Matalan's Dress Event

Afternoon bloggers! Just thought I'd give you all a heads up about a cheeky little sale that is going on at Matalan at the moment - The £5 event! Who doesn't love a bargain, even more when it's dress shaped? Matalan seems to get a bad rep from what I've seen, perceived as a slightly older-fashioned brand, but I've found them recently to be on top form, selling classic, well made pieces at very reasonable prices.

I had an amazing day yesterday in Leeds with a very exciting business meeting (that I hope I can tell you all about very soon!) so decided to treat myself on the way home. I've been wanting one of the renowned Topshop Speckle Dresses for ages, you know the one - 

Very nice, and perfect for dressed down days, but a bit plain for me to spend £26.00 on, even now it's been discounted to £20 in the sale. T-Shirt dresses are a really versatile piece to have in your wardrobe - they're breezy, can be dressed up or down, and don't clash with ANYTHING. Luckily, Matalan's £5 event included their own version of the dress, as seen here - 

As you can see, the different in minimal - a slightly lighter colour, and a longer hem. The Matalan fabric actually has a much softer finish and the longer hem just hits my knee, rather than Topshop's bum-skimming version.

So all in all, a bargaineous result! I'm in the midst of an ebay clearout at the moment as I attempt to save some money over summer, so won't be spending much on clothes, but who can resist a little grey dress?

Here are some of the other dresses in Matalans £5 event, on until Sunday. Get shopping! 

Boden Bargain!

I seem to have been on a bizarre little bargain spree recently, despite trying to curb my summer spending - I blame lack of uni lectures! Still, I rarely spend more that 7 or 8 quid at a time and with my New Look dress having to go back to the shops, I was feeling a little disillusioned with online shopping. That was until I got a delightful little pink envelope through the post from Boden, inviting me to take £15 off a shop with them. Result!

Having been signed up to the Boden catalogue for a few months, I've always thought that their adult clothes were a little plain and mumsy for me, but their Johnnie B range, designed for girls aged 8-16 is adorable - lots of ladylike skirts bold patterns and modest cuts, exactly the sort of thing I like. Just a shame that I'm 20 isn't it really? Here's a few of their bits and bobs to give you an idea - 

Super sweet no? In hindsight I really wish I'd bought pretty much all of the above, particularly the minty dress, the sandals and the love jumper. They would have been really cute layered up for the odd rainy summer weather we're currently having and considering that the mint dress combines broderie with pastels, it's practically my dream item! Maybe I'll have to pop back... 

 With prices similar to that of Next clothing (a little upmarket but not outrageously pricey), I knew that Boden was a brand that must boast decent quality. So with £15 in my metaphorical hand, I set about trying to scout out a bargain. I looked through women's, but nothing jumped out at me. I thought I'd risk a look at the kids wear - I'm not particularly tall so I hoped that I might be able to squeeze into one of their age 16 dresses. And result! A look at their size guide showed that I might be able to get myself into their biggest kids size.

Bolstered by this new, I settled upon this here dress. I've been after summery stuff to brighten my wardrobe for a while and I am a big fan of breton stripes. Considering I was trying to fit into clothing designed for someone 4 years younger than me, I also thought it'd be a safe bet as the skirt was quite long.

Now, the dress was retailing at just under £17 (I forget the exact price), so with my discount voucher and the free postage that the lovely people at Boden offer, I ended up snagging this dress for just £1.38! A definite contender for all time bargain. I waited patiently for three days, and it arrived like this - 

I was even more delighted when I ripped open the package and this fell out - who doesn't love free stationery! This will be perfect for some handing dissertation planning.

Unfolding the tissue paper with minute johnnie b, detailing, I unfurled my dress...

And pulled it over my head...

And here we have it! A perfect fit that I'm pretty proud of - I don't think I've ever fitted into kids clothing before. The heavy fabric means the dress hangs really nicely with the pleats, and has a demure length that will lend itself well to a tights-less summer. This dress will be perfect with a simple belt and sandals for those days where you can't be bothered to think about your outfit but still want to look nice. And who doesn't love a bit of nautical? In fact, the stripes and neckline have given me a idea for a handmade sailor collar tutorial: watch this  space! 

Boden are certainly a company who know how to treat their customers, from their rapid delivery time (with up to a years returns policy), gorgeous free gift and the quality of their fabric. Not to mention their generosity - I don't think I've ever managed to buy a dress brand new for less that £2 before! I couldn't recommend them more, and will certainly be making a return visit - that is, unless I finally grow out of children's clothes...

Have you bought anything from Boden before? If not, check out boden.co.uk.