The digital camera is a busty woman’s best friend when it comes to shopping, and the time to study ourselves critically in a photograph is while we’re thinking about making a purchase. After we succumb to an unflattering purchase, we might as well avoid looking at ourselves in mirrors and photographs and simply enjoy the garment until we’re ready to donate it to charity.

Last Friday, I took a stack of dresses into the JCP dressing room. The dress below on the left fit perfectly and had features I look for: sleeves, a decent neckline (not too high), and a dropped waist. Even though I could already tell it wasn’t flattering in the mirror, I was tempted to buy it. Thank goodness I took these photographs instead! I think the pattern is the culprit. The bands across my bustline emphasize it while hiding my waist. If this were a solid navy dress with the same accents at the neckline, sleeves and dropped waist, it would look great. (They would draw the eye away from the bust instead of helping to emphasize it as they do here.)

The dress above on the right also fit perfectly, but it had only cap sleeves and lots of cleavage. However, now that I study this photo, I’m ready to go back to the store and buy it! I’m even contemplating buying two so that I can cut one up to make sleeves and modify the neckline (and perhaps create a blouse out of what remains). This dress shows off my figure while simultaneously disguising my bulges with its ruching and print.

In case you need another reminder not to hide your figure in too much fabric, I give you the two photos below. Even though the dress on the right did nothing to camouflage my tummy, I felt amazing in it. If I had to choose between the two blue dresses, I would choose the dress on the right. Lately, I’ve been thinking a lot about Leila’s admonition to “love the body you have“, and somehow I think the dress on the right does this, while the dress on the left would be a form of shame (for me).

Neither of the two flattering dresses scream “Spring trend!”, although the floral pattern might be part of one. Instead, they shout, “Darlene!”, which is even better.

Next up is a Public Service Announcement: these a.n.a. scoopneck tees are only $8!!! Why didn’t I buy one? I’m obviously crazy. But now that I study this photo, I’m going to pick this XL petite turquoise stripe tee up when (if) I pick up the floral dress. (For some reason the orange and turquoise striped tees aren’t available online.)

Finally, I’m very curious about the potential of open cardigans to flatter large bust figures.  I like the way the Liz Claiborne cardigan below creates a slimming line down my front that widens at the hips, creating a nice balance against my upper half. I took this photo to think about whether it’s worth $22. 

The pros:

  • In real life it’s a bright rose instead of the coral in these photographs. It really brought my plain navy dress to life.
  • It matches a lot of things.

The cons:

  • The fabric quality is unlikely to look fresh past one season of washing.
  • Is it too baggy at my waist, i.e., not streamlined enough?

Thanks to my camera, although I walked out of JCP empty-handed on Friday night, I have a closer idea of what I want to add to my closet this spring.