Where can I find beautiful summer dresses at a decent price?

[ijustlovecoffee]

I’ve seen these four dresses and love them, but the cheapest is £42 and that’s a lot of money.

I really want a good collection of 4 or 5 beautiful summer dresses that I can wear for work, on holiday, at the weekend etc.

I am a size 18, not too confident about my arms but also I want to stop hiding them just because of silly insecurities.

I’ve got a bit of an apron belly so like to hide that with floaty skirts.

Any recommendations welcome!

I'd definitely check out primark if there's one near you.

I went in recently and was shocked at how nice / well made some of the clothes were. Felt like I was in zara

I love the polka dot one in particular, the woman on the yellow car

I got a gorgeous Hobbs dress in a charity shop £30. And a skirt (summer maxi) for £12

Tesco have some fab clothes in at the moment, I popped in for milk the other day and bought 2 tops, a dress and swimming costume for £50 (they had the 25% offer on)

Primark are good these days too. Some nice dresses in there, one of the styles went viral (not sure if it was linked to Coleen Rooney?) and it was only £10.

H&M and Zara might be nearer the £40 mark but I got a lovely dress from H&M a few weeks ago which I think was only £30, I just keep calling in as I don't like buying online and having the hassle of returning things I don't like.

I can't stand Vinted, I have no inclination to hunt through a load of rubbish to find something that might not fit when you get it home. Also not bother about 100% cotton, etc. so happy to buy from plenty of places some people on here wouldn't bother with!

Try Bonmarche.

https://www.zara.com/uk/en/midi-dress-with-belt-p04745031.html?v1=507954152&v2=2420896

This from Zara

Have a look at M&M Direct; High Street Outlet; You Know Who’s and Secret Label. They all sell high street surplus stock at considerably reduced cost.

Tesco have some nice dresses. I got a lovely navy one last year that I wore all summer.

Hang on for a week or two and the summer sales will be starting.

@HolyMoly24 whats the sizing like on these? Really like the red one but wondering if theyre tight across the chest (Im a FF cup)

The top section definitely has stretch but unfortunately for me I am a B cup so I can’t really say how well it would accommodate FF’s.
Worth ordering to find out though because I love mine and I know I’ll get loads of wear out of them.

I agree Vinted is the way to go. often people sell for as little as a £1 look for with tags, new without tags, or very good otherwise they might not be good. put them as favourites often the sellers will contact you with an offer you can get a great wardrobe for £50 or so

This is what I’d do too. So many amazing bargains to be found on Vinted if you know what you’re looking for and don’t mind doing a bit of digging.

I’ve got a beautiful ‘ milk maid ‘ linen dress from M&S , that fits your criteria … it was £50 though , I can find a link ?

https://www.marksandspencer.com/linen-rich-round-neck-strappy-midi-swing-dress/p/clp60734079?intid=mobile_app_pdp_share

Some finds, which I appreciate may not be up your alley! There are hundreds of dresses… I find it’s best to search by brand if you know of ones that fit well and you like.

https://www.vinted.co.uk/items/9039858766-next-floral-summer-dress-uk-18

https://www.vinted.co.uk/items/8796098517-floral-smock-dress

https://www.vinted.co.uk/items/9029400729-nobodys-child-pink-dress-size-18

https://www.vinted.co.uk/items/8940782153-beautiful-summer-dress-size-18

https://www.vinted.co.uk/items/8968842453-next-beachwear-off-shoulder-dress-shirred-bust-size-18-pink-multicolour-floral-holiday-summer

https://www.vinted.co.uk/items/9017841379-nwt-asos-yellow-linencotton-floral-dress-size-18

Look, it would take marginally less fabric to make a size 8 than a size 18 - but realistically, even with the economies of scale built into huge factories outside Europe, and cutting labour costs to slave labour levels, when you add the cost of fabric to the cost of buildings, machinery, rent, promotion, etc, etc, there is no way you will be able to buy a good quality, well designed dress for less than £40.

You’ll find dresses.

I’m quite happy to buy from Uniqlo for holidays or other times when durability and craftsmanship isn’t a priority. And Zara often has the cutest clothes on the High St. But if I want to impress, or look and feel my best, or have something I can bring out with confidence for the next five to ten years, I know I’m going to need a dress that originally cost multiples of that.

The sales, pre-owned sources, charity shops, renting, swapping and borrowing are all options for accessing good clothes for less money. But if you’re asking manufacturers to make their clothes even cheaper than they already are - you’re effectively asking for millions of people you’ll never meet to work in even shittier conditions for even less pay.

They tend to be rather frumpy

For £40 each you could get beautiful dresses on Vinted. I'm wearing a Fatface dress right now that cost £12 on Vinted and would be about £70 new. Have a browse online and see what brands you like them search on Vinted for them. I buy about 95% of my clothes on there. You could get a dress for the same price as Primark etc but would be much better quality.

Larger sizes are all the rage on Vinted at the moment, what with the weight loss jabs.

There’s a Lisa Snowdon edit:-

https://www.bonmarche.co.uk/lisa-snowdon/

I bought a dress from Apricot recently. There range is vast and they have a sale at the moment with some items as low as £15.

https://www.apricotonline.co.uk/shop/shop-dresses/?start=0&sz=24

@ijustlovecoffee is there a reason you don’t want to look on Vinted? I have bought 4 Nobody’s Child dresses in the last 2 weeks ( size 18 ) and the most I paid was £12. They were all either hardly worn and in perfect condition.

Some people just don't want the hassle of Vinted - you may get a bum deal. Some don't want to wear second hand clothes. I sell on it but never buy.

Can I please ask where the green dress is from? It’s beautiful