Christmas on a budget: The quest for a perfect dress under £30. Part 1.

The first place I think about when I think of fashion on a budget is Primarche, or Primarni (also known as Primark). So when I decided to do a series of posts on party dresses that don't break the bank, this was the first place I headed.

Primark on a Saturday afternoon is never the most relaxing place to be, fighting through throngs of shoppers with sharpened elbows at the ready. As you can see, on a Saturday afternoon so close to Christmas it's a nightmare. All this I do for you, dear reader!

To be honest, I was more than a little disappointed with what the motherland had to offer: generic it may be, but when I need something cheap and quick, primark never usually lets me down. Today though, the store was full of sweaters and cardigans and coats: perfect for the Christmas present shopper with limited funds, but not so good for my purposes!

The dress selection was limited, and alot of it was plain hideous! I also noticed that even on me (and im only 5ft4) alot of the frocks are waaay too short to wear in decent company. Taking a deep breath I pushed (literally. with stategic oversized handbag swinging) my way through the crowds and selected the best 4 dresses to try on and analyse for your viewing pleasure:

The neckline on this dress is lovely. I like the slight bondage feel and the sharp angular shapes. And for just £8, it's a snip! Unfortunately tho, it's far to short, and thanks to my rather ample busom, it looks like a maternity gown from the waist down. Behold:

See?! I look around 6 months gone, and as my nan might say, you can almost see tomorrow's laundry! Time to take that off hastily and try the next one methinks! Continuing the 'far-too-short' theme is this silver mini dress (with the emphasis on mini!)

Now I could almost forgive this dress for being a little short if it didn't look like it was made of tinfoil: i'm not sure how festive it is to go to a party dressed like a pre-cooked turkey! Nothing about this dress is flattering or forgiving but on someone very slim and very petite I can see how it might work....just about........

When I took the next dress into the changing room I was expecting it to be hideous: the material felt clingy and the sparkle in the fabric seemed a little too obvious. Imagine my suprise then when it turned out to be my favourite of the bunch! In fact, I liked it enough to show you it twice!

The fabric is a little clingy, but that's nothing that couldn't be fixed with control pants (the curvey girls best friend!) I see this dress as an excellent base to be accessorized with killer heels, a waist belt and yards of gold jewellery. This dress could be turned into something very glamourous and wearable. Which is the complete opposite of the final dress: which looks like something you would wear waitressing:

Afternoon tea anyone? 'Nuff said!

So can you get your perfect party dress for under £30 from Primark? Well the good news is that the most expensive dress i tried on was £12, so if any of these took your fancy you could get new jewellery or primark shoes too, for your £30. The bad news? I think I might have to go somewhere else and spend a little more money to get something i'll be wearing this New Year!

The £30 dress-quest continues then....more later in the week x