No 
matter what the season, there’s always room in the wardrobe for a fabulous shirt dress. As luck would have it, I had the good fortune to get to try out a glorious new one by Bamboo Bettie.
Bamboo Bettie is a small UK company specialising in reproducing original vintage patterns in exciting new fabrics. As they are all handmade mostly to order, the quality is great and you can be sure you won’t turn up to the party in exactly the same outfit as anyone else! They do a great selection of dresses, skirts and capri pants along with a vintage swimwear range.
The Mexican shirt dress is based on a combination of an original 1940s shirt pattern and an original 1940s pleat skirt so the pleat style and shirt shape are authentic 40s cut. Each one is handmade using vintage buttons, so each one varies slightly.
The fabric is a sturdy cotton with a black background and an overlaid lovely colourful print that makes it so easy to accessorise so that you can really play with colours. Either wear bright accessories or tone down with plain black. The style is also available with a white background as well.
The dress itself is a lovely fit, not too tight anywhere but a very flattering shape, and the pleats look great. This is perfect day or evening wear, but I think I’ll be wearing it a lot during the day as the cut is so comfortable that it’s suitable as office wear.
It will also be a firm favourite for me this summer, worn with sandals and a cute bag, making sure I’m cool and comfortable for weekend walks about town.
Don’t rule it out as just a summer wear item – I plan to wear this through winter with sheer tights and some black wedges.
Mexican shirt dress by Bamboo Bettie Clothing
£65 available in white background also.
Accessories by Bow and Crossbones
