I’ve been sitting on this review for months (literally) because I didn’t want it to disappear in the middle of all the Dressember madness, so please forgive the fact I didn’t tell you all about INES Collection sooner! The brand (available at ShopTranslated.com, who ship internationally) offers affordable plus size dresses and blouses with an emphasis on prints – a great move as plus size fashion is so often black, black, black, and while some people can totally pull that off, others want a bit of colour!

I was sent the Graphic Pop dress ($72) and the Bird Calling blouse ($49) to try out, so read on for how I got on!

First things first – the smallest size Ines makes is and XS, which is the equivalent US 10-12, and that’s the size I tried. It roughly translates to a UK 14-16, and I’d say even then it’s on the generous side and the dress was particularly big on me. Nothing I couldn’t fix with a belt, but it’s still a bit blousy on my body, and I actually think it looks far, far better on the model, who fills it out much better than I do. This is a great shape if you want to emphasise a good waist (or indeed create one).

But in the interest of Making It Work, I wanted to go a bit further than just throwing the dress on and taking a couple of badly posed snaps, so here are some of the ways I would consider wearing it. I think because it’s quite a loud print, it benefits from being broken up with a bit of solid colour…

I think the dress is great for smart/casual looks. The length is really great (bang on knee length on my 5’7 frame) and it’s super comfy to wear. It looks like silk or satin but it’s actually polyester. Granted, that’s not the most luxurious of fabrics , but on the upside it’s easy to take care of and it barely creases. The dress also has a heavy reinforced hem to help it hang properly, and stop those Marilyn-on-a-subway-grate moments!

The blouse has the same elasticated empire waist as the dress, which is far more forgiving than a tight waistband or belt, making it a lot more comfortable to wear. There’s a little tie that you can use to cinch it even more, and the buttons are well-placed to allow for a bit of flesh-flashing without ever accidentally showing your bra in the process. I love the peacock print, which reminds me of the Matthew Williamson for H&M collection – which I invested heavily in! I tried the top with jeans (yes! me in jeans!) but it’d look great with a pencil skirt for a smarter look too.

Buy INES at ShopTranslated.com now. Until the end of January, if you spend over $75 you can get a massive 40% off by using the discount code jan2011.