Many brands have ‘collaborations’ with people, whether they be celebrities, social media stars or even  people who have a specialised area of fashion.

In the past the Plus Size world has seen collabs with Claire Richards, Jameela Jamil, Louise Pentland and Martine McCutcheon.

For us plus size vintage girls, the offerings are getting better month upon month. Hell Bunny, Lady V London, Collectif to name a few have increased their offerings AND their sizes.

There has even been a beautiful collection with George and Hayley for Voodoo Vixen.

However the most recent collaboration that has caught my eye is with the fast fashion company, Shein.

The gorgeous Retro Peaches, a Canadian based vintage clothing brand has designed a range of 10 dresses all around a central theme; emerald green, leopard print and tartan.

Some of the items are plain green, some solid tartan and some have a combination of materials and prints,

Out of the ten dresses, I was taken in by 3 specific ones; the Leopard Print Velvet Dress, the Leopard Print One Shoulder Velvet Dress and the Leopard Print Contrast Mesh Dress.

Now if you are a regular reader, you may recall a post I did several months ago about hate turned into a love affair with Leopard Print. If you missed it, you can read it all here. 

As the Retro Peaches collaboration featured a lot of leopard, I had to give it a go.

Placing my order I was lucky enough to have a discount code which reduced the dresses quite considerably. All in all the total should have been £79.97 but the three dresses cost £63.43, a saving of over £16.00

So… How were the three dresses?

Well I am going to keep you in suspense and just discuss one of those today. The other two I will preview over the next couple of weeks as they are TOO good to rush.

The first one is the full on Leopard Print Contrast Mesh Dress which is a gorgeous leopard print cotton material with black mesh bust area and little puff sleeves.

It may sound like it is a little basic, but let me assure you it is far from it.

The dress has a round neck which is edged by the leopard print before the start of the fine black mesh section. This skims over the neckline down to the leopard print main body, formed by a sweetheart bodice.

A full skirt joins on at the waist and flares out beautifully; a petticoat would really give it some oomph and increase the wow factor.

Little puff sleeves are attached to the bodice and trimmed at the edge with the same leopard print cotton. This gives it a really lovely finishing touch and I think it is so cute.

The measurements for this dress are 50.4/46.1/85 inches which is worked out as a UK size 24.

As the dress is a polycotton, I knew there would be no stretch or any ‘allowance’ but I loved the dress and decided to take a punt on it, knowing that the bust area would be tricky.

Normally I need a couple of more inches in the chest area for a good fit, however I have to say I am quite impressed by the fit.

Yes, if I wear the wrong bra it squishes my boobs down a bit, but with the right support the girls stay where they are supposed to be AND aren’t flat!

This garment was the cheapest of the three I bought at £20.49 but after discount it was an absolute bargain at £16.29.

I have to say, the quality of the design and the materials used are really impressive. The whole collection is beautifully designed and I know that they are going to be worn frequently, whether out for dinner, going to the cinema or even a smart brunch.

Obviously the leopard print is a little more relaxed than heavy velvet but they are all multi-functional, for want of a better word.

So, how did I accessorise the dress?

If you had a quick look at that previous leopard print post, you will see I have glasses, turbans, hats and belts that match. But I wanted to keep it simple and went with some black patent shoes, caramel and dark brown bangles.

The hair was a little trickier. I desperately need a cut and style; when I roller the hair it is not giving the defined style that I have come to be used to so it was easier to use one of my wonderful wigs.

For a few of the classier snaps I added an original vintage black velvet hat and tortoiseshell bag which upgraded it for a much more formal affair.

So, there you have it. Dress number one from the Retro Peaches collaboration.

Oh and if you think this is wonderful……Wait till you see the next one!

Till then,

SPSG xxx