I Tried On This TikTok-Viral High-Street Dress, and It Lives Up to the Hype

TikTok might have given us a lot of dubious hacks, trends and challenges in the last couple of years, but it's a fact that, when it comes to spotting an item that has all of the qualities necessary to go viral, the dedicated people of TikTok will undoubtedly uncover it first.

From the Zara dress that practically crashed the app to the Poster Girl cut-out dress that spurred 1000 copies, we've had a good run of must-have dresses (with the added benefit of a tried-and-tested review), and the latest dress to immediately sell out thanks to the mighty power of TikTok just might be the perfect summer dress. And this time, it has the potential to be in your wardrobe for many years to come.

An across-the-board hit with all of the editors in the Who What Wear office, Abercrombie's Strappy Plunge Corset Maxi Dress has been racking up numbers on TikTok for its universally flattering and expensive-looking fit. The romantic, full-skirted midi with corset-like tailoring looks like it costs far more than its high-street price tag, but reaching hashtag-icon status has made it particularly difficult to get hold of.

Although a few sizes have sold out, there are still some left (and with such popularity, there is guaranteed to be a restock), but when Who What Wear's social media editor, Joy Ejaria, managed to get her hands on the dress, we were all obsessed. As the piece is an online exclusive and therefore not available to try on in-store, she gave the lowdown on all the reasons she said yes to the dress. 

"There are many things TikTok has made me do—trying out a new recipe, testing out a new makeup hack, the list goes on. But this Abercrombie dress has to be the best thing the social media app has made me do," says Joy. "Not to exaggerate but it was literally love at first sight when I saw the dress. It had all the components I look for in a dress: midi length, well-fitting and suitable for dressing up or down. I didn't walk, I ran to the website to click add to basket, but of course, to my disappointment, it was sold out. It lived in my head rent-free, and every so often, I'd check to see if it was back in stock. I wanted the black but settled for the white, which, in hindsight, was a great decision.

"Unsure of what size to get, I decided on a larger/regular, and it fits like a glove. The straps are adjustable, and the tie-up strings help to lift the boobs up. I'm almost 5'7", and the regular length almost hits my ankle. If you're shorter or taller than that, then the petite or tall option might work for you."

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