Spring floral $49 dresses at David Jones

Mink Pink floral midi dress (sz 6), Nine West Dena sandals 

It's that time of the year when Spring time feels like it's just around the corner in the southern hemisphere and my Instagram feed is an explosion of cherry blossoms and spring pastel coloured outfits at the moment! There are also many good sales happening at the moment, so it's a great time to pick up some end of winter discounts. Some notable sales at the moment including: 

• David Jones $49 and under on selected dresses (thank you to @kmartinsider on Instagram who shared this in one of her stories!) - this is where I picked up the pretty floral dress that I'm wearing in this post.
• Witchery - extra 30% off sale items
• Forever New - additional 40% off sale items
• Seed Heritage - further 30% off sale items

This was my first time purchasing/trying on an item from Mink Pink so I wanted to wait til I received my dress to try on first before sharing my thoughts on it. 

Mink Pink Tegan midi dress dress (sz XS), Nine West Dena heels

When my dress arrived, my first impression was it was that it was pretty enough for the price. The material is polyester so while it wasn't amazing it was soft and floaty, perfect for this style of dress. The dress is thin but fully lined and not see through. I took my usual size (XS) and it was a good fit including the length. On the model it looks like it ends mid-calf whereas on me it ended just a few centimetres above my ankles. There are soft frills at the shoulder sleeves and tiered frill layers in the skirt. 

The dress has an elasticized waist and a waist tie that you could substitute for your own belt if you wished to add some variation. There is a single button at the back of the neck that you can unhook to get in and out of the dress. There is no zipper but I had no problem getting into the dress with plenty of stretch in the elastic waist.

The main downside to this dress on me was the deep V neck that was too low cut and I would need to wear a slip or singlet underneath (as shown in photo). There are a couple of other tricks for low cut V necks wrap style clothing: (1) use a safety pin to pin a higher V neck or (2) if you're nifty with sewing, you could sew a concealed clip button closure which many other wrap style tops and dresses often have. Overall I don't think the low cut V neck is enough for me to return the dress as it's very easy to wear a singlet underneath. Ladies who have a fuller bosom might not have the same problem. 

Floral detail of blue, red and yellow flowers.

The floral print is of small flowers in blue, red and yellow. A trick I use when co-ordinating outfits is to pick one of the colours in the print and match it to other items in my outfit, whether it's the cardigan, shoes or bag, as you can see in some of the various ways to style this dress down below. 

1. For office: white blazer, Loewe belt, Mulberry mini zipped Bayswater, Jimmy Choo Romy 85 heels;
2. Daytime wedding: YSL Kate tassel clutch, Jimmy Choo Minny heels;
3. Casual picnic: Target girls denim jacket, Strandbag straw bag, H&M sneakers (all old);
4. Keeping warm: Cotton On knit sweater, Loewe belt and small basket bag, Sandler Neddy ankle boots. in taupe.

The dress is very much a spring/summer dress but I like to challenge myself to get the most wear out of any piece of item so here I've shown a few different ways that you could style the dress for other occasions:

1. Look one: For the office - I've added a structured cropped jacket (this one was a cheap find from SES_fashion that has lasted over five years), white heels, tan belt and work tote bag. 

2. Look two: Dressy occasion - instead of pairing with blue accessories, I've picked up the red flower detail in the dress and switched blue shoes and bag for red strappy sandals and red clutch bag. I can imagine this dress would be nice to wear to a daytime wedding event. 

3. Look three: Casual picnic - the weather can still be a tad chilly in spring so adding a jacket is a great way to keep warm as well as double up as some sun protection. 

4. Look four: For colder weather - adding a sweater over your dress and belt it at the waist can change the look of the dress as well as allowing more wear out of summer frocks when the weather is cold. You can also wear a cardigan. Boots are also another way to bring some warmth into your outfit. You can pretty much use this styling hack for any spring/summer skirt or dress that you have.  I started with one pair of these Sandler Neddy ankle boots and eventually ended up getting all three colours in the tan, taupe and black! 

This dress pattern also comes in a shorter knee length version, a separate top and skirt version and are all included in the $49 sale. Mink Pink is available from their website as well as various stockists including David Jones and The Iconic. I spotted a few other cute Mink Pink dresses and have rounded up some of my favourites in the picture below. I've only included dresses that are on sale but Mink Pink also do other items like sweaters and tops. 

David Jones $49 and under sale including Mink Pink, Lulu and Rose and other brands

I also wanted to briefly mention these beautiful blue strappy sandals that are from Nine West that I saw on The Iconic website. I've been seeing a lot of brands styling their spring outfits with white or blue sandals and I thought it was a great way to add a gentle pop of colour to your outfit! These are the Dena heels and come in other colours including nude, light pink, black, silver and gold. The heel height is 8.5 cm and material is leather upper with synthetic lining and sole. 

I don't think I've gone for colourful shoes in the past so am looking forward to pairing this blue pair with my spring outfits. Now, just to patiently wait for Covid lockdown to be over... hope you're all managing to keep your spirits up and keeping healthy. 

xx

Choco

Instagram @choco_petitestyle