Ok.  It’s been a while since I’ve made any clothing purchases.  I covered that in my recent blog post last week :  Basic Me. Why I Hardly Bought Any Clothes This Winter

But now that Spring is due to arrive soon (even though we are experience winter snow and freezing temperatures in the Northeast), it’s time to start looking for warmer-weather clothing.

Yeah–Yesterday was March 1st and this was the view when I opened my front door!

And with that, comes dresses.  If you are a regular reader of this blog, then you are aware that I am a fan of dresses in the spring and summer months.  I dig one-step dressing.  Layers and separates are cool-to-cold weather dressing for me.  Once that temperature change takes place, it’s dresses, fake tan and, when not frolicking barefoot, sandals!

Favorite summer looks.  Dresses, sandals, fake tan, fake hair!

I found a dress that not only suits my needs, but it’s perfection!  And it was less than $25 on Amazon!

A little peek at this perfect dress.  For more details, read on!

Let me tell you the story. OK?

Now—Amazon, for me has been very hit-or-miss in the clothing area.  I once made a dress purchase that seemed too good to be true and when I received the dress, it couldn’t even be worn as a shirt.  No kidding! It was horrific. The thing went right into the trash!

On the other hand, I had luck with one dress –ONE dress that I really liked but hardly ever wore!

Honestly, I really like this dress but it was just never worn often. I may wear it to work next week though, because it is very comfy!

Obviously, my “dress radar” with Amazon has been less than stellar.

But a while ago, while perusing through the Amazon site, I was drawn to a certain brand’s dresses.  The brand is Floerns.  I’ve Googled this brand to find out more and my efforts were fruitless.  My instinct tells me it’s a “made-in-China” brand sold exclusively on Amazon.

And yes, I am very wary of these brands sold on Amazon but every now and then, you discover a gem.

A gem of a dress and there’s more to show!

This dress is the gem.  At under $25, I am blown away.  Let’s take a look.

It was delivered yesterday and upon arriving home from the office, I tried it on. Boy was I pleased!

As skeptical as I was, I still went ahead and ordered the dress.  Based on the many reviews, it seemed that the purchase would be a decent one.  Also based on the reviews, I ordered the dress in a size Large as it was cautioned to size up.

Here’s the stats on my body.  I am, in bare feet, 5 feet 5 and ¾ inches—making me closer to 5 feet 6.  With heels I’m around 5 feet 7 to 5 feet 8 inches.

The dress comes in sizes ranging from XS to XXL–and the stretchy fabric makes it very wearer-friendly!

My current weight is 150 and as you know I’m on a weight loss journey to go down to around 138 – 140 pounds.

I’m also noticing that as I pro-age, I’m searching for a slightly longer length in my dresses.  Don’t get me wrong—I’m still a fan of the shorter length, but for the office and for social occasions, I’m beginning to veer toward a knee length—given the proportions of the dress.

And that bottom hem comes just mid-knee!  The perfect length!

I’m tired of going to department stores because the sales assistants are more interested in their commission and will tell you any cheaply-made, overpriced frock is YOU! Ummm…no it isn’t!  I am very specific in what I like and what I’m looking for. Besides–I’ve seen pricey dresses with shoddy construction and I’m not paying for that!

Far be it from me to discover I found that perfect dress on amazon!

The dress, white with a deep blue, but not quite navy-blue design, is a winner.  The white fabric is completely opaque.  Testament to this is I tried the dress on straight out of the package when I was wearing black underwear—the black is undetectable.

Here’s a photo from yesterday.  I tried the dress on while wearing black underwear.  This is truly and opaque dress!  You can’t see the black!

The fabric is polyester but is lightweight making this summer-friendly.

The dress zips up the back.

And might I add-that zipper is long in length!  The back of the dress is also quite nice!

The silhouette is stunning.  It puts the curves in the right place giving a very feminine hour-glass appearance.

The dress’ silhouette is extremely flattering–putting the curves in all the right places!

The waist is higher and although comes up under the bustline, isn’t a true empire waistline.  What it is, is friendly to the women with long torsos because the natural waistline isn’t cut off.  If you are long-waisted (as I am) then you know what I mean and you know who daunting it can be to find a great fit.

As you can see the waist is higher but not an empire–it’s as though there is a built-in cumberbund!

This is not a fit-n-flare dress and isn’t a shift.  It’s like a relaxed Bodycon dress if you size up.  The description is pencil dress and I would say that’s a very fair assessment.

Stop the presses!!!!  I just found out that my daughter, Oona, unbeknownst to both of us, ordered the same dress four days ago!  Grown up Mommy and Me dresses!  Another point that is is a dress for all ages–not just the mature woman!

The sleeves are a genius length and one that I do not generally see on dresses.  The sleeves on this dress fall just below the elbow on me.  If you are blessed with long arms, then they will fall slightly higher.  But the point is that these sleeves are ridiculously forgiving.  Let’s face it—we proage and our upper arms get a bit flabby.  This dress hides the flab!

These sleeves though…could they not be any more perfect?

More on the design.  I noticed from the side view in my video review (I’ll add it to the end), that the design somewhat disguises my gut.  From the side.  From the front, I would wear shapewear to suck the gut in.  However, I am going to order a size Medium in another dress to see if the stretch from the dress will suck the gut.

I gotta gut sticking out but the design from the side does a good job in playing it down!

Sit-ability.  This dress is very sit-friendly.  Have you ever been at a function or work and your dress rides up—inching and inching up until you are constantly tugging at it?  Yeah—I hate when that happens.  Because of the length, you can sit very comfortably without having to put a drink or plate of food down to “fix” or tug at the dress.  I’m a huge fan of that.

And that’s as high as the dress rides up–making this a VERY sitable dress!

A most pragmatic party dress. You can enjoy a plate of food resting on your lap and you won’t be worrying about the dress riding up your thighs!

I’m excited about the way I sit in the dress. Chippy is bored!

And more on the length.  On me, the dress comes mid-knee almost a hair above the knee but not quite.   It’s a very “ladylike” length and given the silhouette, it’s a very body-lengthening dress, giving you the appearance of being taller.

Seriously–what’s not to love about this dress?

The darts in the top of the dress are another figure-flattering quality.

Check out the darting!  So old-school!!

Overall, this dress has everything.  Style. Sophistication.  Wearability (and by that, I mean from office to special occasion).  Comfort.  Flattering to all body types.  And the price is ridiculous.

Look—I realize that I could be debated on this dress given where it’s made and given the price point.  But—it’s affordable.  And the average woman doesn’t have the $100 or $200 to spend on a dress under normal circumstances.  I’m a big believer in a great deal and bargain, as well as value for the money and this dress hits all those points.

Did I mention that I love the design because it is just so India-inspired?  And…even though this is a multi-generational dress, it’s also a wonderful and flattering choice for the Mature demographic! BTW–I’m wearing Freetress Equal Swami wig in these pics.  A very affordable wig!

And so, if you are over 50, 60 or in the mature woman demographic, this is a well-needed and very lady-like frock!

For a better view, here’s the YouTube video I just uploaded and you can also get more information on ordering from my Amazon List:  My Atypical60 Amazon Influencer List.

And that’s my honest view.  I love this dress so much that I ordered another one in Black and white with slightly longer sleeves in the same Large size.  And it was $19.99 from the same brand!  Just a heads up!  Let me know what you think–have you ever ordered clothing from Amazon?  Were you happy or……………….like me with the dress that was more like a shirt, did you trash it?