Outfit post: Potty Lotty

A few people have asked for a closer look at this yellow dress, so here you go. I thought I'd take advantage of the heatwave and get Mr Robot to take some photos.


The dress is 'Potty Lotty' by a company called Mistress of Vintage, who I'd never heard of. I bought it at the Vintage Nostalgia Show. I always plan to shop at the show, simply because I know I can try things on. I'm terrible for buying things over mail order that then either don't fit or don't suit me; buying at the show ensures fewer costly mistakes.

It was the print on this that called out to me. I have a romantic streak – everyone into vintage does, even if they don't like to admit it – but I'm not one for too many novelty prints, and even most florals are too much for me. I also don't like washy prints ('watercolour' effects just remind me too much of ones from the 1980s), so aside from the occasional oversized 1950s rose print, if it looks like it was done with a brush, you can keep it. Give me bold deco or atomic shapes. The strong, flat colours and strong lines of this one were definitely my sort of thing.

The lady on the stall was really helpful and told me she'd designed this for herself when she was a much larger size (she's tiny now!). In fact, a lot of the firm's clothing goes up to a size 24, which is great to see. You can tell she understands fuller figures. The off-centre buttons mean attention isn't drawn straight to the centre of a large bust or stomach. The dress hugs my chest nicely without clinging to my middle, and makes me feel fantastic. The fabric has a little elastane in it, so it stretches, making it very comfy for work. Although the website says hadwash, mine went in the machine without any problems.

There's only one problem with this dress: it should have a matching belt. I didn't realise that when I bought it, but there's a gap in the buttons. There's a belt with a shiny black buckle in the dress on the website. I did email and tweet them to see if I could get a belt, but have had no reply – they're a small firm, I guess, and might not have got round to it. Happily, there's a spare button on the inside, attached to a laundry label, so I shall pop that where the buckle would go. I don't really need a focus-pulling belt around my middle anyhow.

The lack of a belt hasn't put me off either the dress or the brand. Mistress of Vintage do some other fab prints, including one based on the old 'Homemaker' china pattern, and I really like their blouse and pencil skirt combinations, so I may well buy more from them in future. (And no, I have no association with them in any way, I merely bought my dress and loved it.)