My Passport To Style | Wish Want Wear Review

 

 

Dress - Matthew Williamson, jacket - Jaeger, bag - vintage, shoes - Topshop


 

 Wish Want Wear Review

I was recently asked by Wish Want Wear if I would like to trial their designer dress hire service, after taking a quick look at the dresses on offer on their site, well can you blame me! I decided to give designer dress hire a whirl, I did have a few reservations, and generally I find designer dresses’ sizes to be cut small. Being pretty much a flattened hourglass shape, pretty curvy from hips through to my thighs, with shoulders the same width as my hips and a defined waist, not much happening in the boob department though, I tend to steer clear of low cut dresses, my go to cut of dress is the 60’s shift which lengthens my short waist making me look taller and slimmer. Buying clothes online can sometimes be hit and miss in terms of sizing, so I often buy two or even three sizes of the same item when I first order as I hate the frustration of something not fitting and having to reorder.

 

  Sizing  
                                                                                    

I tend to be a size 16 in some stores and a size 14 in others, so I pretty much figured with buying designer I would need to order a size 16. Wish, Want Wear does go up to a size 18 and will rush you out a back up dress if the one you order does not fit. However once I began looking most of the size 16s had sold out so my choice was a little limited, but to be honest I often find that to be the case on the high street. I suppose the trick is to start checking out the website well in advance of your event, that way you may find your size has been returned and you can book it. I opted for a striking bright orange Matthew Williamson shift dress scattered with silver baubles, hoops and mirrors as my first choice and a black Chloe dress with navy ruffles as my second choice.

 Wear & Tear                                                            

I was relieved to read that small spills are not a deal breaker at Wish Want Wear HQ, as I have a tendency to by a bit clumsy, see my stain guide here if you are unfortunate to ruin your own dress. Although Wish Want Wear do not permit you to dry clean their dresses and I presume use any of your own home stain removal methods to get rid of a stain should you spill something, all you need to do is pop the dress into a prepaid envelope un- ironed and post it back to them.

 Packaging

  I love the anticipation of receiving something in the post, particularly clothing, for me beautiful packaging adds to the home changing room environment so I was a little disappointed and surprised to see my dress turn up in a brown card board box, admittedly it did come wrapped in white tissue. Please don’t think me ungrateful for a chance to trial Wish Want Wear dress services but I would be happy to pay a couple of extra pounds as a paying customer to experience my dress arriving in style and the thrill of unveiling it. 

 Fit

A nice unexpected surprise was that their dress sizes seem to fit bigger than expected, which I was relieved about as my first choice by Matthew Williamson was only available in a 14, the size 16 Chloe dress I ordered as a backup was far too big. If you are struggling to choose a style you can speak to one of their online stylists who know each dress intimately which is an added bonus if indecision kicks in or your bf is too sick with jealously to assist you!

 Style Me Pretty

I wore my dress styled pretty simply as it had a lot of metallic detailing going on. I chickened out of including a photo of me at the restaurant I attended as part of an early birthday celebration with some of my girlfriends as we experienced strong winds before arriving and my hair looked a little ram shackled  by the time I arrived. However despite that I felt full of the confidence that comes from wearing something beautifully created by a designer.

 Verdict

 The high street is brilliant but every now and then it’s nice to know that you can splurge and not have the guilt that comes of knowing you won’t honestly wear that particular dress again. The difference between buying a high street dress for an occasion or hiring designer, is not only the sense of exclusivity and the confidence that it gives you, you can bet the cut will always be better and the colour palettes more unique. Add to this that designers are all about making an entrance, it’s what they live and breathe, and you know you’re in pretty good hands. One final bonus of hiring designer is it allows you to get to know a designers style and cut before you decide you want to invest a lot of money in a dress from their collection. If you would like to hire a designer dress and to find out more about Wish Want Wear services check out the link.

 

*please note Wish Want Wear allowed me to trial their dress hire service for free in return for a review, words and images are all my own.*