Shopping with expert: Wallis for sun dresses

We went to see Wallis close up last week. Wallis is the Arcadia Group's brand aimed sorta loosely at us, ie women (rather than teenagers) and older than 25. Obviously, they don't use big numbers at Arcadia (heaven forbid they talk about being 35 or even 45plus...too scary!) but this range does think about providing clothes you could wear to work without everyone laughing or redirecting you to the nearest night club.

Two of my favourite (now practically vintage) wardrobe staples come from Wallis -from the Limited Collection. One is an elbow length black roll neck sweater with a touch of lycra in it that looks like it's jumped out of the wardrobe of a really chic New Yorker. It has turn back ribbed cuffs at the elbow and it's this little detail that makes it look expensive. The second is a plum coloured princess sleeved blouse that gets me compliments every time I wear it. Both are over five years old and are in nice fabrications that have lasted well. 

Summer dresses have been selling incredibly well at Wallis according to Hayley, Wallis's head of press, and if you look at the website you can see there are loads of colourful ones at really good prices. I'm never sure if it's worth spending shed loads of money on a summer dress that you are probably not going to get much wear out of with our usually dismal summers. This year however, things have been really HOT so we've had to re assess and something around £45 sounds about perfect. We've picked out our favourites here, most of them are not too short, but if you are worried they'd look good over slim white trousers, or cycling short length leggings.

We like the Boutique collection (only available on line) which has slightly more fashion forward styles that the brand test the water with, a bit like a fashion lab. Good sellers might get re scheduled and put into all stores. On line is good for our out-of-town and overseas readers, as Wallis deliver anywhere and I've never been a big fan of the Wallis in-store experience (the Oxford Street store is my local, which has crowded rails and is a bit over lit for me).

We hope to chat to Wallis in a bit more detail at the launch of AW 2010 as it has a lovely range of vintage inspired coats coming out (titled 1923, which is when Wallis was born, making it a grand old lady of 87) so watch out for this. Jane reminded me that Wallis used to be renowned for its brilliant coats when we were youngsters due to its great coat designer. Anyone have an old Wallis coat?

Wallis.co.uk

    

Large floral  £45 Japanese border print £45
    
Japanese kimono dress £45  Paisley tunic £45

Comments

[Fashionistable]

Thank you. I am liking the Japanese border print. Xxxx

[Tine]

I DO still have a mid eighties Wallis cashmere and wool coat......complete with shoulder pads! Sadly it has a small amount of moth damage but it is so beautifully made that I have been unable to throw it out. It is a shawl collar flowing A line style from the shoulders, with no belt or fastenings of any kind. The seams are all on the diagonal and topstitched, with the pockets cleverly inset to match the seam. I think I might see if a local vintage clothing shop might like it, as it seems a shame for it to go to waste.
Trying it on just now makes me realise that it must always have swamped me, however overlong overbig stuff was normal back then!
Being a petite I mostly have to look on-line for clothes as the shops are not keen to stock their petite ranges.

Tine

[amanda]

Oh Tine it sounds wonderful, what a shame those pesky moths got to it. It might be worth holding off giving the coat away until you see the Wallis coat collection for autumn, it might get a bit of press (we're certainly going to look at it) and your vintage Wallis might gain a couple of pounds in value! Axx

[Jane]

I think I remember that style Tine and love your description of the coat. You sound like a designer to me?
J x

[Tine]

Amanda, Thanks for the tip about holding on to the coat for a little longer. It was £110 in 1986, which seemed a lot of money then.
Jane, Thank you, although I am not a designer I was an apprentice dressmaker at Hardy Amies in the 1970s. It gave me a love of well made clothes and appreciation for design.

Tine

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[Larissa Dobbin]

The large border print and floral designs look so good! Really, the clothes have an adult feel to them, but the designs are quite vibrant. These would look wonderful on women over 25. Shopping and trying out these dresses must feel very nice!