How to Buy a Dress for Somebody Else

The gift your woman desires to receive and the one you bought most likely do not match. So what is the fix?

Clothes are the gift everybody hopes for and almost nobody gets right. You either guess the size and get it wrong, or you guess the taste and get it wrong, and either way she is now doing the polite face.

It is very doable. You just have to stop guessing on the things you cannot guess.

Get the size without asking her

Go and look in her wardrobe if you have access to it. Find a dress she wears constantly, check the label, and buy that size. This is better information than she could give you herself, because most people say a size they used to wear.

If you cannot do that, ask somebody who would know. Her sister, her best friend, the person she shares clothes with.

And if you genuinely cannot find out, buy a style that is forgiving. Something with stretch, a wrap style, anything that works across a size either way.

Buy the thing she already wears

The temptation is to buy something you think would look great on her. Resist it, because what you are really doing is buying something that suits your taste and asking her to wear it.

Look at what she actually reaches for. If everything she owns is fitted, do not buy flowing. If she never wears print, do not start her on print. Her wardrobe is a list of what she likes and it is sitting right there.

Where to be bold and where not to

Colour is the safest place to take a risk. If she wears a lot of black, a deep emerald or burgundy is a gift rather than a challenge, and most people are pleased to be nudged slightly.

Silhouette is where you should not take risks. A shape she does not normally wear will not get worn, however beautiful it is.

What tends not to work

Anything very tight, because you are making a judgement about her body in public and it is uncomfortable for everybody.

Anything extremely of the moment, which she may already own or may already be over.

And anything that only works for one specific occasion, because it will sit in the wardrobe waiting for that occasion to arrive.

Sort out the exchange before you give it

Ask about exchanges when you buy and tell her how it works when you give it to her. Say it lightly, something like, they will swap the size if it is not right.

This takes all the awkwardness out of it. She can be honest instead of pretending, and you have not wasted the money.

Most women would rather receive something they can exchange than something perfect they have to lie about.

The safest gift of all

If you are genuinely unsure, buy something quiet and beautifully made rather than something striking. A well-cut dress in a good colour gets worn for years. A bold statement piece gets worn once, usually to prove she liked it.

Shop AMARAÉ for a gift she will actually wear. Delivery across Nigeria and worldwide.