Which dress- wedding guest

[EBWhite]

I’ve tried the phase 8 one and it’s very flattering and the colour is right. But it’s polyester. I’ve never bought a polyester dress before and am wondering if / why I should avoid it. It seems an unpopular choice of fabric on mumsnet. The alternative is the Boden one. Which do you prefer?

Where is the wedding? Phase 8 one much more weddingy as is, the boden one could be accessorised up, but depends on the location, so church/hotel/barn etc!

The boden one seems more of a casual day dress to me. The other one is lovely but I think I’d sweat in polyester so I understand your reservations.

Polyester is popular for good reason - hangs well, doesn't crease.

It doesn't work well if you are a sweaty person but if you aren't it's fine

B is more elegant (to me)

What size are you, @EBWhite?

This is viscose - so a natural fibre:

& Other Stories 1

This is partly cotton:

& Other Stories 2

The Boden dress by a mile.

Nothing to do with the Phase 8 one being polyester, it's just got so many elements I dislike. There's the floaty fake silk material, the fluttery angel sleeves, the fake wrap, the impossibility of wearing it to anything other than a wedding.

Phase 8. Unless it's a barn or similar, then the other.

The Boden one? Yes. The Phase 8 dress is fussy and old fashioned and not in a vintage way.

Yup, the Boden dress

Surprised people are saying the Boden one I think it's awful it's not even a nice colour. Phase eight out of the two

I agree with that

I suspect the phase 8 one looks good on

The Boden one is miles classier. Hate the silly sleeves on the other one - whole dress screams mumsy. I can’t wear polyester, makes me sweat as soon as I look at it.

You could wear the Boden one to do the shopping in summer, I wouldn’t wear it to a wedding.

the other one is more wedding appropriate.

I am mid 40s so not worried about looking mumsy- it’s what I am. I am slim and tall so it should be easier for me but the lovely other stories dresses someone posted up thread would just hang off me. I need something with shape and structure in a bright colour (cool winter). Thank you for all the help and advice! If anyone finds another dress that fits my demands I’d be so grateful otherwise it looks like the phase 8 one is the one I’ll go for.

The Phase 8 dress epitomises safe and boring - so I do think you could do much better.

There’s clearly nothing wrong with looking like a mother - probably three quarters of the world’s women do. And they obviously don’t all dress in the same way - and gazillions of them want to look fashionable and interesting as well as being mothers.

It is so hard shopping! No more critiques of either dress please as I have not found any alternatives despite spending ages looking 😥

Agree. And the Boden one doesn’t even fit well on the model when it’s been styled.

Size? Budget? These are a few brands you might care to look at - not just these specific dresses:

Rowen Rose

Me and Em

Rodarte

Vivienne Westwood

Me and Em

I preferred the Phase Eight one. I'm 44 by the way.

The Phase 8 one is a lovely colour and suits you OP.

The Phase 8 dress looks fab on you OP, you should keep it

The Phase 8 dress does nothing for you. It’s droopy and dreary.

Have you tried Joile Moi? I think their dresses might also be polyester but they tend to have fitted and flattering cuts.

I’ll look at all those. Thank you! 😊

Might be out of my budget though. Size 10, budget £200 max

The Phase 8 dress is awful. It's primarily the sleeves which are awful.

The 2 Me + Em dresses are so much nicer and could be worn on multiple other occasions. The Phase 8 drrss is almost unwearable except at a wedding. I would wear the first Me + Em dress ,when new, to the wedding and then wear the hell out of it on any occasion I could wear a pretty dress- which might be nothing more than the sun is shining. Cost per wear the Me +Em is a better buy. And it's 100% viscose. If age has anything to do with it I'm 65.