Zara funnel collar dress, £59.99
Zara keep on making dresses in this exact shape, and I… well, I just keep on buying them. I’m too scared to count how many version of this dress I own already, (OK, four. Although two of them have long sleeves, so that’s totally different, right?) but funnily enough, that doesn’t stop me wanting this one, too. It never does, does it?
This dress has the same classic, pencil-skirt shape of all its sisters, with cap sleeves and a high, funnel neckline. It’s actually quite an interesting choice of shape for Zara, because I know many people hate cap-sleeves with a vengeance, and the combination of high-neck AND low hem is quite different from the kind of dresses we’re used to seeing on the high street. Despite all of this, these dresses have been really successful for them, selling out fast, and then turning up on eBay for twice the retail price. Gotta love that!
This particular dress has a very pale pink background, with a delicate green and yellow leaf print. It’s very summery, and the kind of thing that will work for for a variety of different situations. I like these dresses because I think the aforementioned high neck/low hem combination makes it much easier to get away with the bodycon fit, which I’d otherwise feel a little self-conscious in. Needless to say, I definitely wouldn’t be wearing this dress with the sensible sandals Zara have styled it with, though: I know they’re super-trendy, and probably very comfortable, but a slim, strappy sandal, in either the green of the leaves, or the pale pink of the background colour, would be much more my style. And honestly? I think a pair of shoes is really all this dress needs in the way of accessioning, which is why I haven’t put together an outfit for it.
This is one of the reasons I love dresses so much, and also one of the reasons it always makes me smile when people react to them as if they’re really difficult or wear. “Oh, I just can’t be bothered getting all dressed up every day!”, they’ll say, which is funny, because a simple dress and a pair of shoes is possibly one of the easiest (and laziest!) outfits ever – but it always makes you look like you’ve made an effort.
I’m with you on the whole wear a dress, look dressed up thing. This is beautiful.