money for Breast Cancer Care this October. For every sale of this and the other bags in the range, Fiorelli will donate £10 towards the charity (HOW good is that?!).

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My Mia is small, gorgeous and super smart, so do check out the rest of the Breast Cancer Care Fiorelli bags and join in the #CARRYYOURCONFIDENCE campaign. I wrote about dressing large boobs to look smaller earlier this month, it’s all part of my new idea to bring you all things boobilicious every October (let me know in the comments if you like this idea going forward).

Do add your outfits to this week’s link up – and if you’ve added a link to here or my button to your post you may be featured next week!

ARE YOU AN ALL-THINGS-70S FAN LIKE ME? COMMENT BELOW, OR TAKE IT TO TWITTER @NOTLAMB!

Elegant 70s style patterned midi dress in autumnal colours - bell sleeves, tie waist (Hobbs AW17) | Not Dressed As Lamb, over 40 style
Elegant 70s style patterned midi dress in autumnal colours - bell sleeves, tie waist (Hobbs AW17) | Not Dressed As Lamb, over 40 style
Elegant 70s style patterned midi dress in autumnal colours - bell sleeves, tie waist (Hobbs AW17) | Not Dressed As Lamb, over 40 style
Elegant 70s style patterned midi dress in autumnal colours - bell sleeves, tie waist (Hobbs AW17) | Not Dressed As Lamb, over 40 style
Elegant 70s style patterned midi dress in autumnal colours - bell sleeves, tie waist (Hobbs AW17) | Not Dressed As Lamb, over 40 style
Elegant 70s style patterned midi dress in autumnal colours - bell sleeves, tie waist (Hobbs AW17) | Not Dressed As Lamb, over 40 style
Elegant 70s style patterned midi dress in autumnal colours - bell sleeves, tie waist (Hobbs AW17) | Not Dressed As Lamb, over 40 style
Elegant 70s style patterned midi dress in autumnal colours - bell sleeves, tie waist (Hobbs AW17) | Not Dressed As Lamb, over 40 style
Elegant 70s style patterned midi dress in autumnal colours - bell sleeves, tie waist (Hobbs AW17) | Not Dressed As Lamb, over 40 style

Dress: Hobbs c/o (extra 10% off today! Use code EXTRA10)

Heels: Asos

Tights: Scholl (compression tights) c/o

Bag: Fiorelli (£10 from every sale is donated to Breast Cancer Care)

Earrings: Mango

Sunglasses: Asos (similar)

 

OTHER HOBBS PIECES YOU MIGHT LIKE:

 

 

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The #iwillwearwhatilike link up with Not Dressed As Lamb
Thank you for joining the #iwillwearwhatilike link up! This started as a campaign on Instagram in August 2015 where women over 30 wore everything on a journalist’s list of “inappropriate” items for 30+ women (including leopard print, short dresses and oversized sunglasses. Yes, really). It was so popular that I decided to carry it on weekly where women of all ages link up their fabulous style, never mind what anyone tells them not to wear!

The link up goes live every Monday at 3pm UK time and will stay open for a week. Whilst the original article was of course aimed at the 30+, you can be ANY age to link up. The only criteria is that you’re wearing whatever you damn well like!

An InLinkz Link-up



Not Dressed As Lamb - CLICK HERE to receive posts by email

Linking up etiquette…

CLICK HERE to read the rules of linking up (and to grab the #iwillwearwhatilike button). Basically it’s just good manners to link back to here – to leave a comment is even nicer!

Featured favourites

Fashion bloggers who believe in #iwillwearwhatilike

My favourite outfits from last week’s link up:

(L-R) Mumma B Stylish | Nancy’s Fashion Style | My Fabulous Forties

To get yourself featured next week, make sure you’ve included a link back to Not Dressed As Lamb or my button in your post/sidebar!

 

DO SHARE THE LOVE AND VISIT AS MANY LINKS AS YOU CAN (YOU NEVER KNOW WHAT OTHER LOVELY LIKE-MINDED LADIES YOU MIGHT MEET) – THE ORIGINAL INSTAGRAM CAMPAIGN FORGED SOME WONDERFUL NEW FRIENDSHIPS SO DON’T MISS OUT!

Catherine

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P.S. DO CHECK OUT MY PINTEREST BOARD WITH ALL THE BEST OF THE #IWILLWEARWHATILIKE LINK UPS – HAVE YOU BEEN PINNED…?

Linking up to: iwillwearwhatilikeShoe and TellVisible MondayFake It Until You Make ItTurning Heads TuesdayBrilliant Blog Posts, Fun Fashion Friday, Passion for Fashion FridaySaturday Share Link Up

Disclosure: I was loaned the dress and gifted the bag but this post is not sponsored (click here for my full disclosure)This post may contain some affiliate links which means if you click through and buy I may receive a small commission. All content is original, however, and opinions are my own and 100% honest.

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Elegant 70s style patterned midi dress in autumnal colours - bell sleeves, tie waist (Hobbs AW17) | Not DRessed As Lamb, over 40 style

50 Comments

  1. 26 October 2017 / 12:33 pm

    Fab frock! I love 70s stuff. My mum had a fantastic range of frocks, jackets and platforms. The dresses didn't fit me as she was so slim, but the shoes did. I would've made good use of them in the '90s, but guess what my granny did? Gifted them all to a charity shop without checking with my mum! They would've been worth a small fortune.

  2. 26 October 2017 / 12:17 pm

    Catherine, that dress is wild. I love the length and the print! it really flatters you too. Really enjoy coming back to your blog over and over. so many lovely photos and fashion posts xx

  3. 25 October 2017 / 5:31 pm

    Oh my GOSH that dress is amazeballs, especially with your coloring. Funny, I was a teenager in the 70s and ever since then I sorta thought of 70s style as UGGGLY…but the modern version of 70s style I'm LOVING.

    Bettye

  4. 25 October 2017 / 4:28 am

    This dress is tres chic!!! Love it!

    xo,
    Janise

    • 25 October 2017 / 7:02 am

      It's a bit of a Sophie's Choice, isn't it Suzy 😉

  5. 24 October 2017 / 8:40 am

    Gahhh give me that dress & nobody gets hurt!

    • 25 October 2017 / 7:02 am

      Step AWAY from the dress, MT!!!!!!!!!!! lol 😉

  6. 24 October 2017 / 4:40 am

    I'm saying yes, yes, YES to this dress, dearest Catherine!! The colours and pattern are sooo 70's cool…and those bell sleeves are absolutely divine!! XOXO

    http://www.StyleIsMyPudding.com

    • 25 October 2017 / 7:01 am

      Thanks Monika – yes I have to agree with you there…!! x

  7. 24 October 2017 / 4:10 am

    It is indeed a stunning dress. It is really important that you feel confident in what you wear when you give a presentation. Makes a world of difference in your appearance. I have never heard of such tights. That’s a new one to me.
    Greetje

    • 25 October 2017 / 7:01 am

      The tights were really comfy Greetje – I wore them on our day together too and on the plane on the way back 😀

  8. 24 October 2017 / 3:58 am

    I love this dress! It's beautiful and is so Fall perfect.

  9. 24 October 2017 / 3:21 am

    I especially like the length of this dress Catherine. It seems like it's expected to be a maxi but instead stops just beyond the knee. I think nude nylons would also look smashing showing off your calves. I can see why you feel in love with this dress. And it's so awesome you were able to wear it to present in. You must have felt very, very confident.

    And with that, I'm off to see the booby post–being a large breasted woman I'm eager to read the tips!

    Love, Annie from Kremb de la Kremb

    • 25 October 2017 / 6:59 am

      Hmm I hadn't thought about it perhaps being a maxi Annie (maybe because it's got that mid 70s pattern)… I think because Hobbs nearly always do on-the-knee dresses (which I'm not a fan of) it was a relief to see this one was a true midi. And thank goodness!!!!

      Thank you sweetie x

  10. 24 October 2017 / 2:52 am

    That's a fabulous statement dress, Catherine! You look amazing!

    Thanks for the link up & have a great week!

  11. 24 October 2017 / 12:06 am

    Thanks for the linkup Catherine. As for that dress…sigh and double sigh…if only I could wear that one! You look fabulous! Mimi

    • 25 October 2017 / 6:58 am

      What's stopping you Mimi?! If you like something, try it!!!!!

  12. 23 October 2017 / 9:43 pm

    That's a fantastic print! Psychedelic!
    And I feel so proud to be featured on your blog!

  13. 23 October 2017 / 9:28 pm

    Such a fabulous vintage look!

  14. 23 October 2017 / 5:27 pm

    Yessss! Dress looks amazing on you. The colours complement you so well. Going to have to check out the Fiorelli bags. I have a couple of their purses and they wear really well and as the bags support such a good cause, how could I not?! x

    Kat

    • 25 October 2017 / 6:56 am

      I've always loved Fiorelli bags too Kat! thank you x

  15. 23 October 2017 / 5:20 pm

    Gosh, I love that dress, Catherine. Looks wonderful with your hair!

  16. 23 October 2017 / 5:00 pm

    Great dress! I love that '70s vibe and you wear it well, especially with those sunglasses, and the colours really let your hair shine. And right on for representing the self-employed bloggers at the conference. Yes!

    • 25 October 2017 / 6:56 am

      Thanks so much Melanie – I didn't think too much about what sunnies to wear, but it made sense that it was these 70s-inspired ones..!

  17. 23 October 2017 / 4:56 pm

    Catherine, I love this dress on you! Very feminine and stylish, and definitely perfect for fall!

  18. 23 October 2017 / 4:20 pm

    I love this dress so much it actually hurts. These aren't my colours at ALL like they are yours, but I'd wear this anyway! I adore this. xx

    • 25 October 2017 / 6:55 am

      hehe oh bless you Lisa – thank you! x

  19. 23 October 2017 / 4:11 pm

    My grandmother had a ton of dresses like these, and my cousin still has and wears a bunch of them. I guess I'm going to need to raid her closet!!
    XOXO
    Jodie
    http://www.jtouchofstyle.com

  20. 23 October 2017 / 3:56 pm

    Yes, another 70s fan here! You look stunning in that frock and I love that it waa such a good choice for your conference. X

    • 25 October 2017 / 6:54 am

      The 70s are the best, aren't they, Porcelina…?! 😉

  21. 23 October 2017 / 3:45 pm

    Oh well that's a nice surprise to find! Thanks so much for the feature – I'm blushing as I type. x I love your dress too! It's perfect, the whole outfit is just perfect and the glasses finish it off so well. xx Jacqui
    Mummabstylish

  22. 23 October 2017 / 3:35 pm

    That dress brings back memories-definitely has a 70's color story vibe. But the sleeves update it (although we wore those sleeves in the 60's). I love the bold graphic pattern. I find few prints that I love and this would be one of them.

    • 24 October 2017 / 6:37 pm

      I guess it is a bit of a mix of 60s & 70s, Teresa! Thank you

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