Can anyone recommend any bargain work dresses

[NeverTalkToStrangers]

I’m going back to the office a stone heavier and none of my dresses fit. However I am not (yet) prepared to accept that this is my new normal and throw out all my old clothes and replace them with a whole new formal wardrobe a size larger, so I need to get a couple of stop gap dresses - ideally priced at around the 25 quid mark in the sales, but definitely less than fifty.

I’m looking for reasonably formal/“work casual”, no excessive frills but happy with patterns, with short or long sleeves, (but ideally bracelet length), in black, greys, greens or blues, that hang below the knee on a 5’4” woman and don’t need dry cleaning.

Has anyone seen anything that fits the brief?

TIA

M&S have recently just got some in that might suit you @NeverTalkToStrangers They are £30-40. If you search midi length, you can put in you price bracket & length of sleeve. I’ve just bought a black midi spotty shirt dress & a black & white print v neck midi. I’m in the same position as you with nothing to wear!
Sainsbury’s Tu have lots of sale items if you can Wade through them.
Next are worth a look too & again you can tighten your search criteria.

I have this from Amazon. I got the red print and it's so nice on I got the black too. Think it fits all your criteria

www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B091TPNH1X/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_glt_fabc_EY2A549HRYCVRDVJG786?psc=1&_encoding=UTF8&tag=mumsnetforu03-21

Shein is super reasonable,

Is there a big branch of Sainsbury's near you? I got a great dress from one a year or so back -- so cheap and even lined!

@Boogiewoody what are the sizes like?

There must be loads on Vinted or EBay ... from people who have agreed they are never going back to the office or whose office dress code has changed. (Or who can't shed their lockdown stone ... ahem) - I've just put loads of Hobbs, Karen Millen, Phase Eight etc on both - worth a look

I went to primark today, they have started getting their work stuff back in. I got a black dress with red flowers and a black dress with zip necked front- £8 each. There were loads to choose from.

Yes I guess there’s a bunch on EBay - I just can’t be doing with online shopping and faffing around with returns, I like actual shops with changing rooms, but even all the dresses I fancy trying from M&S are only available online. So annoying, but at least I can just hand them over at the counter and get my money back if they don’t fit rather than posting them.
I’m probably going to try these three but they do look a bit droopy.

True to size I'd say

What about a shirt dress that you could belt in as you lose weight? There's quite a few on brandalley.co.uk at the moment - Boded, Hobbs, Mango etc

Boden

If this is a temporary measure it would be worth looking at second hand via charity shops, eBay, etc. Better to recycle for a short term use than buy new.

I’m normally quite a fan of charity shop dressing but I prefer to use them for jackets and skirts, not items worn next to the skin that people have been (not to put too fine a point on it) sweating into (I had a nasty experience with a second hand work dress).

I’ll give my local ones a go tomorrow though, as long as they’re not dry clean only it’s worth a look.

Cotton Traders keeps popping up on my FB. Not cutting edge fashion, I appreciate, but seems lots on offer in the easy work dress at a reasonable price category.

I'm very tempted, but almost put off by the low prices for fear the they'll look very cheap.

Lands End?

@StarttoFinish

Cotton Traders keeps popping up on my FB. Not cutting edge fashion, I appreciate, but seems lots on offer in the easy work dress at a reasonable price category.

I'm very tempted, but almost put off by the low prices for fear the they'll look very cheap.

DP has some shirts from Cotton Traders and they look really good.

warehouse
Asos
H&M
M&S