I am obsessed with River Island. For those of you that know me well or read this blog a lot will have probably guessed. So when they announced they would be doing a RI Plus range I was ecstatic as I didn’t always fit in their core 18’s. I’ve been impressed with the offering which has grown since the initial launch and has some truly lovely pieces, I bought THE black lace dress back in May and I love it, so when I got to pick out a couple of pieces to style from the RI Plus range I was really spoilt for choice. Also if you’re not plus size the item is also available in the core range too so keep reading!
I decided to do a day style post and an evening style post, with one key piece in each. Today I’m starting with the evening look as I got to shoot some amazing pics in Venice and couldn’t wait to share them with you!
Given my crochet lace obsession that has continued ALLL summer 16, I had to pick this River Island Plus Lace Midi Dress*. The neckline is my best neckline for me, and the colour is fabulous! It really stands out and I love, love , love it!
Being a tall one, the lining is quite short, it’s okay when standing but it does ride up when I sit down, luckily I’d bought some of the new short leg Chaffree for my trip so they were perfect to avoid flashing (and chafing!) but also to not show below the hem of the slip underneath when I was walking and standing. I did feel like I could wear it out to a meal anyway as the total length is a midi length, where as if the dress was the length of the slip I may have struggled with it somewhat!
The slip is stretchy and sits quite body con underneath the dress, which I liked as it gives a good base for the lace to Be more loose over. Price wise it’s priced at the right level for the quality I would say at £75,however since writing this it’s now in the sale for £30 be quick!!! The quality is lovely, the crochet lace is really thick and yet soft and it looks expensive. It would be great for a summer wedding too I’d suggest.I’ve since worn it for a meal and drinks in my local town and it was perfect with my River Island gold wedges (which I wish I’d managed to squeeze in for Venice but hand luggage said no).
I know that some plus size gals were very vocal about the size range that River Island decided to go up to for the plus rage , I said then and I say now, from a brand that stocks size 6-18 in their core range, adding 4 sizes in a plus range (with one repeated size across both) is nearly a 50% size range increase. I would still be gutted if my size wasn’t stocked for sure, but if the sucess of the range continues then they may branch out further you never know, and I truly hope so as their are some fabulous pieces that if love to be accessible for more plus size ladies! The good news is also that the sizes in the plus range run generous. I’m wearing a size 18 here and it zipped up with ease. As I’m more of a middling 18 to 20 in other ranges I’d say don’t be afraid to try a size smaller in the dresses especially. Hollie gave me this tip about my black dress and she wasn’t wrong. So if you’re a size 26 you may also want to give a size 24 a try.
River island Plus is available in selected stores, this seems to have grown since its original release as I know Nottingham wasn’t on the original list but is now yay! Here’s the link to the store locator if you’re interested, or course it’s available online too if you’re not near any of the stores.
So what do you think to this dress? Have you tried anything from the River Island Plus range yet? If so please let me know in the comments so I can go check it out!