But when I saw the JD Williams range (you may have seen some of their recent TV adverts)
I was tempted by the maxi dresses. JD Williams sent me two dresses to try. One was a hippy style swishy handkerchief hemmed summer dress from the Joe Brown's range. It will be perfect for summer days and festivals, easy to slip on and elasticated at the waist the size 14 fitted perfectly.
The straps are adjustable too so you can choose how high to wear the top...and also alter the length, although as the dress is only down to mid calf that's not an issue for me.
You can see how swishy the dress is, the viscose hangs so softly, and the colours are lovely, bright on a navy background.
The second dress is a longer maxi dress, in a striking black and navy pattern on a white background. Perfect for days out or something more formal. Not a festival dress but nice for sitting around a beer garden and it would look lovely at a wedding.
Again the straps are adjustable so that the dress can be adjusted by a couple of inches, on me the dress skims the ground. The straps just tie at the shoulder, so I think once you've sorted the bow you'd be wise to pop a stitch through the ensure they don't come untied at an inopportune moment!
The dress is loose and really comfy but the size 14 is fairly snug at the top, even with my tiny boobs! So if you are a well endowed lady this might not be the dress for you. I'd suggest ordering a size larger that your usual size in this dress anyway.
Of course there are loads of others to choose from, and if I were off to any weddings this year (I'm not) then I think I'd take a look, I like a dress that is formal, but not too formal, you know, the sort of dress that fashion bloggers say will 'go from day to night' ...not that many people ever do that, but could be useful on holiday if you were short of packing space.
I'm really happy with the service from JD Williams and with the range of dresses and shoes they have on offer (Note to self - you do not need more shoes!) As a 'woman of a certain age' it's nice to see a good selection of fashions that are neither 'too young' nor 'too frumpy'. Take a look at the website and see what you think.
I apologise for the awkward looking model in these photos (me).
I was sent two dresses to review but have received no payment for this post and the words and ideas for it (along with the dodgy photos) are all mine.
To see the dresses on professional models check out the JD Williams website.
And let me know what you think of my choices by commenting below.
