Dickins & Jones: Portlethan Dress

It's always good to see more places catering for plus size ladies and House of Fraser are the latest, with a selection of popular plus size brands like Anna Scholz, Evans, Chesca, Lipstick Boutique, AX Paris Curve and Little Mistress Curvy. Alongside that, is in-house brand Dickins & Jones, which come in sizes 8-20 in their main range, with a selection of styles in sizes 22-26. I think it's brilliant to see HoF reaching more customers and understanding that plus size women are like everyone else; shopping on different budgets and looking for a variety of fashionable styles. It's always nice to know there's somewhere else on the high street that we can walk into and try things on (often very rare for plus-size customers) or of course shop online and try at home if we choose.

I tried out the Dickins & Jones 'Portlethan' dress* in a size 20 this week. If you're a fan of green, you'll love all the different colours in the quirky tree print. It's made from soft jersey, so I kinda anticipated it being a little roomy on me as I'm usually an 18-20. However the sizing was spot on. It wasn't clingy and I like the gathers in the centre waist which drape over the tummy area.  It's got a plunging neckline, which was a little too low-cut for me, but easily solved with a camisole underneath.  It's got 3/4 length sleeves, ties at the back and just reached knee length on me (5ft 5"), so didn't feel too short to wear without tights or leggings in the warmer months.  
It's one of those comfy but smart dresses, that will get a lot of wear. It also comes in a black floral print (up to size 26) and there's a lovely tartan shift, vintage style coat and floral tea dress I've got my eye on from the brand too! Have you tried anything Dickins & Jones before? Are you happy to see the expansion of sizes?

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