If you haven’t already seen the new offerings from Miss Candyfloss’s autumn/winter line, I have to ask; where have you been? Because I know what you’ve been, and that is missing out. Their latest collection is all about the Femme Fatale, inspired by Agent Carter. Think 1940s glamour, strong women fighting against nazis, the ultimate film noir sense of brooding fiercely smart spy awesomeness. Given all that, you’ll probably understand why donning the items from this collection makes me feel as sassy and dramatic as the character that inspired it. No, really, look:

Dress: Valeria-Bo by Miss Candyfloss
Belt: Old
Hat: Old M&S
Gloves: Wine leather from eBay

The rich plummy hues of this dress not only make me feel dramatic and spy-like, but they’re also the perfect tones for the approaching colder months. I’m generally not an admirer of purple tones but I love burgundy, and the mixture of them together in this tartan with grey and navy blue makes for such a gorgeous palette, as well as offering up dozens of options for colour pairing when styling your outfit.

The colour of this piece aside, the cut of the dress itself is lovely. Miss Candyfloss are well known for the pleated bust featured in this dress, a design feature which makes these dresses very large-bust friendly. The three quarter sleeves are flattering and autumn-appropriate, while the cut of the collar makes it impossible for you to unknowingly spend half the day with a skewiff collar that you only notice once you get home. The 26-inch long swing skirt has box pleats, giving it a great middle-ground level of volume that’swell-suited for ladies who don’t like a very full skirt.

I tend to size up into 2XL in non-stretch fabric Miss Candyfloss dresses these days to accommodate my bust as their items have a smaller bust-to-waist ratio than most vintage inspired brands do. Their signature pleated bust dresses such as this one, however, allow plenty of room for larger busts, but since this is a sleeved piece in a limited-give fabric I still had to size up to make sure my larger upper arms and broad shoulders would fit comfortably. Thankfully the sleeves are graded sensibly against the dress size, meaning my upper arms aren’t uncomfortable in this dress nor my movement restricted in that awkward way that makes it difficult to bend or reach for anything in sleeves that are too tight. The rest of the dress also lines up with the size chart, measuring 36 inches in the waist with give to 38 inches and 42 inches in the bust up to 48 inches with the room the pleats allow. The upper arms measure 15 inches in circumference and the arm holes are 20 inches round.

The dress closes with a concealer back zipper that ends below the collar, so if you want to avoid messing up your hair I would suggest you put this dress on before you brush out your pincurls–which I forget to do every single time. Be smarter than I am, ladies. Channel the good sense of Agent Carter.

The Valeria-Bo dress is available in sizes XS-5XL, though it sold out quickly on Miss Candyfloss’s own website so stockists such as Deadly is the Female and Top Vintage will be your best bet for tracking down this particular colourway. This same dress style is available in many different plain colourways, however, as the Vedette dress, in the same XS-5XL size range, so there’s several options available if you love the shape. If you’re a fan of this collection and have you heart set on any of the items shown in the lookbook, I strongly suggest you make it a habit to stalk the Miss Candyfloss website every day as their new releases are selling out quickly in some or all sizes.