Valentine's day is a week away and so, many couples will be planning date nights, meals out and fun-filled activities to celebrate the special day. My partner and I are doing a weekend away in a little cabin, followed by dinner for two at one of our favourite restaurants, and as such, I wanted to find the ultimate date night outgit - but nothing I had in my wardrobe already seemed to fit the bill for the occasion.
This February also marks our seven-year anniversary, so I wanted to find a dress that was made for romance, making me feel confident while still being comfortable, and inkeeping with my personal style.
Whenever I have an event coming up and need an outfit fast, I always look to brands like Boohoo, PrettyLittleThing and MissPap, because I know they offer a fast service at an affordable price, and their returns system is really easy to use if it turns out it wasn't a good fit.
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So this Valentine's Day, I had a look on Boohoo and MissPap to see if I could find the perfect Valentine's outfit - and fell head over heels in love for the cheapest one - result!
The first outfit I tried out was the floral rouched mesh bardot maxi dress, which is £30 on the Boohoo website. This is very different from what I would say is my typical style, but I really quite liked it.
The pink and red floral dress is made with sheer fabric comprising of tiny holes, that make it super stretchy and comfortable to wear. I love the rouched detailing, as I find it hides a multitude of sins and is very forgiving if you’re self conscious about your tum, like me.
The off-the-shoulder design is very flirty, and can be adjusted to be worn quite high, or lower down to show a little more flesh. Likewise in the length, too, you can wear it as the intended maxi dress, or hike it up, giving it more ruffles, to wear as more of a midi length, if you want to show off your heels a bit more, too.
Available in sizes 8 to 18, this dress really helps accentuate your curves, and as well as being a stunning Valentine’s day choice, it’s giving me major summer wedding guest vibes, too.
Much more my go-to style was this satin wrap belted maxi dress - but it comes in at twice the price, so it’s not the most affordable option from Boohoo, coming in at £60.
The long raspberry-coloured satin dress is so chic and easy to wear, with a wrap style that ties into a bow at the waist.
The fabric is cut beautifully to fall softly around the chest, with a really fluid skirt that creates some incredible movement when walking. The draping around the waist is also quite slimming, which gives you a little confidence boost when wearing it.
Available in sizes 8 to 18, I ordered a 10 but could have probably gotten away with an 8 due to the style of dress, since it’s my hips that are my widest part.
I styled this dress with a pair of cream boots and a cream bag, and it felt like a really effortless, fun outfit for date night.
My favourite outfit of all though, was Boohoo’s off the shoulder midi wrap dress, which happened to be the cheapest at just £20. The midi-length jersey dress can be worn off or on the shoulder, and has a jumper-dress look about it from afar, so it feels seasonally appropriate for the weather, too.
The size 10 fit me really well in this bodycon style, showing off a curvier lower body without being too tight, as well as a plunging neckline without being too revealing. The long sleeves make this piece a little more modest, and the tie waist making it a little more casual. It’s definitely a more versatile dress that could be dressed up for a winter wedding or Valentine’s date, or be worn more casually for a shopping trip or a quick drink at the pub.
This dress is the most inclusive in terms of sizing, too, ranging from size 8 to 26, whereas most of the others don’t even go up to a size 20. And if you love it in red, then there are also 10 other colours in this style to choose from, including black, beige, orange and blue.
Boohoo say it’s been ‘designed to flatter every body type and make you feel beautiful as you celebrate a special day’, and that’s why I’m making this £20 little red dress my outfit of choice on February 14. It pairs really well with the £39 diamante heart grab bag, too, which is a great dupe of the L’alingi red patent love clutch, which retails for an eye watering £725.
Another option I tried out but didn’t love as much as the midi wrap dress was the Lexi Wood Premium Satin Tailored Blazer and Trousers combo, coming in at a combined £100 on MissPap. The outfit also came with a corset-style waistcoat, but sadly, it didn’t quite fit how it should have done and it didn’t make me look like the influencer and model, who has 1.2million followers on Instagram.
The trousers and blazer were gorgeous, though, albeit the sizing was on the small side and I’d have probably sized up to a 12. The quality of the material was very premium, but I did have to restitch the button on the blazer as it fell off when I went to button it up.
I styled the two-piece with a pair of black leather boots, a black rollneck and a green satin headband from Manchester-based independent Rommy, but the look wasn’t as comfortable to wear as some of the others, and cost WAY more too.
Of these four outfits, the cheapest was actually my favourite, and the one I found to be the most comfortable and flattering to wear. It also seems to be a general ‘fan favourite’ too, since after sharing the first three dresses on my Instagram, the red dress received twice as many likes as the others, with friends and family commenting on how ‘unreal’ and ‘stunning’ it was, while others fell in love with the accessories, with one commenting: “Need that heart bag in my life!”.
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