A mum claims she wowed at a family wedding by wearing a Primark nightie instead of a dress - and urges other women to have the 'confidence' to wear nightwear out and about. Sara Rochford was doing some shopping with her husband when she was blown away by a £20 floral nightie from Primark's 'Bridgerton' range.
Believing that the nightdress was 'too nice to wear to bed', the 37-year-old opted to wear the pyjamas to a wedding instead of a more high-end £80 dress that she already had at home. The creative mum-of-two accessorised with a coordinating pink bag, hat and shoes, as cheery wedding snaps show Sara proudly showing off her budget find.
The maintenance supervisor says that she felt 'lovely' in the dress and received plenty of compliments - and claims that it didn't feel like she was in a cheap dress or nightie at all. Sara said: "I wasn't originally looking for an outfit [for the wedding] because I already had one planned.
"Then I saw the nightie and I thought, 'that is so nice - that's too nice to wear to bed'. "I immediately thought of it as a dress to wear for a wedding. The original dress I was going to wear was £80 - that's such a huge difference in price.
"I didn't touch the dress; I didn't alter it whatsoever. I just added pink accessories that I already had. I felt lovely in it. I was really happy with how it looked.
"It doesn't cling. I'd just had a baby seven months ago, so I was a bit conscious of lumps and bumps. It was quite flattering, it didn't hug, it was perfect. I got a couple of compliments and people told me that the dress looked beautiful. No one actually asked where it was from.
"I didn't feel like I was in a cheap dress or a nightie at all. The pattern of it stood out, and you could accessorise it with lots of different colours."
Sara also purchased a snakeskin Primark nightie that she plans to style and wear on a night out in the coming weeks. The purse-string-savvy shopper claims that she's going to start shopping the nightwear range more often - and even recommends it as a way to cut clothing costs during the cost-of-living crisis.
Sara said: "I've never done this before, but I'm so glad I did. I'll absolutely do this again in the future, if I find something similar. I'd usually buy Zara or Chi Chi London dresses for weddings, and it's like a fraction of the price of those.
"If people out there have got the confidence to do what I've done and they're on a tight budget, then I absolutely [would recommend this to other women]. I feel like this is a good way to find nice, affordable outfits during the cost-of-living crisis."
Sara shared a snap of her dress on Facebook last week where it racked up more than 600 likes, comments and shares. Enthusiastic viewers flocked to the comments to share their positive reactions to Sara's innovative fashion fix-up.
One user said: "Love it! I need to try and find this one too." A second added: "Omg you look beautiful, would never have guessed [where it was from]. I need to get my butt to Primark."
A third said: "You look stunning. That absolutely does not look like a nightie."
Primark have been contacted for a comment.