Finding cotton/silk dress and clothes that fit at reasonable prices

[Kala101]

Hi all,

I am just unable to find good dresses/work/semi-formal wear in nice fabrics like cotton. Most of the stuff is polyester based which causes a lot of sweating and makes me stink. I am looking for clothes/dresses under 50 quid. I am petite so it's much harder for me to find everything as everything's too long, loose and broad. I have narrow shoulders, small bust and big hips. Even if a dress fits my hips, it's loose on the top. What's the solution?

I've had a few nice tops in natural fabrics from Banana Republic and also Esprit.

I have the opposite style problem, so can't help much there, I'm afraid. I'm very hourglass so things always bag at the waist and I'm also tall, but long-waisted with short dumpy legs so tops are always too short for me!

I'm not a fan of TKMaxx but I was noseying in there today ( wasting some time really rather than 'proper' looking) they had some silk long blouson tops and cotton (I think Jaeger) blouses, so that would be my place to look for dresses I suppose.

Uniqlo
Cos

I just got a few 100% cotton dresses on eBay for the summer. They were v cheap and I'm delighted with them, though I appreciate second hand isn't everyone's cup of tea. Also saw a v nice 100% silk Jaeger dress on there but didn't buy it. It wasn't very expensive.

You might find tops and skirts give you a better fit than dresses. What size/s are you?

www.jaeger.co.uk/silk-essential-v-neck-top/651059R-74400-12.html?cgid=sale-women-tops This is 100% silk and £28 at checkout (extra 20% off sale stuff) if they have your size.

Another vote for Cos. Lots of cotton, silk and merino wool items. The sale was still on last week.

Jaeger Outlet

Uniqlo does "silk touch" shirts which do contain some polyester, but mainly rayon. They're my work uniform, have several different colours, easy to wash, stay looking new, and def not sweaty. Wear them with uniqlo merino tops. Very good value.

Sainsbury's actually often do pure cotton dresses, especially in the summer. I agree with previous posters that Jaeger outlet is a fantastic site for bargains - Jaeger quality is lovely. I've just got a pure wool coat reduced from £400 to £100 and it's fabulous, really luxurious. Also H&M often do cotton stuff.

Jigsaw in the sale.

People tree have pure cotton and are reasonable at sale prices. It's one of those places where the styles don't change that much from season to season, so the sale stuff is usually pretty similar to the non sale stuff.

Great Plains and mantaray at debenhams often have 100% cotton dresses.

The Billie and Blossom range at Dorothy Perkins had some 100% viscose stuff. Viscose is some sort of wood cellulose natural fibre - cheaper than cotton but not sweaty like polyester (sorry if you know this already and I'm patronising you). Also DPs do cotton cardigans.

Some of these are quite casual though - it depends how smart your workplace is. I get annoyed when even quite high end high street places just sell sweaty polyester static electric dresses.

Oh and the Boden ravello top is good for work with cotton gap real straight trousers!

Viscose is made from wood pulp, and is often made with acetic acid amongst other horrible chemicals. I'm allergic to it, and it makes me sweat like mad ( and I'm not sweaty at all!)

Thanks so much for all the amazing information.

@PercyPhone I'm size 6 on the top and 8 at bottom

@Orangeanddemons I also didn't like viscose. I find it quite clingy.

@Artura I bought a black work dress from Uniqlo and within two months it had bobbles. I was so shocked as I usually love Uniqlo stuff

By the way, do any of you wear tailored stuff? I'm originally from India where getting clothes stitched is very common. We buy fabrics and take it to the tailor with our measurements. I think such tailors would be sparsely available and expensive in the UK.

In US there is a website called eshakti that sells customized dresses but they don't ship to Europe. :(

Have you tried Grana for silks? Online only but very reasonable and great quality

Kala I get almost everything tailored, yes.
I live in France where most shops (not H&M/Zara, but mid-range chain stores upwards) offer free alterations, so all trousers, sleeves etc are hemmed to the exact length required. Some stores also offer more complex alterations to store card holders (I have a very hourglass figure and get trousers, skirts and even jackets taken in at the waist).

When I buy things in outlets or online, I take them to a local dressmaker for altering. She charges €15 for hemming up to around €35 for taking in a finished waistband. I factor this in to the cost of the item when deciding what to buy.

Ask at your local dry cleaners if they do repairs/alterations. They may be able to recommend someone, or even have someone working for them in-house.

kala I worked with a girl from Pakistan heritage and she had all of her clothes hand made by a local tailor at incredibly cheap prices compared to how much I had paid for alterations at the dry cleaners. I don't know where you live but in Asian communities by us they have several fabric shops who I'm sure would be able to recommend a tailor. You may need to live in a city for this though.

vitaminC that's pretty great

applesareredandgreen I live in London but not in an Asian area.I know that those tailors mostly make ethnic clothes. Honestly, it sounds like a hassle but will try. Thanks.