Help me find a budget formal summer dress

[Moonlightfrog]

Posted a while ago asking for suggestions for a dress for my DC’s graduation but people assumed I had £200 to splash on a dress (I don’t, I am pretty skint). So graduation is getting closer and I have nothing to wear. I need a dress that will fit my petite build, I’m a size 10/12 but I have big shoulders and upper arms so would like something that covers the top of my arms and ideally something that doesn’t look huge and baggy on me. I would prefer knee length or just above as anything longer makes me look even shorter. Nothing too fussy/flowery.

My budget is small (think newlook, Shein prices 🤣). I will need to buy shoes too and possibly a bag. I live in walking trousers and boots, never wear a dress and probably never will again so I don’t want to spend a fortune.

Any suggestions?

My suggestion is that you go to Next Clearance and filter by size and price. If you have a Next account you can order them to store to try without paying anything. I did this for my daughter's prom dress and she tried dozens and I didn't have to get stressed about ordering, returning and getting refunded.

There are hundreds of dresses. They're not all suitable for the occasion but there are plenty. I set size 12 and £45 limit and found these which I think would all be fine. I don't know your style so if you don't like my suggestions ( which are mostly floral - sorry) there are lots more.

Navy
www.next.co.uk/style/ls442714/e43409

Pink
www.next.co.uk/style/su574750/an8302

Pink floral
www.next.co.uk/style/su393427/e75267

Green
https://www.next.co.uk/style/su611052/f20692

Thank you. I do have a next account. I will take a look.

Isn’t Vinted your friend here? Something of better quality but at a high street price.

https://www2.hm.com/en_gb/productpage.1217576017.html?srsltid=AfmBOopmjmj80sqlLS6IID7OwpDG_-oieDdvYkN3bzK38DPqBYLWVUtl
is something along these lines any good? I wore a dress from H&M to one of my kids’ graduations, was only about £25 but looked much fancier with just a nice pair of shoes. No point spending much in my experience, I’ve been to several and they weren’t overly dressy

https://www.debenhams.com/categories/womens-dresses/facet/sizes/10-12~12/sleeveLength/Short%20Sleeve?sort=price-asc

For this sort of brief I'd recommend Vinted - people very often sell very lightly used formal wear for much less than new prices so you could get something nicer than Shein/New Look for a similar sort of price. Obviously the catch compared to buying new is you can't return it if it doesn't fit so I'd go for a brand where you are reasonably confident of the sizing. Their filter system is good so you can narrow down by various features, I don't know what brands you like but here are a few options in your size with sleeves and in a plain colour. You could even potentially sell on again after the event to recoup some money if budget is tight? And look at shoes and bags on there too?

https://www.vinted.co.uk/items/6352195146-ghost-green-viscose-dress?referrer=catalog

https://www.vinted.co.uk/items/6391829753-other-stories-red-fit-and-flare-mini-dress-uk10?referrer=catalog

https://www.vinted.co.uk/items/6415316657-coast-to-coast-midi-length-red-dress?referrer=catalog

Vinted is full of cheap stuff for formal events - people spend a fortune on them, then wear them once. I would advise going shopping, try the high end places you might like, get an idea of your sizes (and write them down!), then hit vinted! Get a few, as they take a while to come and they might not all be ideal, if you're against the clock.

If you've not used it before, make sure to check a seller's ratings before you buy, and filter so you only see very good, new without labels, and new with labels.

H&M had lots of dresses in and I think combines good prices with good quality.
My dd graduated last summer, the women were mainly in summer dresses and the men in suits. I chose to get a dress that matched the colour in her hood, ds wore a tie of the same colour, I think it looks good in the photos! I wore block heel sandals that I already had. We were lucky with the weather!

I agree with Vinted or ebay, and my tip would be that if you pitch yourself at the more expensive end of the high street (whistles, hobbs etc) they tend to have similar styling (eg same cut but different print) and sizing from season to season, as they keep the same suppliers rather than switching to wherever is cheapest like primark would. So you go into the shop and try on every dress, work out what size fits you, and you can be pretty confident buying second hand on Vinted.