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ASOS Midi Dresses

asos midi dress review

Let’s talk about ASOS. Up until a week ago, I had never bought anything from the retailer, however, found myself pinning their items to my Want It, Need It board all the livelong day. Namely, many of their Midi Dresses.

Now, I guess you could say that I am a fairly modest dresser. I prefer to keep a decent majority of my skin covered, thank you very much, and that is why I have been so drawn to midi dresses. Undeniably feminine, I love that they hit at the knee or lower, and most do a great job of accentuating the waist. I quickly fell into the pattern of pinning an adorable dress, clicking through to ASOS, noticing the reasonable price ending in some random number ($79.28, $33.64, $28.56, so on and so forth), assuming that it was a weirdo operation, and moving on.

Little did I know that ASOS is quite a large international company (weird prices = exchange rate, duh), and when I noticed they honored free shipping AND free returns, I figured what the hell. Let’s do this thing. (Do you see how this could get dangerous? I’m just ordering these items to help out fellow shoppers of the world, you see!)

I ordered three dresses to try out.

1. ASOS Skater Dress With Waist Tab Detail in Navy

asos midi dress review

This dress was a really pretty shade of navy blue, and super easy to wear. It’s 100% viscose, which makes it machine washable. THANK YOU.

asos midi dress

The side tabs are a nice touch, as well as the pleats on the bodice.

asos midi dress

The one thing that I liked the most, however, was how easily the wrinkles hung out overnight. When I pulled this dress out of the package, it was wrinkly to the 100th degree, but all of the wrinkles were gone by the next morning after hanging overnight. Ladies, I’m down with that.

I’m still deciding on this dress, though. What do you think?

2. ASOS Midi Dress With Full Skirt And Belt in Navy

asos midi dress

This dress is a perfect work-to-dinner type. It’s made of a thick stretch jersey, which feels very similar to ponte knit. (Have you seen/felt the ponte pants at J. Crew and J. Crew Factory? They have the same thickness to them.) The bust darts and pleats at the waist are a nice touch.

asos midi dress

asos midi dress review

I also liked the elbow-length sleeves with cuff. Very retro.

asos midi dress review

The belt that came with the dress isn’t half bad, actually. (Although, it’s not attached so you can switch out easily.)

asos midi dress review

If I didn’t work from home, I would keep this in a flash, but I don’t think it will get much wear during my day-to-day grind. Back it goes.

3. ASOS Midi Dress With Short Sleeves in Black

asos midi dress

This dress is a keeper. It’s made from stretch jersey, has great lines, and can be worn super casual or dressed up.

asos midi dress

asos midi dress

It’s just so carefree and easy to wear, and I’m totally tempted to purchase the other colors. I also love the neckline – like a crewneck/boatneck hybrid.

asos midi dress

Okay, let’s talk sizing. Pay close attention to the ASOS sizing chart on the website, ladies.

asossize

It’s spot on, and not the same as many American retailers. (For reference, I wear a 0 in J. Crew/Madewell dresses, but a 4 in ASOS dresses.)

All in all, I think the quality of these dresses is good, given the reasonable prices. What do you think of the dresses? Should the navy dress stay or go?

I will say that I’m a huge sucker for free shipping and returns, so I think I’ll be buying from ASOS again. Do you shop at ASOS, and if so, what has been your experience?

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45 comments
  1. Allison

    March 14, 2013 at 5:18 am

    Love these! Really refreshing cuts.

    I’ve always hesitated to buy from ASOS because I was terrified I would be stuck with a huge duty charge. Do they charge duty? If not, I wonder if the same applies in Canada…

  2. JoAnn

    March 14, 2013 at 7:05 am

    Oh God, I LOVE Asos. I shop there all the time and have a closet full of clothes and scarves from there. Their quality is great for the price point. I feel like I can really get in on trends without dumping wads of cash, and trendy items are usually what I find myself purchasing from there.

    Their accessories are great, too. I’ve purchased shoes, handbags and a TON of scarves (my obsession) from there. They also carry a large quantity of beauty lines that are relegated to Europe, and it’s nice to have access to Bourjois, etc…

    My husband and I eloped to Las Vegas last year. I purchased my “wedding dress” from Asos (Hybrid brand). It fit like a glove, and was perfect for the occasion. I had women stopping me as we walked to our destinations to comment on my dress and compliment me. It was an awesome purchase!

    • whoorl

      March 14, 2013 at 7:27 am

      Oh, I love to hear this! I’m going to check out their accessories right now…

  3. Sarah

    March 14, 2013 at 7:09 am

    Allison-I used to buy a lot of things from ASOS when I lived in Northern Canada (Nunavut) because there was no shopping and the shipping from the UK was super fast compared to good old Canada Post-BUT- I always got charged a crazy amount of duty-upwards of $70. Now that I live in Montreal I was thinking about shopping there again as friends have told me they’ve never been charged duty to ship here. I think I’ll give it a try as these dresses look beautiful and I love the longer length.

  4. Sarah Christine

    March 14, 2013 at 7:49 am

    Thank you for this! I have ordered several ASOS midi dresses, as they are also very much my taste– I love the 50s sillouette. However, I have a relatively long torso and have had to return them all as they sit too high on my waist. Sad times!

    Did you find any of the dresses longer than others? There is nothing less flattering than a pleated waist sitting too high…

    • whoorl

      March 14, 2013 at 8:13 am

      Love the 50s silhouette! I was born in the wrong decade….as for the waist, I too have a super long torso. The dresses I tried could stand to be a little longer in the torso, but the third one felt really comfortable on me. (How tall are you? I’m 5’7″ for reference.)

  5. Jill Will Run

    March 14, 2013 at 7:55 am

    I love the dress you’re keeping, I so wish I could wear that but I don’t think I would get much use out of it seeing as I work from home and I’m breastfeeding right now. I also worry that it would hit me at an unflattering spot, since I have short legs. But I’m definitely going to peruse their site and take a look at other items. The other comments on this post seem to really praise ASOS!

  6. ClassyFabSarah

    March 14, 2013 at 8:04 am

    I have been absolutely OBSESSING over Asos lately, and I too LOVE their free return policy. HUGE!!

    I think the navy one is a tad big on you. Either that or I just don’t like the way it hangs.

    I ADORE the 2nd dress and I think I have to order one for myself. Love love.

  7. Julie

    March 14, 2013 at 8:06 am

    I’d keep #2 and send back #1. It just isn’t you (you being someone I’ve never met but have clear opinions on what works for you). Sorry to be a dolt, but I couldn’t figure out the dumb size guide. I’m a four or a 6 in U.S.

  8. KammyH

    March 14, 2013 at 8:46 am

    Love the one you’re keeping…so much that I’m going to go check it out too! I don’t love #1 for you, although it is pretty.

  9. laziza

    March 14, 2013 at 9:24 am

    Honest opinion? LOVE the last dress – every single thing about it. The first two make you look very … religious. Not that that’s a bad thing, of course – just not sure that’s the look you’re going for. :)

    • whoorl

      March 14, 2013 at 9:37 am

      Yay! That’s the one I kept. :)

  10. Susannah

    March 14, 2013 at 9:38 am

    I am in LOVE with the third dress. It is absolutely perfect in every way. The second one is adorable but I think the arms look way too big on you. The navy one? Um… sister wife all the way. Sorry but I’d send it back… it is not your friend.

  11. Cat

    March 14, 2013 at 9:39 am

    Thank you so much for trying out these dresses! I’ve ordered from ASOS a few times and have found it to be very hit/miss, but when it’s a hit it’s my favorite thing in my entire closet for the season! LOVE the third dress. I’m with you on the first – so fun, and I love the necklace, but…meh.

  12. Sarah

    March 14, 2013 at 9:54 am

    That third dress is gorgeous, and especially so because you obviously love wearing it! I say return the navy dress and get another of your favorite dresses in another color :) I am so grateful to Asos for CUTE maternity clothes. It’s the only affordable option to Target that I’ve found…

  13. Sirena

    March 14, 2013 at 9:59 am

    The third dress is perfect and super flattering. You look great in navy but I’d send the blue one back too, along with the second – i’m all about minimizing what we bring into the home, save it for something special like the third dress – looks so great on you!

  14. Rafaella

    March 14, 2013 at 10:10 am

    I think you should keep all of them! They are very nice on you!

  15. Jill Browning

    March 14, 2013 at 10:17 am

    I love the first one. It’s my favorite! It only remotely looks sister-wifey because of the updo. I love it together with the necklace. Very 70’s in the best way possible.