I suppose I was always put off by the Fearne Cotton thing. I'm really not a big fan of 'celebrity' collelections. I think VB and Dannii Minogue have done well to approach the career change in a considered fashion. But celebrity lines do on the whole leave me cold.
But forced again to look at Very with fresh eyes, i.e. selecting an item, I found much to approve off. The site has a good selection of items from £5 to £300. It is in the main competing with ASOS, but offers a different range of items although there are some cross overs, which is inevitable.
The South brand of clothing seems unique to Very and although the brand doesn't seem to have a design ethos, more of a catch all, there are some great gems in their retail offering. I selected a South Feather Printed Dress - my youngest cousin has a wedding in August and I thought it would look lovely by the beach, with a slight hue of golden glow after holidaying in Italy.
It arrived in a very loud bright pink bag which is a great sight to behold, very cheery! The product was better than expected in terms of design, material and finish. I think it looks a lot more expensive than the £45 price tag, which is great value for money. I'd like to think it was my expert stylists eye at picking the item out and I'm sure some of it was but items don't always translate well from the image to the bedroom bed. Yep I flung it on there but in pleasure not dismay.
The only dismay came when I tried it on, just a little bit too small but then I've not selected this brand before and so have no idea whether the template is one that will never work with my body or I should have selected size 12. However, vanity and hard work on the fitness front got the better of me so I've not challenged Very's customer service by sending it back and getting the next size - nope I'm attempting a 'challenge Anneka' and hoping in 6 weeks time the zip will run up with ease!
In summary Very offers another option and when has shopping around been a chore. It has a good range to browse and select from. The site images aren't great nor is the styling of items. In fact the site is too basic and as many on-line retailers will find out the design, flow and aspirational feel of internet shopping is key to success. I'm also confused to the range of offerings and judged it purely as a fashion go to. Although it does seem to offer the kitchen sink as well.
I bet that dress will look fabulous on you.
ReplyDeleteThere's a catalogue clearance shop in our town centre and there's always loads of that South label. The quality isn't bad at all.
Catalogues scare me, I know many people who've been tempted to run up huge debts and had massive fall outs with friends and family members who haven't kept up with their weekly payments. It's rife in areas like mine where there's no money for new clothes and the temptation to pay on a weekly basis is too good to resist. x
Hi my dear-the dress is a lovely pattern and design, I hope it fits perfectly for the wedding too x
ReplyDeleteGorgeous dress - you have awesome taste! I am sure you could drop a dress size, or more in 6 weeks. It's really not impossible. I need to get back on my eating plan - I gained a kg over the last month :-(
ReplyDeleteI browsed Very for formalwear for my (low budget) bridesmaids last year- didn't go for them in the end but the quality seemed good. I like the way you can review items, too.
ReplyDeleteI myself rarely buy from catalogues, having got goods with a slightly different colour, texture etc' in the past. I wary of buying things I haven't tried on.
I think Very has some great stuff, I really do, and their A/W collections look promising. But I still don't find their site that enjoyable to shop on. I hate the mixture of product shots and model shots - looks kind of messy - but then I guess they don't yet have the budget to shoot everything in house like ASOS.
ReplyDeleteI like this South dress a lot too, may have to check out their other pieces.
I'm sure it will fit perfectly by August and that you will style it up beautifully! Nice dress x
ReplyDeleteHa I did a review for Very last year and chose a Fern Cotton dress purposely because I dont like sleb collections- i really had to eat humble pie as it is one of my favorite dresses!!
ReplyDeleteIs it bad that I hate Fearne Cotton so much that it makes me avoid Very?
ReplyDeleteI think I'd struggle with buying something that fitted without being able to try it on. Bet it looks fab on you though - it's such a great shape and print.