Miss Candyfloss do many things incredibly well, one of which is make gorgeous matching sets that will fulfil all your vintage dreams. I can’t think of any other vintage-inspired company which regularly makes combination sets that are designed to be worn together, whether that be a jacket and dress, skirt and top, or even jackets that are made to pair with more than one of their items, such as one of their jumpsuits AND one of their dresses. It’s the reverse of one of their other unique things they do well and often—make dresses that look like skirt suits, but are in fact just dresses. Today, we are looking at one of their jacket and dress combos from their spring/summer line ‘Lilibeth,’ inspired by Queen Elizabeth II.

Dress: Varvara-Sadie dress gifted by Miss Candyfloss
Jacket: Gemma-May blazer gifted by Miss Candyfloss
Bag: Vintage

The lovely thing about this combo is that the two pieces elevate each other. The dress is all muted, gentle tones, teal and sage foliage with cream and mauve flowers scattered across a soft brown background, an understated print for people who don’t want to wear patterns that scream for attention. The jacket, in contrast, is almost entirely white, therefore echoing those small glimpses of white in the dress’s floral print and injecting a burst of bright freshness, effectively uplifting the demure colour scheme. Add to this the drapey movement of the Varvara dress, with its lightweight fabric and liquid swish, and the combination of the two pieces achieves a soft airy result. 

Getting further into specifics, the Varvara dress is a modest piece, cut in a sweetheart neckline so subtle it almost appears straight. The sleeves have a darling little detail that may be easy to overlook at first glance, but are refreshingly unique, featuring folded over cuffs which sport 3 tiny pleats at their edge. There are 3 pleats on either side of the bust too, and box pleats in the skirt, which holds bigger pockets than I’ve ever noticed on my other Miss Candyfloss dresses —always huzzah! Pockets can never be too big, as far as I’m concerned (she says, after recently inserting comically small pockets into the first dress she’s ever made. Whoops.)

The Gemma May jacket is trimmed with Varvara-Sadie’s print along the sleeve cuffs, atop the pocket flaps, and around the neckline, from which is skates along the entire hem of the jacket, travelling down the button placket and all the way around to the light peplum at the jacket’s centre back hem. Said buttons are also covered in the self same fabric, tying this matching print into every small detail. The patterned sleeve cuffs have an interesting little notch feature cut into them where they fall at the top of one’s forearm, as the sleeves are 3/4 length. Worn with its matching dress, the Gemma May blazer is an obvious choice, but you could easily pick out any of the colours in the print to pair with any kind of bottom or solid coloured dress that would match for added versatility of wear. Likewise, if you just don’t fancy a jacket-dress combo, the Varvara dress would pair beautifully with a cardigan or jacket of any similar tone found in its floral print.

I was sent both of these pieces in a 3XL. The dress’s waist measures 39 inches flat, with stretch to 42. The bust lies flat at 45 with extra room created by the pleats in the bust, and flat stretch to just over 47 inches. The sleeve cuffs measure 17 inches flat with an additional half inch give. The skirt 27.5 inches long and the dress closes with a back zip. It’s machine washable. 

Gemma-May’s waist lays flat at 40 inches another inch or so of give without distorting the lay of the button placket. The bust is almost 47.5 inches when flat with another inch  of give without unsightly pulling at the buttons. The sleeves measure 18 inches flat around the widest part of the bicep, with no stretch in the cuff but excellent gradation up through the sizes–as I’ve found all Miss C sleeves to be on the dozens of items I own– measuring non-stretch flat at 15 inches. The blazer is also machine washable. 

The Varvara-Sadie dress comes in sizes XS-5XL but a couple sizes are currently sold out on Miss Candyfloss’s own website. The Gemma-May blazer also comes in sizes XS-5XL with only the 4XL currently sold out. Miss Candyfloss ship worldwide and do have stockists across the globe, so if your size is ever sold out in an item you’ve fallen in love with it’s always worth checking online to see if there are any stockists who still have stock of the item you’re after. 

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

COVID-19 NOTE: These pictures were taken alone and safely in a secluded outdoors area with no other individuals present, practising responsible social distancing to help limit the spread of Covid-19.