Blind Review: Premme Black Twist-Front Dress
*In a Blind Review, an item is selected from an independent small brand. Using their measurement chart we purchase the size that best fits the reviewer’s measurements. All tags, maker’s identifying marks, and packaging is removed so brand preconceptions won’t affect the review. Once the blogger has sent in their review, we disclose the brand and retail price and ask for their final reaction.
Premme Black Twist-Front Dress rp: $65.00 (£49.50 without p&p and import duties)
This dress was bought within the first hours of the launch of Premme by Gabi Gregg and Nicolette Mason.
Katherine (UK18/20): I was really excited to try this dress from the minute I opened it. It’s such a simple dress but the cut-away section makes it rather unique. The garment is of a decent quality, it doesn’t feel cheap. If anything the material is quite thick so it feels like it should cost a fair amount. The material is stretchy; if I had to guess what it is, it I would suggest it is a jersey type material. Although overall the dress is designed to be a bodycon style it is not form fitting or restrictive in any way. It has a small turtleneck and it fits well across my shoulders.
The top section of the dress fits my size 38GG chest with ease, no pinching, gathering or over-stretching. The cut-away’s seem to be positioned to offer a flattering cut whilst creating the illusion of a cropped top and skirt fused together by the twist and ring detail in the middle. I was concerned that the bottom of my bra would be on show but I had nothing to worry about, it fitted perfectly. The skirt is cut in a midi pencil style. I am 5 ft 4” tall and this skirt comes to my mid-calf, so for those of you who are taller I don’t think you will find the length an issue at all.
The back of the dress is a ribbed material, which again is another unique feature. It’s unusual to have a plain material on the front of a dress and the back fully ribbed but I like it, I kind of wish the whole dress was ribbed actually. Overall the dress fits comfortably on my size 18/20 frame. I could have even sized down as the material has so much stretch to it.The cut-aways do gape a little around the skirt which is disappointing; I would have liked them to be more fitted as they form the waistline of the skirt. Perhaps though, if I had ordered a size smaller this wouldn’t have been a problem. [1]
In terms of improvement or changes to this garment, I don’t feel like there is much else to improve on here. It’s a really functional dress that you could easily wear out on the town or out for dinner. It isn’t too revealing but it’s not suitable for office wear simply due to the cut-aways. I can see myself wearing this dress a lot though as it is lovely and comfortable. I drove for 4 hours wearing it and I didn’t even contemplate wearing any form of shapewear with it, it didn’t need it. Retail price-wise I would probably expect to pay anywhere from £40 to £60 for this dress. I will be shocked if it’s cheaper than that.
Reaction: I am not surprised at all to hear this was a Premme piece. I do love the collection. Pricewise, I am not shocked in the slightest. It’s a fair price for the quality of the dress but once you add on import taxes the prices would be out of my budget for a dress. If I was ordering a few items I may consider ordering from the US. I am typically a 1x in US sizing so I do think that by picking a US 16 equivalent the fit of the dress would have been better all round.
