After my last Trashy Diva purchases (Doll Mini and Short-Sleeved Jenny) were so successful, I ended up buying a third dress before the 50% off sale items coupon expired. This time I got the Annette in the Sci-Fi print.
I love this print! Unfortunately, none of the Sci-Fi print dresses are left in stock on the Trashy Diva site, but there are Annettes in other patterns.
Annette has a full skirt, gathered scoop neckline, matching belt (though no belt loops), and hidden pockets. It closes with an invisible zipper.
Though I really like the styling of this dress, it does have some fit issues. First, the straps were too long on me. The back and arm holes were so low you could see bra all around and lots of awkward side-boob. Additionally, the placement of the diagonal pieces in front below the straps were floating away from my body.
Yanking up the dress so that the neckline was in a better place seemed to fix this, so I shortened the straps in back by about three centimeters. Of course, this also meant I was moving the waist up higher so that it would now be sitting above my actual waist. But then, my long torso means most waistlines sit higher than they ought to, so I’m okay with this since it’s par for the course.
After wearing the dress all day, it settled into place and it turns out I need to shorten the straps even more, as you can once again see a little bit of bra and side-boob under my arm.
Now, even though the size chart for size 8 (which is what I ordered) says it fits measurements up to 38″ in the bust and 29.5″ in the waist, this dress is far less boob-friendly than my previous two purchases. Even though it had long darts leading from the waist up to the bustline, it does not curve under my boobs and instead stretches straight down from bustline to waistband, as the following photo illustrates.
Next, those diagonal pieces I said were floating away from my body—well they’re still doing it:
To solve this, I’ll need to sew a dart perpendicular to the edge of the fabric in order to add some contouring.
All these fit issues are things I would expect from a garment not designed with boobs in mind. I wouldn’t call the size chart inaccurate because there’s certainly enough room for my breasts here, but the construction overall is just not quite right, whereas the Doll and Jenny dresses seemed made for me.
Aside from the fit issues, which are fixable with just a little sewing, I quite like this dress. The print and the colors are amazing. I wish Trashy Diva would release more quirky prints like this instead of so many floral patterns.
Since it’s cotton, it feels nice and light—excellent for warmer weather. And the super-full skirt is really fun. I’m considering getting a red petticoat to wear under it.
I LOVE this print, but seeing your review makes me glad I didn’t go for this one, and I’ll be steering clear of Annettes in the future, too. TD’s 1940’s dresses are the way to go for me!
You look lovely even with the fit issues, though. 🙂
Leah,
I’m curious, what strapless bra do you wear under these types of dresses. I would love to wear dresses with small straps but haven’t figured out the best option bra-wise.
I wear the Deco strapless, which I sister size down one band from my usual Deco because it runs so much tighter. I would also recommend checking out the Wonderbra Ultimate Strapless and the Gossard Super Egoboost Strapless.