“That is the Catheriniest dress ever. Did you design it yourself?”
– a direct quote from a comment left on Instagram by my good friend Lisa. She may well have been right: I’m surprised I didn’t design it myself. In fact if I were to dream up a dream dress, this “Danielle” dress by Raishma* would be it.
The myriad of bright-but-oh-so-slighted-saturated colours. That bold, geometric pattern. The puff sleeves. The deep cuffs. The tiny covered buttons. The midi length. The loose fit (but with a waist). The delicate high collar. That pleated hem.
In fact, it’s SO “me” that it’s got more than I could ever have dreamt up for myself; I would have left out half those things and then afterwards thought, “WHY didn’t I add tiny covered buttons all the way down the front? I could have put a pleated hem on the dress, WHY didn’t I do that??”
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Being a shirt-dress style it’s actually super loose – the belt is what pulls it in and you could switch it for a belt in a colour picked out from the pattern – so it’s perfect for any day or evening out when you’re going to be eating a lot.
To top it off, it’s machine washable, is available up to a UK size 24 (HOW good is THAT?!) and it’s UNDER £100.
I wore it on Christmas Day, I didn’t get too hot due to the loose fit (as was my fear), anything I might have spilt down it would have been disguised by the pattern, and I had all the room in the world for my expanding festive belly. All the styling it needed was some bright pink tights (I purposely bought these to go with the dress – it needs bright legs) and chose a pair of low-ish orange heels rather than high ones due to being in the kitchen and prepping dinner.
Coming soon: my one January sales purchase, the Catheriniest raincoat ever.
Have you ever spotted/bought/acquired an item of clothing as being the you-iest item of clothing ever? Tell me in the comments…!
Stay safe, XOXO
P.S. The Brits among you may well be thinking, what’s with the Panto Principal Boy shoes…?! I thought that when I bought them (though I don’t care and still love them), and my mum did say (nicely!) on Christmas Day, “You know what they remind me of?” Me: “I know exactly what you’re going to say…”
P.P.S. Hair has not changed, as you can see by the roots it’s the grown-out and faded colour. Having to hold out on the colour as I’m doing it rose gold again for a campaign this month, and it wasn’t cut till the beginning of January as I gave my pre-Christmas appointment to Keith who hadn’t booked one and was starting to look like a hobo. So yeah, I went through Christmas with split ends and roots; however, easy-peasy waves created with the Bestope Pro hair waver hid a multitude of sins.
Dress: Raishma*
Tights: Amazon
Shoes: Asos (similar)
Earrings: French Connection (similar)
Smartwatch: FitBit with crystal case and crystal strap – this is how I bling up my FitBit for special occasions
Hairstyler: Bestope Pro
Other Raishma dresses and coloured tights you might like:
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Linking up to… Monday: Stylish Monday (second Monday of the month), Inspire Me Monday, My Glittery Heart, On Mondays We Link Up || Tuesday: Style With a Smile, Trend Spin/Walking in Memphis in High Heels, Turning Heads Tuesday, Spread the Kindness, Confident Twosday, Happy Now Blog Link Up || Wednesday: WowOnWednesday || Thursday: Chic & Stylish, Ageless Style Linkup (third Thursday of the month), || Friday: Neverending Style, Fancy Friday, On the Edge, Fabulous Friday’s Link Up
five years ago I bought a golden sequined pleated midi skirt, it’s like a column of shiny sequines, I love it! I’m still grateful to my friends for getting married, I just needed that little push to finally buy it
(and look, now you can find sequined clothes everywhere, I must be an anonymous influencer 😀 😀 😀 )
Author
Giulia your sequinned midi skirt sounds incredible, I bet you feel a million dollars in it!
Wow, Catherine! Just wow! It is the Catherinest dress ever! I absolutely love it.
Author
Haha thanks Audrey! Such a great expression isn’t it 😉
Such a spectacular dress, Catherine. And your friend is right, it embodies your vibe perfectly. xo Sabina
PS: Panto shoes made me laugh because it reminded me of the time when I was staging them here with my British friends.
Author
Thank you Sabina… I love that you get the panto reference, it’s an alien thing to just about everyone outside the UK 😉
That’s such a gorgeous dress! The tights and shoes look so fab with it! I have those shoes in orange and green, they are lush. Thanks for linking up!
Emma xxx
Author
Ahhh we have the same love of panto shoes Emma, hehe 😉 Thanks lovely x
I adore this dress, and especially adore it on you! It really couldn’t be more Catherine! The print is so amazing I would actually love to have it as wallpaper on an accent wall!!! xxx Lisa
Author
Hehe you can take all the credit for that description Lisa – it’s become a bit of a trademark for me now with “the Catheriniest _______” for all sorts of things!! And yes to the wallpaper, imagine if Raishma brought out a range of wallpapers (I might suggest it to her)! Thank you sweetie x
Wow, that dress is simply beautiful!
Danielle | thereluctantblogger.co.uk
Author
Thanks lovely Danielle xx
The Catheriniest Dress sums everything up, perfectly. It looks just so wow on you.
Author
It was just the most perfect description, wasn’t it?! Thanks lovely xx
What a fabulous look for Christmas! That dress is so you, it’s almost unreal lol! And I’m LOVING those shoes!!
Hugs
Suzy xx
Author
Thank you Suzy – you can imagine my reaction when I saw the dress, can’t you…?!! I was the definition of the hearts eyes emoji, lol x
I love the print of this dress *-*
Author
It’s totally fabulous isn’t it Niki 😀
Very interesting colours! And such a good print!
Author
The colours really do make it a showstopper, don’t they Nancy <3
The right type of ‘oh, wow’. The dress is indeed so you (shout out for the bright tights too). May I also point out the fabulous waves in your hair? I hope the photo is one that brings a smile of happy memories.
You-iest item….? Probably a black & red rose print dress I bought a handful of years ago. It just seems to work with lots of other things and friends are complimentary. Happy times.
Author
Thanks Lynn – I was a bit worried that the tights were too much but now I see the photos I don’t think there’s ANY detracting from that print! And yes, we had a lovely, albeit very quiet, Christmas, thank you… my dad was especially jolly after drinking a whole bottle of red wine to himself, LOL!!
A black and red rose print dress sounds beautiful, not too different from the jumpsuit I wore in my last OOTD post?! x
An exciting combination of colors!
Rosemary
Author
Thanks Rosemary, they bring all sorts of joy to my colour-loving heart!
I NEVER leave comments normally but I just had to say how amazing you look! Just WOW!
Author
Helen that’s really kind of you, thank you!! And please do leave comments more often and join in the chats…?! xx
The dress is fine. Not quite my thing, but fine. But oh, that combination of tights and shoes – wow. I’d never have thought of that. It’s heaven.
Author
Thank you Ruth, though it amuses me that it’s the tights and shoes that caught your eye more than the dress!! Only because the dress is such a punch in the face, heehee 😉