Right, so Samuella just turned five, and obviously, we had to go all out with a Gabby's Dollhouse theme. Pink, purple, teal balloons everywhere, matching cups and napkins, and a giant dollhouse cake that nearly sent me over the edge trying to ice.

I wanted her to feel like a proper princess, but here's the thing – she's a menace. Within five minutes of any party, she's diving for cupcakes and rolling around on the floor, so those flimsy, stiff costume dresses you see online?

Absolute no-go. I've been burned before – scratchy netting, dodgy stitching that gives up after one wear, or the colour looking completely different in person.

So I spotted this pale blue dress and, honestly, I was proper sceptical hitting 'buy'.

When it arrived squashed through the letterbox in this tiny little packet, my heart properly sank. I thought, "here we go, another wrinkled mess." Left it hanging overnight to let the creases drop out, and thank god, it actually fluffed up beautifully by the morning.

No weird colour mismatch, the netting held its shape, and the lace didn't look cheap and plasticky like I'd half expected.

The blue lace flower girl dress itself is really sweet. It's got these soft tulle layers that aren't scratchy at all, which is a huge deal because my kid complains about everything itchy. The bodice has these pretty flowery lace bits with a subtle shimmer that caught the party lights lovely, and the mesh around the neck didn't dig in or rub.

I chucked a pink '5' tiara on her head, some sparkly gold flats, and against our Gabby's backdrop, she genuinely looked stunning. All the other mums were asking where I got it.

Fit-wise, it was bang on. She's average height and weight for her age, and it wasn't dragging on the floor or too tight across the chest – she could run, jump, and clamber over the furniture without tripping up. What actually surprised me was the quality.

She's worn it loads since the party, not just on the day. Rolling around, getting sticky fingers all over it, dragging her toys across the tulle – and not a single loose stitch or torn bit of lace. It's held up way better than any of her other dress-up bits, and she still refuses to take it off most days.

If you're eyeing something similar, my biggest piece of advice? Hang it up straight away, don't even bother trying it on fresh out the packet. Measure their torso and height properly because age labels are a total lie half the time. And for the love of everything, prioritise one with a soft lining underneath – saves you the constant "Mummy it's scratchy" whinging.

I'd buy this again in a heartbeat. Already sent the link to a bunch of my mum mates. For what it costs, considering how much wear she's had out of it and how gorgeous her birthday photos turned out? Can't fault it. Made her feel like the absolute star of her Gabby's party, and that's all I really wanted.