A formal frock for £25?

When I heard a couple of months back that I'd have to wear a formal dress at the choir's summer concert, I knew I wanted a different dress to the one I wore at Christmas. I adore the one I wore then but it seemed more appropriate to that time of year with all-over sequins (see it on this link).

But let's face it, a formal dress is not a good use of clothes-buying funds. You only wear it a handful of times (if even) and in the case of choir events, I only get to wear it for one half of a concert. So I was keen not to spend too much on whatever I bought.

So when I spotted this dress on ASOS, I thought I'd give it a go - reduced from £75 to £25, I knew the quality would probably be ok and it looked like it hung nicely on the model in the video (big shout out to ASOS for videos of each item...such a help when buying online).

I should say here that if you need a formal dress and don't have much money to spend...and have the ASOS fear (SO much choice!), simply go into the clearance section, select dresses (all), select Occasion Dresses and then filter by price. You can also filter further by selected Mini/Maxi/Midi. It's an easy way to see what dresses are there at an affordable price and it saves you trawling through hundreds of pages of frocks.

Also, ASOS returns service is amazing so don't be afraid to order plenty of dresses to try on. They do free delivery and returns and will refund you promptly. I ordered 6 in total and sent back 4 - I've one held for a wedding in July...watch this space!

Back to the one I bought...here is the image from the website:

Hedonia Willow One-Shoulder Maxi Dress

When it arrived, I was pleasantly surprised. It's double layered jersey that hangs beautifully, it was the perfect length and with enough coverage at the bust to allow me to wear a proper bra (with the strap tucked in on one side). My only concern was the depth of the splits up each side  - it did go right up to above mid-thigh but that is less of an issue in choir as I was standing the whole time and the splits weren't really visible. It would be more obvious if you were sitting.

I bought both this colour and black as I wasn't sure if the blue would be a good shade for me but when I tried both on, the verdict in the house (son and husband) was unanimous - blue all the way. The black was posted back and I was good to go. 

And here are a couple of quick photos taken as we raced down to the stage. 

Just on the shoes, I tried nude, black and metallic with it but they didn't feel right...not sure why. I wasn't planning on buying blue ones until these strappy ones appeared on the Avenue 57 pre-loved page in my size....meant to be. They're from Zara - past season.

In terms of underwear, I wore a high waisted spanx under it and there was no vpl. It's not terribly forgiving otherwise...jersey never is! But overall, I was delighted with it...it kept me cool on stage thanks to the splits and because it was such a bargain, I am happy to keep it for a possible second wear but equally, I won't cry over it if I don't get to wear it again.

Oh and I must give a shout out to Rebecca Bryson MUA who did my make-up. It was great to find someone who works on a Sunday as I was struggling for a while. I had my hair done in Lounge Finaghy, also open on a Sunday from 1pm-6pm (paid for both btw - not sponsored!)

Finishing with a few photos to remember BCGC does Sunday night at the Grand Opera House - we had an amazing concert as always but I think this one was special because of the venue. 

For anyone local who's never seen us before, we have a concert coming up in Clonard Monastery on the 3rd June and also in Banbridge on the 18th June. Full details on this link.

(Photo credit to Lisa Stephens)

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