Desmond & Dempsey

I was gifted some credit for this service from a friend. A lovely idea but I’m not sure if it works well in practice. The main issues are stock and sizing. Despite seeming to stock many sizes they don’t actually go above a 16 in the vast majority of brands, when you look at the actual brand sizing (ie a Desmond and Dempsey L is a 14, and XL a 16 - however their website lists L as 16-18 and XL as 20-22, so if you’re searching for anything larger than a 16, your options are extremely limited). Given a lot of the clothes are “bump friendly” not true maternity, they suggest you size up. Also it seemed many of the items although technically available in sizes 8-16, weren’t in stock to add to your order. Trust pilot reviews are quite mixed - some people love, especially for renting items for weddings or for the winter, some people have reported issues with returning items which don’t fit, deliveries going missing and cancellation requests not being honored.

A little out of the box, but some of my favorite summer dresses were originally meant to be nightgowns - one from Desmond & Dempsey in their fab Persephone pattern, one thrifted navy Lunya shift. Neither look like pajamas but they’re both made of natural fibers and are light and airy while still looking presentable. I’ll layer a crew neck cotton sweater over them for the office and then it’s an easy post-work transition.