I had a few minutes to browse the dresses and coats in Bloomingdale’s today and made a few finds you might like. First up, two Lauren by Ralph Lauren dresses, neither of which hide arms or tummies . . . or boobs.
Interestingly, I started off with a pile of the ruched and sleeved knit dresses that I mentioned last week, but they didn’t do anything for me. I suspect they didn’t do anything for anyone else because they were all on the 40% further reductions rack. Too bad these two weren’t on the sale rack–I think the red one (yes, it really is a bright red in real life) was $140 and the black one $160.
There are two features that I especially like about the red dress:
- The princess seams, together with the knit fabric, give enough room for the bust (I think I’m wearing a US size 14); and
- the pocket detail balances the bust.
As you know, I’m not a fan of boat necks on us (I explained why here), so if this dress had looked absolutely amazing on me, I would have been tempted to buy it and have the neckline altered, a la Jessica Simpson. However, for a work setting, a simple blazer would take the focus off the chest, as would a necklace or scarf at the balance point. (By the way, nothing like seeing yourself in a photo to realize that your bra is letting you down! Is it time to retire my 36H Prima Donna Madison?)
The neckline of the black dress is my favorite. I also really liked the heavy knit fabric because it makes the wearer less shapewear-dependent. For a basic LBD, it would be hard to go wrong with this one. I’m wearing a size large in this pic, but I think I could go down to a medium. Too bad I’m not in the market for a LBD right now.
I am, however, in the market for a new coat! When I first saw this Marc New York coat (marked down from $413 to $247.80), I thought, “What a nice way to accent the waist, but it’ll never fit–coats that accent the waist never fit my bust.” Then I noticed the zipper and felt a little flutter of hope. I remembered that Sarah over at Stackdd has had good luck with zippers, and she even included a Marc New York coat in her coat roundup last November.
So I found a size 14 . . . and zipped it up!
I was only wearing a tee shirt today, so it could be a little snug with something heavier, but one solution is to open the lapel as wide as possible as I have here. It’s like a wrap dress without having to worry about cleavage! If I bought this coat, I’d probably have to spend a fortune on having the sleeves altered, but it may be worth it. It also comes in a shorter version (mid-thigh) that I think is more proportionate with my height.
Immediately after leaving Bloomingdale’s, I passed this woman on the street and knew exactly what coat she was wearing.
Of course I found these items when I wasn’t seriously shopping–that’s always the case, isn’t it? But if any of you are looking for work dresses and coats, you may want to check these out.
You say that the dresses don’t hide ams or belly, but I think the black one is very forgiving. I woud wear it in a heartbeat!
And the coat looks awesome on you.
The coat really was a great find! It looks amazing. 🙂 Also, I agree about the differences in the neckline. Actually, just between the red and black dress it looks like your bra fits you better (maybe just from the neckline?).
Thanks for letting me know that the coat didn’t only look good in my own eyes. And I thought the same thing, June, about the difference in lift between the two dresses. I wondered if the neckline could have such an effect.