From romantic sleeves to its flattering waistline, this £40 high street dress is perfect for your big summer occasions but works equally well with boots for a more relaxed feel
I have my first wedding of the year this weekend, and from then on the season will truly be in full swing. But finding the perfect guest attire can be a huge challenge, finding something you’ll be comfortable in all day long, that will look great in pictures from every angle, and most importantly, can be reworn time and time again.
On my hunt for an outfit, I headed out to the high street and tried on dozens of options, but fell most in love with a River Island number under £50.
The Blue Satin Floral Tie Waist Swing Mini Dress immediately caught my eye in the store, not least for its striking floral design, but for its totally on-trend colour palette, too, with sky blue hues set to continue to be a major style theme in 2024.
Personally over the years I’ve shifted away from shorter hemlines, instead opting for midi and maxi lengths. I’ve often found the mini dresses on the high street to be an inch or two on the too-short side, but the cut of this River Island number is just right, ensuring to cover everything that needs covering and reducing the anxiety of a potential pant-flash, because nobody wants to spend an all-day event filled with worry about a wardrobe malfunction.
The dress is made from a luxe-feeling satin fabric that drapes effortlessly over your frame and feels really flattering, nipping in at the waist before the skirt flows back out. The hem is complete with a ruffled detailing which makes it look even more expensive than its £40 price tag, while the floral design feels really timeless, meaning you can wear it year after year, too.
My favourite feature of this particular dress was the angel sleeves, which is a cut I’ve opted for previously for weddings too. It gives it such a romantic vibe, perfect for a celebration of love.
The only thing I would have changed about the dress is the tie waist, which I’ve hidden behind the back of the dress. Thin dress belts are something that is featuring heavily on River Island designs at the moment but I’m yet to see any solid evidence that they’ll be a trend this year. For me, the dress looks far more elevated without it, and luckily, it is removable.
For a wedding, I’d pair this with some black strappy heels and a black bag and perhaps a padded headband, but as it goes, I tried it on with my black cowboy boots in store and realised it’s such a great way to tone the dress down for a more relaxed vibe, while leaning in to the cowboy core trend that’s dominating the high street this summer, thanks to Beyonce.
Speaking on the emerging trend, River Island said: “This season, we’re taking our style cues from the Wild West and bringing cowboy styling into 2024. Think tassels, western boots, texture and true blue denims brought into the present day with metallic accents, flowing romantic dresses and tones as spicy as the scorched red earth.”
If you love the pattern, but not the cut of the dress, the design also comes in the form of a £45 slip dress, as well as a long sleeve blouse and a cami top, which are perfect for pairing with jeans or skirts.
Elsewhere, our shopping writer Lucy Addicott has been scouring the web for some of the best wedding guest dresses for 2024 and has found some gorgeous picks from Coast, never Fully Dressed and ASOS – discover her favourites in our round up here.
But if its the dreamy and romantic River Island number you fancy sporting for your spring and summer weddings and beyond, you can buy it here for £40 on the River Island website.
