Spotlight on ‘Monshowroom’

I recently sat on a panel for the Sheerluxe Fashion Day where we discussed Summer event dressing.  One of the points we discussed was arriving at an event to discover that you’re not the only one wearing the outfit. Unfortunately it does happen, especially if you have bought your outfit from a well known retailer. It happened to me once, and I made a beeline for the lady who was wearing my dress and said ‘Hi, I absolutely love your dress, where is it from?!’ We had a good chuckle and there was no awkwardness, but I am sure I heard whispers of ‘Did you see they’re wearing the same dress?!’ during the evening. So how best to avoid this happening? My advice would be to look somewhere that’s a little off the beaten track.

When I was asked if I would like to collaborate with Monshowroom, I was thrilled to discover an online shopping destination that stocked so many desirable brands. It’s a virtual Aladdin’s Cave of beautiful pieces that you would probably only find in exclusive boutiques here in the UK and I couldn’t believe how many things I wanted to pop straight into my basket.

With the Summer months in mind, I decided to focus my search on dresses. Vintage florals are huge this season and I immediately fell in love with this dress by a brand called La Petite Francaise.  Of course there is always a little niggle of doubt when you order online, that things won’t fit properly or the quality may not be quite what you were expecting, but the pieces that I ordered did not disappoint in terms of quality and fit and many of the brands that are stocked by Monshowroom are brands that I know and love.

I loved the sleeves on this dress and the drawstring waist means that you can easily adjust it to fit perfectly. As far as I can tell, they don’t stock too many of each item, so many of the pieces sell out quickly and lots of things that I looked at only had 1 or 2 left in my size. Perfect if you’re looking for a little exclusivity.

I am wearing it with a pair of slides for a more relaxed, boho vibe, but you could easily dress it up with a pair of heels for a smarter occasion. After spending 95% of the winter in trousers, I am always desperate for the warmer months so that I can enjoy the freedom of soft, unstructured fabrics against my skin. This Spring/Summer I am looking forward to wearing maxi dresses the most. I love not having to worry about having my legs on display and this particular style of dress covers the tops of the arms, which can be an area which many of us like to keep covered.

The other dress that I tried is from Pepe Jeans. I loved the vibrant colours and the folky feel to this dress. It’s fully lined and pretty voluminous, so it feels amazing on. It was a little bit long for me, so I added the belt but it would be perfect without the belt if you are around 5’5 or above.

Ordering from Monshowroom

Delivery to the UK is £8.90 as the items are shipped from France, which is a little higher than your average postage costs, but there aren’t any duties to be paid. You have 30 days to return if you are not entirely happy with your purchase. If you are returning goods outside of France then you do have to pay the return postage. Full details of the returns policy can be found here.

There are a few brands that Monshowroom stocks that I want to highlight.

• Masscob
• Star Mela
• Suncoo
• See By Chloe

And here  is just a small selection of things that caught my eye.

With such a fabulous selection of beautiful pieces (that you probably won’t find too many others wearing) there’s just one thing missing. Come on the sunshine…

*This post was written in collaboration with Monshowroom. All photography, styling and words are my own*