I love sleeved dresses for the colder months but I don’t often buy them because all of my vintage-style shopping is done online, and of course anything that doesn’t fit requires the more testing rigmarole of arranging and posting a return compared to the fairly simple task of walking a hanger back to the clothes rail it came from. When it comes to sleeved dresses it’s the threat of the likelihood of a return that deters me, because my large upper arms regularly determine that long-sleeved dresses which technically fit are, in reality, too uncomfortable to wear.

Nothing bugs me more than a sleeve that’s so tight across the biceps that I can’t move my arms in a normal range of movement, let alone even sit still comfortably without feeling tight compression or pinching. Which is why I am always so grateful that Miss Candyfloss, the verifiable winners of creating the best vintage-inspired Autumn-winter designs, always scale up their sizes beautifully and I have never yet experienced any discomfort when donning one of their sleeved dresses. The fact that all of those dresses are also achingly glamorous and chic almost comes in second to the grand scale of my gratitude and relief.

Dress: Leontine-Silver dress gifted by Miss Candyfloss
Brooch: Vintage
Gloves: Old Primark
Boots: Black Cecily boots by JustFab [Referral link for bargain price]

The Leontine dress is, as you can very plainly see, another flawless Miss Candyfloss design, impeccably balancing timeless simplicity with delicate and thoughtful design features that flatter and impress. It’s part of their Dear Marilyn AW19 collection as it was inspired by a suit jacket and pencil skirt set that Marilyn wore in Gentlemen Prefer Blondes. The oversized collar is the clear star feature of this dress, projecting power, elegance and a little sexiness as it dips into a slightly lower feature-shaped neckline than most Miss C dresses sport.

The elbow length sleeves offer warmth and feature petal styled cuffs, because Miss Candyfloss even know how to make sleeve cuffs beautiful. It also has functioning front buttons and a side zip, so it won’t be one of those sleeved dresses that leaves you struggling–however carefully–to get in and out of–I know I’ve become flustered and more than a little panicked many times when trying to get a dress back off over my head with no one around to help me and if you say you haven’t experienced that too then you’re definitely lying. Thankfully, that won’t happen with this gem. 

As the name Leontine-Silver suggests, the fabric is a cooled toned grey, serving as a wonderful base for rich toned or even patterned accessories to create an array of stunning cold weather looks. It comes with a matching fabric notched belt. I’m also delighted to say that there are pockets, an uncommon addition to Miss Candyfloss dresses. I hope this marks the beginning of pockets being a regularly included feature in their future designs, as that’s the number one feature in a dress that adds a higher level of practicality and joy to my daily wear.

I’m wearing this dress in my usual Miss Candyfloss size 2XL. The bust flat measures 43.5 inches with stretch to 46 inches, while the waist flat measures 38 inches with almost an inch of give. The skirt is 27.25 inches long. As previously mentioned, the arms have plenty of room for ease of movement and comfort of wear, but more specifically the armholes are 23 inches around and the circumference of the upper arms are 18 inches are their widest point.

The Leontine-Silver dress comes in sizes XS-5XL. It also comes in black with white contrast details, name in that iteration as the Amora-Lou dress. Miss Candyfloss have select stockists around the world and if you’re on the hunt for a particular item that has sold out in their own webshop they are more than happy to direct you to the stockists who carry the stock you’re after.

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Disclaimer: The dress featured in this review was gifted to me by Miss Candyfloss with no obligations. All opinions expressed are truthful and my own, with no input from any of the companies listed or any other individuals.