There are some London high-street favourites I return to each time I take a trip back home, Blog Reader. One of these is Dorothy Perkins, an established brand known for providing affordable fashion – it’s one of the UK’s biggest retailers. Recently Dorothy Perkins collaborated with designer Olivia Rubin on a delightfully named ‘Postcards From…‘ collection of clothing, created with some of Rubin’s signature bold prints. It’s a small collection of simple wrap dresses and tops with some draping and peplum details and the print is very cute – colourful flying birds, shells and flowers:
Image above: Blush Shell Peplum Top and Grey Bird Peplum Dress, both Olivia Rubin for Dorothy Perkins.
The Dorothy Perkins mainline collection tends to stick to classic silhouettes and simple shapes. I go to them for their shoes, tees and dresses and during my last trip home to London in February my mother treated me to this lavender lace pencil dress.
Available in blush pink and a similar style in grey also, it’s a simple dress with flutter sleeves that give a lovely balanced, hourglass shape on the body.
Some of my other favourites at Dorothy Perkins right now: below left, the Border Print Prom Dress and Lilac Sleeveless Blouse.
I’m hugely fond of this label having grown up with them. Do you have similar brands, Blog Reader, who follow you through life?
Well I can see why you are smitten with Dorothy..she fits you to perfection…that lace sheath is MADE FOR YOU lady. Just lovely..and with the lighter hue of blue on clutch…great outfit. I do have a few designers but the stand out is Nicole Miller..she is pricey but I always purchase a few dresses a year…as I worked for the brand for over 6 years and just LOVE the fit and quality. Happy week to you. C
WOW, that dress is from DP!?!! I would have never guesssed!!! I love this collaboration collection, it looks so glam and stylish. I like it in lavender and the color that you are wearing, as well as the white with black floral design one.
Gosh, i used to love going to DP when i was studying in London. The good old days=)
Cinz
http://cinzee.wordpress.com
Wow – DP looks ah-mazing on you and I am personally loving the black/white sleeveless dress on the bottom. So far, I don’t have any go-to brands for dresses that *always* look smashing, but I will certainly keep you posted.
I have my fingers crossed that the prom dress is still around when I take my next trip home to the UK Lindsay! Thank you for leaving me a comment hope to meet you soon xo
I wasn’t familiar with Dorothy Perkins but these pieces are absolutely lovely! That lace dress is gorgeous! Will definitely be checking out the line now!
Hi Liz thank you for visiting! I just popped over to your blog – you were my first look at Anna Della Russo for H&M xo
Hi Liz thank you for visiting! I just popped over to your blog – you were my first look at Anna Della Russo for H&M xo
you look ravishing in this piece + i have to check out more of dorothy perkins it seems now
xoxo
k
I have been falling in love with DP styles here recently! But my question is this: how does the sizing go? After the conversion, does it run big or small?
And all the other commenters are right – that dress is MADE for you!
the dresses look adorable! I’m such a dress collector.. adore the ‘Grey Bird Peplum Dress’! looking lovely … xo
Love this dress on you! This post reminds me of your style when you first moved to New York; there really has been an evolution in your wardrobe since.
Anne I should do (and you should!) do some sort of post on the evolution of one’s style in the move to another country / city. I hadn’t thought much of it since my blog is like a style journal overall, but the New York style-scape has probably had a much bigger impact that I thought. So interesting!
Quintessentially classic! I love these dresses!
Dorothy Perkins has such great stuff especially when you need something classic-looking and affordable! The dress looks amazing on you (and I must say your mum has great taste!), it’s literally like a 2nd skin – how do you keep your figure?!
I force myself to do weights at the gym. And I love pilates….. DP gets a big tick in the ‘classic’ box for me, they do tend to stick to simple shapes but recently with the designer collaborations they’ve been more fashion forward. I think it’s a good sign of things to come. Do you own any of their pieces?
I’ve been really lazy and not working out….I should start doing pilates again – I believe you when you say you do it, my body got pretty toned quickly when I was doing pilates! I surprisingly own more DP jewellery, and skinny jeans as compared to their classic dresses as I don’t need them at the moment! But it’s definitely going to be one of my go-to when I start working! p.s: I’ve not checked out their designer collabs, thanks for the heads up!
That dress really does look like it was made for you, Sarah – the fit is just exquisite and I love the colour, too! I grew up with very few shopping options in a small city where Le Chateau (a brand you may not know) is still one of the most popular labels. The only brand I’ve covetted and worn consistently since I was young is Club Monaco and I must admit, I have an almost emotional attachment to the store. I never leave empty-handed!
xox,
Cee
Emotional attachment is the perfect word Cee. I don’t know of Le Chateau but I’ll check it out, it does very much sounds like my Dorothy Perkins!
Not sure if my last comment came up? WordPress gets angry at me at times…anything I grew up with? Gone. And sadly limited in NH. Does the GAP count? I used to rock some serious looks from them….
You know I’m faithful to GAP for my skinny legging jeans. I’d say yes, it counts!
Lovely as usual Miss Sarah. I like the simple flutter sleeves on you and the pairing with that bright blue clutch. Oh, I’m restarting Pilates! I feel taller already.
Hi Winn! Happy that you’re restarting Pilates, I love it…. are you doing mat work classes or working with machines?
There are only mat classes in HCMC. They don’t have the machines here and I’m just lucky to have found a really good Swiss teacher. It’s kickin’ my arse though. Love the work since it has woken up my core!
Love Dorothy Perkins and I have been eyeing up that lilac dress for a while…..if only I had more excuses to shop!! Beautiful photos as usual!
May x
May I forget you’re in the UK and able to shop at all my favourite places. Where do you go in the UK to buy clothes?
this dress looks like it was made for you! so lovely!
Hopping over to DP asap! The lace dress is absolutely beautiful and you look fantastic! The sleeveless lilac blouse is just as beautiful and perfect for Summer’s hot temps.
Chelsie
http://stylepositively.com/
The lilac blouse is the perfect mix of sheer and pastels to make it bang on trend for spring. I cut the hemline off a bit short but it’s asymmetric. Make that three trends in one!
That peplum shell would be so fun to work into a number of great outfits.
Stay in the Lines
That dress is adorable! Xox <3 hautepinkpretty.com
Adorable and chic dress!
Hi Clara and thank you! ps. loved the YSL black/gold shoes in your latest blog post… must. Start. Saving. Now.
Hi! What a beautiful dress! It reminds me of Kate Middleton’s dresses she wears a lot of blue
I love the cute sleeves it gives it a nice touch. Wow the Border Print Prom Dress is stunning!!
Adri
I am very much hoping that the prom dress is still for sale in the UK when I return in the next few weeks! Thanks for stopping by….
lovely. if it’s in the shops now (? is it) I’ll be off with my student discount card…
Yes, it’s in shops now! You can buy online (hope the student discount works!) – let me know if you do purchase it… xo
I went today. Tried on tons of stuff. But, and I’m sad about this, the cut, quality of fabric and finsihing left me v.sad. I always rely on Dotty Ps for tights but couldn’t bring myself to buy anything. Even with the biggest Ox St store on my doorstep. Wish I was 21 again and a stick able to buy anything but I hot footed it to Jaegar and spent £100 on a perfect, lined, well made, good dress for the price of 3 dotty ps ones.
I am so sorry to hear this! I didn’t think the quality of my dress was poor but at that price it isn’t going to be on a par with say Reiss or Tibi (two of my favourite brands). I think DP do really well within the price band they are at. Actually this isn’t a sad story though, you found a great dress for you is that correct? I would rather pay for one thing that worked for my shape and made me feel great than buy a number of cheaper items. I think learning to dress for your shape is crucial – there are things I can’t wear because I’m petite and they don’t suit my shape! So, being a different shape might not solve everything, although I do understand it’s a sensitive issue. I hope you send me a pic of the Jaeger dress something, I see their designs on ASOS and love them (sorry – long reply!) x
yes, love reiss. they definitely do linings. i did want to buy something from DP but it’s the lack of linings. It is indeed true I always ask myself in the changing rooms ‘is this perfect; will I wear this instead of anything else in my wardrobe” and if the answer is no, I don’t buy it. It leads me to spending more on more expensive things but less on cheaper stuff. Here’s the Jaegar dress in blue. My absolute go-to style. it will be perfect for work, play and w/e and I don’t mind at all that it cost £99 (down from £160 – I never buy from Jaegar unless in the sale; great for coats wit 70% off!) http://jaeger.co.uk/index.cfm?page=1013&productid=630217C&productvarid=630217C-05500-12&refpage=all_womens_sale&pagesize=12&productpage=2&viewall=false
Stunning as always! I love the contrasting blue clutch paired with this dress. I can’t get over this is a high-street find. You make it look like a pricy designer purchase!
xx
Jessica
http://westmountfashionista.com
And that is one of the reasons I love Dorothy Perkins, Jessica
xo
Love love love Dorothy Perkins. Absolutely my style
Trés bon article, merci
Reblogged this on The Harley Kat Hour! and commented:
Wow definitely B.E.A.U.T.I.F.U.L!!!