Xenia Dresses

Our brand focus this week is on Xenia Design. Xenia dresses are firm favourite with a lot of our customers, but for those who don’t know it, it can be a bit difficult! One of its biggest drawbacks is, it has very little hanger appeal!! The other “problem” is that the images we get from the designer are very arty, very edgy and so some customers can feel “oh, no, that’s not me”. But trust me this is a label that offers something for everyone. Now don’t get me wrong, it is a look, and it’s something you will either love or not, but we wanted to show it to you in a more wearable way than the images on the website might suggest.

We picked 4 of our favourite Xenia looks this season, and with the help of the stunning Corina Grant from Assets model agency and photographer Dee Sweeney, we set to work. The first dress is a typical Xenia dress, it’s asymmetrical, which is something the designer loves. Generally, Xenia is at its best when it’s black, or black and white. But the splash of colour through this dress makes it fresh and new for us Xenia followers.

This second dress has been going down a treat with customers, one of us has bought it for work! (Lucky she works in such a fabulous glamorous environment!) One customer has bought it for her son’s confirmation and we’ve even sold one to a mother of the bride. It’s a dress that will take you anywhere. It’s just adorable!

The next outfit is a black top and skirt, but this is a not just any old black top and skirt!! Oh no, this is sheer elegance, but with a quirky twist. Although it’s black, it’s definitely a summer outfit, which is a bonus. Let’s be honest, most of us love black, but can feel guilty wearing it in the summer months, but this is light and airy, so you’ll still feel you’ve got your summer clothes on!

How could we leave out this next dress? This is one of the dresses that has very little hanger appeal, it just kind of “hangs” there, but put a body into it and watch the fabric come to life. I can’t really say anymore, I just love it!

What we really really love about Xenia dresses is the fact that they also go up to plus size, so it’s one of the few labels we could carry with us from Vanity Fair into our new venture this season, Curvy Couture at Vanity Fair. For those of you that don’t already know, we opened a section upstairs in January for sizes 20 to 28. So curvy model Michelle Donohue from Plus Size Model Management paid us a visit to show us how to rock those curves in Xenia!

And rock those curves she did! First we picked this spotted number. Who doesn’t love polka dots, seriously? This dress is cheeky, it’s flirty and it’s fun. You could wear it anywhere, all you need is attitude! Love the big black pocket detail on the hip.

Then we chose a plain black dress. Michelle just loved it, she said she would normally avoid this type of fabric as it’s very soft and silky and she was afraid it would cling in all the wrong places, but she loved it and doesn’t she look amazing? Rather than cling, it floats around your body and you should see the way it moves as you walk, it’s a stunner.

Next we presented her with this orange dress….who says “big girls” can’t wear a bold block colour? Not us! We love this dress on Michelle. Again, it’s one of those trademark Xenia designs, asymmetrical and quirky. What’s not to love?

Then we opted for one of the most popular Xenia dresses this season, this striped black and white dress is a classic. Wear it all year round. With heels and full make up for a special occasion, or with boots and a more relaxed vibe for less formal times. You’ll get endless wear out of this one!

If you don’t know Xenia come and give it a try. If you do know it, but have always shied away from it, I hope we’ve shown you there’s nothing to be afraid of. And if you already buy Xenia, then you didn’t even need to read this, as you already know just how fabulous it is!