I LOVE the beach. Listening to the ocean waves and feeling the warm sand between my toes makes me so happy, I actually sometimes think I was born in the wrong country (OK, we have beaches here in England but we don’t often have the weather to be able to make the most of them!). So when I was contacted by the designer beach and swimwear company Simply Beach to review one of their products I jumped at the chance- another excuse to go to the beach, how could I say no!?
Simply Beach have a great variety of products ranging from underwear to swimwear to dresses. I decided to test the Watercult Summer Solids Maxi Dress in nocturne during my trip to Spain last week. The dress actually arrived back in February, but as I was due to give birth imminently, I had to wait a few weeks until I could comfortably try it on and also for baby Isla to be big enough to be able to venture to the seaside. Here is my review of the dress;
Design
This was exactly my kind of dress. I have always found that maxi dresses are flattering on me, but this is the case even more now that I’m sporting a little mummy tummy (I’m only 12 weeks post-partum- I WILL have a flat belly again soon!). I also love the colour- blue is my favourite! I owned a similar dress a couple of years ago that I wore to death, eventually it had to be thrown in the bin though when I discovered a cigarette burn in it after a night out at a beach bar in Thailand. So when I saw this I was super exited!
The fit
The dress fits me really nicely. I optimistically ordered a size small at nine months pregnant when this prospect seemed a long way off. Fortunately it fits really well and if anything I could do with it being slightly smaller. I am a size 10-12 so I think that it would be worthwhile offering this dress in a size extra small too for those who are on the petite side. The length is great on me and reaches to the floor just how I like it. I’m 5ft4’’. One thing that I’m not so keen on is the way that it hangs at the waist, I prefer my clothes to be a bit more fitted here as I find it to be more flattering. You can add a small belt here, which I think enhances the dress, but unfortunately there are no belt hooks to support it. The straps are also adjustable which is a plus.
Quality
This dress is excellent quality. It has an inner lining and is padded around the breast area meaning that you don’t have to wear a bra with it, this is an added bonus for me as I hate wearing bras in hot weather- they make me too hot and sweaty! The fabric is, however quite thick which I don’t think is ideal when on the beach. Personally, I will be wearing this dress when exploring new destinations and in the evenings when I want to be a little bit more covered up as opposed to days out at the beach. I just think I would get a bit too warm on a hot day at the beach.
Price
This dress retails at £95. Personally, I don’t usually spend this much on clothes, but then again I don’t own many clothes that are of a quality as good as this dress! It’s not cheap, but I think it will last year after year.
All in all, I do love this dress, but I won’t be wearing it on the beach during the day. I’ll be wearing it for evening cocktails instead! 🙂 To see more of their range visit the Simply Beach website here.
[…] There is nothing worse than showing up someplace in an outfit that you don’t feel comfortable in or that might not be the right fit for you. This can definitely contribute to a feeling of self consciousness. When it comes to swimwear, you have a few options to chose from such as bikinis, swimming costume, shorts or even a dress. […]