The Catheriniest Dress of All Time

“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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Shop the look:

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