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Annabelle Floral Palm Dress [Bright & Beautiful]
Something a little different from me today. I don’t usually veer too much from my love of the 50s but occasionally something will come along from the Bright & Beautiful range which I just love and need to have! That’s the case for this gorgeous Annabelle Palm Dress which oozes much more of a late 60s/early 70s vibe. I actually had a very similar wallpaper in my bedroom growing up as a little kid so it’s really nostalgic for me.
It’s still a shirt style dress, which I often wear, but instead of either having a voluminous skirt over the knee or a tailored pencil shape, it’s loose and not at all fitted.
It also features a super cool, pointed collar which match the cuffs on the full length loose sleeves. None of which is too hot to wear as it’s made from a really light fabric that’s perfect for Summer. The bespoke print is great with the large florals and palm frongs all over in greens, white and a dash of blue.
I love how light it is to wear and that the breeze caught the bottom of the skirt a little to give me a little ‘flip’ when I walked
As well as wearing it as intended, I also couldn’t resist cinching my waist in a little and added a white belt from another outfit to change it up a bit and give myself more options. I really like it with the belt too and feel like it works well.
Overall I preferred the option with the collar buttoned up and the belt added and felt the look was still retro, though I’d style my hair in more of a straight bouffant next time and change the glasses to something a little larger to emulate that groovy vibe.
Fit wise, it’s a loose fit and I have it in my normal size which fitted great. If there was a size down (unfortunately sizes don’t go down enough for me) I’d have also tried the size down too but I feel it’s pretty true to size. The length is above my knee which is amazing for me! These dresses are meant to be on the shorter side which was part of the trend at the time.
The Annabelle Floral Palm Dress is available on the Collectif website in most sizes (all except 8 and 18) for £55.00 and sizes 8-16 over at SilkFred with free delivery.
For reference:
I’m 4’11” with 4 inch heels on in the pic and a standard size 6 in Collectif and Bright & Beautiful clothing. I’m wearing a size 6 in the photos above.Also wearing:
Shoes: Lulu Hun Lorena previous season
Hair Flowers: Collectif Aaliyah and High Steet many moons ago
Earrings and Sunnies: Collectif previous season -
Jemima Cool Palm Swing Dress Review [Collectif]
I bought this gorgeous dress prior to the sale when it first launched and totally forgot to write about it, so forgive my much belated review…oops. I have previously posted about Jemimas (here and here) as the polka dot versions stole my heart and although I have a couple already in my wardrobe this cool palm print was everything and I had to have it!
Just look at that totally tropical design! What’s not to love?! It screams sun-filled paradise, and let’s be honest, we’re all dreaming of days like that at the moment.
The palm design looks fantastic against the navy background. I have a thing for gigantic leaves (my house is full of them) so walking around like one is always my first option!
The Jemima has a sweetheart neckline with wide shoulder straps (still not adjustable unfortunately, the only downside to the Jemima), a fitted bodice and full, gathered, swing skirt. Running down the centre is a row of the red buttons used on a few other designs. I don’t mind the red as it always co-ordinates with my hair, but I think brown wooden buttons would have worked better on this one (like those on the previous Kimberly) as there aren’t any other red elements to it. There isn’t a zip so this is how you get in and out, using the buttons at the front.
There’s a matching buckled belt in the same fabric which can cinch in that waist. I really love that the Jemima’s always have belts in the same fabric as the dress. They also have side seam pockets! Which is obviously a must – where would we be without pockets?! And I much prefer side seam pockets to patch, so hurrah!
I teamed it with the Collectif Jessie Palm Cardigan which works really well together as the day got cooler. The cropped cardigans from Collectif are great for these styles as they sit just above the waistline, not covering the belt so you can clearly see where your waist is defined (but stay warm).
I also paired it with green shoes and turquoise, blue and green jewellery which matched the colours in the print perfectly. Picking out the colours featured in whatever you’re wearing always makes the best accents.
Size wise, I’m wearing my usual size and again, it’s true to size for me. However, if you’re a D cup or above, you’ll likely need to size up. There isn’t any stretch to the bust so those bestowed with bounteous boobage would struggle in your normal size. It sits at the top of my calf which is a lovely length for this style of dress (it’ll obviously be shorter on taller gals).
It’s 100% cotton and feels so nice on. The sale has been raided so unfortunately you won’t find any on the Collectif site anymore but at the time of writing, there are quite a few sizes over at Succubus (a reliable Netherlands based company) if you need it as much as I did.
For reference:
I’m a standard size 6 in Collectif and wearing a size 6 in the Jemima above. I’m 4’11” and wearing 4 inch heels in the photos.Also wearing:
Cardigan: Collectif Jessie Palm (old stock)
Necklace: Collectif Natalie (old stock)
Bangles: Bow & Crossbones and Splendette
Earrings: Splendette
Shoes: E5P (old stock)
Brooch: Erstwilder
Hair flower: Collectif Lili (old stock), high street and eBay.