Ahoy Sailor with Yours Clothing!

So I have a theory that every child born in the 80s and 90s was dressed up as a sailor at least once in their life by their parents.

And I've kept this penchant for nautical themes and sailor dresses all the way through my adult life, clearly!

So when picking a dress from the Hell Bunny range on Yours Clothing, really, there was no other option than the Ambeleside - a navy flared dress with nautical striping details on the collar, cuffs and hem, and a sweet little sailor collar!

Originally, I ordered the 22-24 based on the bust measurements on their size guide, and I will tell you that was a real mistake! Like the last time I reviewed a Hell Bunny dress, I found this came up big - this time at least five inches too big, and could grab fistfuls of fabric either side of my waist.

Since this is a fit-and-flare dress, it looked awful being so huge. I swapped it (with ease thanks to collect+ and fantastic service) for the 18 - and this is the absolute perfect size for me! So I would suggest to go by the waist measurements on their Hell Bunny size guide instead of the bust - my 50inch bust fits in the 18 without is being tight, despite it saying an 18 is a 44inch bust.

The dress itself is so lovely, it's a dark navy, crepe-like polyester, but even in summer heat is still very breathable. The colour is just right to make sure it isn't quite so costumey, which makes it perfect for all occasions without having to go full sailor-mode - it'd look adorable with a sailor hat, though!

Obviously being from Hell Bunny it's a straight-up retro styled dress, but is slightly more on the 40's side with the way the bodice is cut - I've made a dress with a similar bustline before, and I was delightfully surprised that this dress had been altered correctly to fit modern day busts since usually the gathering sits higher than the Ambelside.

Whilst taking these photos (If you're ever in Alexandra Palace, you may encounter me and my tripod!) I had a lot of compliments on this dress, and it deserves it! It has slight stretch to give you a perfect fit, a gored flared skirt that will take bigger petticoats than I'm wearing, and it's just a bit too cute, right? I bet my mum will like this dress, thanks to the aforementioned obsession in then 80s/90s of dressing kids up in sailor stuff.

Literally the only thing I don't like? It doesn't have pockets. That's it, you can't complain when there's only one thing wrong, right?
Although I'm interested if you'd wear a sailor dress - let me know in the comments!