Fear not! I haven’t forgotten about this Pinup in Sleeves series. One of the dresses I wanted to add to this list that I’ve been lusting over for a couple months now is the Lindybop Ramona dress, but for a long time it was out of stock in my size. I placed it on my Christmas list a few months back thinking if it happened to come back into stock before Christmas maybe one of my family members could get it for me, but otherwise it would just sit on my list as a reminder to snap it up when it did come back into stock.

Mid-December Ramona reappeared and I not-so-subtly asked my mum whether it would be best for me to buy it then for myself in case no one noticed it being restocked and I missed the buying window. My mumma told me to send her a link to the dress and we both pretended I didn’t know what I would be getting for Christmas. The day came! My present was opened. Hello Ramona, you darling! Which means I’m able to add her to this sleeved dress series for you lovely ladies who are, like me, searching for warmer pieces to add to your pinup wardrobe during winter.

The Ramona dress is the most affordable dress in the series of dresses I’ll be reviewing, though other Lindybop dresses at a similar price point will appear on the final wishlist I’ll be sharing at the end of the series showcasing other dresses I like but don’t own in order to give a full review. As it’s currently out of stock I can’t find the price listed anywhere and because it was a gift I don’t have an invoice I can check, but I know it would have been between  £27.99-£34.99. Lindybop ships at a flat shipping rate of £1.99 in the UK, no matter how many dresses you order, which is kind of incredible. It regularly goes out of stock on the Lindybop site as well as many others that carry it, so if you decide it’s a must own for you you might have to sign up to some stock notifications to wait it out.

Dress: Ramona by Lindybop
Stockings: L’Amour stockings by Ann Summers
Belt: eBay
Shoes: Spiked heels from eBay
Petticoat: Jennifer petticoat by Malco Modes (Review here)
Fascinator: Handmade by me

This dress has three quarter length sleeves and a cross over bust featuring a wide collar. The best detailing on this dress is the thick pleated waistband, which is what snagged my interest when I first saw its picture.

When I first put it on I thought the collar wasn’t laying properly because it had been sat folded in a bag for too long, but actually there’s a few small darts sewn into the collar on the top of your shoulders to make it sit up like that.  From pictures on the Lindbyop website I also didn’t realise there were white and gold buttons on the sleeve cuffs featuring a Fleur De Lis, buttons I will probably remove as they’re not my style. From the sheen the dress had in pictures I saw online I expected this to be a more evening-appropriate fabric, but it’s actually akin to a very thick jersey, which means it’s nice and warm.

The skirt is full but not a full circle, something that disappointed me because I find brands tend to photograph their skirts just so to make them look as full as possible when in reality they either don’t easily encompass a petticoat or else look awkward doing so. That frustrates me because if a skirt looks big online but won’t work that way in person I find that a huge disappointment, being the big-skirted addict that I am. You can fit a petticoat under this skirt, but you won’t achieve an effortlessly puffy result from doing so.

I’m a UK 12-14, definitely 14 currently more so than 12, so I followed the Lindybop size chart and asked for this dress in a 14, only to find it’s come up a big on me. I have just enough experience with Lindybop to know almost all their clothes run large in the sizing, with the occasional dress sizing small just to make things really confusing, so the large sizing on this dress is worth bearing that in mind if, like me, you can be between sizes. The waist sits an inch longer on me than is flattering on my shape too, so I may have to figure out if there’s a way to shorten it that doesn’t mess up the pleat detailing of the waistband; if not I’ll just have to stick to adding a belt to it like I did in these pictures to try to draw the eye to my natural waist shape better. For these shots alone I had to pinch in a good couple inches of material on the side that doesn’t have the zipper to form a temporary dart with a safety pin until I can make real alterations.  If I can sort that waist length out and take it in slightly then it will be a lovely dress to wear, even if I am sad that it doesn’t have the full circle skirt that I feel will take this design onto a whole other level of chic.

As stated above I’m not sure at the moment on the exact price, but it’s a lovely dress and at under £35 it’s not surprising I found the sizing iffy compared to the dresses I’m used to wearing by more expensive companies like Pinup Girl Clothing, who’s sizing works brilliantly on me. The sizing aside, this will definitely keep me warm, and it’s a great option for pinups who don’t have the budget to or don’t want to splash out on pricier dress options.