I tried 14 variations on this season’s most popular dress – it’s not as flattering as you’d expect

The high street is awash with a style that promises to be particularly figure-enhancing, but not all ruched dresses were created equal

When looking for a new dress, as many of us are at this time of year, we have a long list of expectations. We want them to be comfortable, versatile, easy to care for and durable. But most of all, above every other quality, we want our dresses to be flattering. 
The knowledge that a garment makes you look and feel your best is what inspires us to reach for it time after time. It becomes a wardrobe favourite, regularly worn, while lesser garments languish at the back of the cupboard.
The fashion gods appear to have answered our prayers this season, as the high street has been flooded with stretchy, accommodating dresses with ruching in the general midriff region that suggests they will give us a Kardashian-esque, bombshell silhouette.
But not all of these dresses are created equal, as I discovered when I tried on 14 different versions of this look from retailers across the high street, including Marks & Spencer, Reiss and Me+Em.
For context, I am 5ft 4in and a size 10, so it shouldn’t be too hard to look good in a bodycon dress – but in some cases it really was. In fact, only four were truly worth buying. 
“The ruching thing is really useful when it works well,” says personal stylist Anna Berkeley, who has particular expertise in helping clients dress well for their body shape. “If you’ve got a bit of a tummy, which most of the population have, or they’re worried about it, or they haven’t got a waist, it can be brilliant,” she says.
“That tends to mean more fabric rather than less in the sense that it’s a more expensive piece. Because if you’re stingy, it just doesn’t really do anything.”
This bore out in my trial: where there’s not enough fabric, there’s not enough gathering, and so the dress will cling in the wrong way. The choice of fabric is also key; an inexpensive jersey in a pale hue will highlight every lump and bump – if a dress is under £30, there’s usually a good reason.
Then there’s the path of the puckered seam itself, which was completely random in some cases. “If the placement isn’t right, it just makes you look worse,” says Berkeley. “It has to be done very meticulously, because if you get ruching in the wrong place, then it won’t do anything, or it’ll make you look like you’ve got a weird baggy bit at the bottom of your stomach, which nobody wants. It can be very hit and miss.” Again, I can attest to that. 
The good news is that there’s no “wrong” body type for this kind of dress. One that’s designed in a considered way will suit anyone, but it’s an especially strong choice for those without much definition at the waist. 
“It can create shape as well, where there isn’t any,” says Berkeley. “If you’re a much straighter [body shape], and you don’t have a waist, you then get this line through it with the ruching. It can be incredibly flattering because it kind of sculpts effectively as well.”
As it turns out, Berkeley predicted exactly which brand was behind the most figure-enhancing dresses: Jigsaw really goes to town on volume of fabric, and it pays off.
My favourite was the printed crinkle ruched jersey dress (£145, jigsaw-online.com). It ticked all the boxes, from fabric, to cut, to stretch, to colour. It’s so thoughtfully designed. 10/10.
Also up there was a plain black sleeveless version (£165, jigsaw-online.com) with a completely ruched torso – a great all-occasion buy.
The Reiss dress felt like a very tight fit when I wriggled it on, but actually, the fabric was a bit like shapewear and it was rather flattering. I also liked the slit at the front.
“Reiss is good at bodycon,” says Berkeley. “They’ve been doing it a long time and their cuts are pretty good.”
The Mint Velvet dresses were a mixed bag, but I liked this as a warmer weather option.
The fabric feels expensive and the fit is a bit looser, so it’s more of a skimmer than a clinger.