Simply Be has quietly become the best place on the high street to find dresses that are actually cut for curves, here’s how to shop it like a pro.
Some retailers treat curve sizing as an afterthought: take the straight-size pattern, add inches, hope for the best. Simply Be does the opposite. Every dress is designed for sizes 10 to 32 from the first sketch, which is why their fit keeps winning loyal fans, waists sit where waists actually are, wrap styles don’t gape, and party dresses are engineered rather than just enlarged. We first wrote this guide when their party-season drop was full of sequin skaters and velour wraps; the individual dresses change every season, but what makes them work doesn’t. Here’s what to know.
The styles that always deliver
If you remember one rule, make it this: structure is your friend. The shapes Simply Be consistently gets right are the ones from our original edit, the sequin skater (fitted bodice, flared skirt, endlessly forgiving), the bardot wrap midi (shoulders out, waist defined), the fit-and-flare in a bold jacquard, and the below-the-knee sparkle dress that does Christmas parties and weddings alike. For something edgier, their faux-leather pinafores layer brilliantly over a fitted top. Browse the full range on the Simply Be dresses page, it’s organised by exactly these shapes.
Shop by occasion, not by trend
The smartest way into the range is their occasion edits: day dresses for easy everyday shapes, occasion dresses when there’s an invitation involved, party dresses for the sequin end of the spectrum, and a genuinely strong wedding guest edit that solves the hardest brief in fashion.
Fit notes from the changing room
Sizing runs true and the stretch content is honest, if you’re between sizes in a bodycon shape, size down rather than up. Wrap and bardot styles are the most forgiving through the middle; beaded and sequin pieces are lined properly, so they don’t itch. And their sale rail is consistently worth a look, party dresses drop hard in January and July.
The bottom line
Trends rotate, but a retailer that designs for your actual shape is worth bookmarking. Start with the occasion edits above, trust the structured shapes, and check the full dresses range each season, the specific styles in our original 2019 edit have sold through, but their successors are cut from the same cloth.
More from Flavourmag: browse all our party season guides, kept current all year round.
Flavourmag may earn a commission from retail links in this article, at no cost to you.
