Considering how much I love a bit of velvet in the colder seasons, you’d think I’d own a classic velvet Audrey-style swing dress. Somehow, I don’t. Or, I suppose, didn’t, because here comes Dolly & Dotty, ready to fulfill my velvet festive dreams, and in my favourite colour no less.

Dress: Burgundy Holly Velvet dress C/O Dolly & Dotty
Brooch: Vintage
Shawl: Faux Fur from eBay
Bag: Kooki Di Lou Marilyn bag
Shoes: Pewter Turn Back Prime flats from Modcloth

There’s no way you can really go wrong with this dress, especially if you’re already starting to think ahead to the holiday party season. The rich burgundy velvet is not only festive and luxurious to the eye, but it’s a comfortable and soft fabric to wear as well, so you won’t have to dread donning any restrictive shapewear that will most certainly feel like hell to wear for a whole evening. Sleeved, it will also keep you warm and cut down the time you spend getting dressed because there’s no frantic trying on of 5 different boleros and shrugs trying to decide if any of them really work.

Though it’s a swing dress it doesn’t have an obnoxiously voluminous skirt, so if you’re someone who feels that gathers visually add extra weight to your hips or if you simply hate that feeling of trying to grab up your skirt in tight spaces when people try to awkwardly squeeze past your puffy petticoated bottom half, this is a swing dress for you. At most, it’s happy to accommodate a slim-volume petticoat, because velvet always looks a bit odd if you ask it to go to hard with a petticoat.

The neckline is modest, the skirt hits me at the knee, meaning it’s not going to swamp petite ladies, and it will look lovely with many twinkly and shiny accessories if you want to go full-on glam for the party season. Oh, and it’s got pockets! It is, in short, a little marvel. And if you’re not a burgundy fan (um, what?!,) it also comes in a teal blue. 

I asked for it in a size 18 and it fits well with some extra room for comfort or, you know, Christmas dinner. The waist flat measures 38 inches with tons of stretch to 42, while the bust flat measures 43 inches with stretch to approximately 48 inches. All of that velvet stretchiness does mean you can probably size down, even if you have large upper arms because this fabric is practically woven from forgiveness.

Oh, and did I forget to mention that this post is also a giveaway? Dolly & Dotty are kindly giving one of you the chance to win a dress of your choice from their website. The giveaway is open internationally and runs from today, Monday 12th November until midnight GMT Thursday 15th November. Winner will be chosen at random using Rafflecopter and announced here on the blog on Friday 16th. So how do you enter? Easily! By doing one or all of the following:

• Follow Dolly & Dotty on Instagram
• ‘Like’ Dolly & Dotty on Facebook
• Leave a comment on this blog post telling us which Dolly & Dotty dress you’re currently eyeing up!

>>>> Click here to enter! <<<<

Good luck, lovelies!