Last week I wrote about my picks and reactions to a Buzzfeed list of 25 awesome places to shop in your late twenties and early thirties. I also asked about our lovely readers’ interest in Scandic brands and as promised to readers LunaLou and Olga, here starts my series on exploring the Scandic clothing brands, or on occasion, some European ones in general.
I’ve long ago given up on hope of fitting the off the rack clothing from these brands that I’m now revisiting to see if anything has changed. So off I went of Friday afternoon to a local department store ready to explore the world of shirts, tops and jackets. I had some luck with Filippa K last winter when I bought a gorgeous raw wool classic coat from that brand so my initial hope lay with that brand.
I was in the search of tailored tops with no give, buttons etc. The kind that us busty women usually have absolutely no luck with. I can’t say that the results of my search were great, but nor were my expectations high. That is why I was thrilled to find on brand that was an exception to the rule – it’s a Danish brand but I will write about that next week!
Filippa K
Surprisingly it was harder to find the kinds of tailored tops from the current selection so I ended up trying their button front shirt. It seemed to have enough shoulder room so at least that should not be an issue. The sizing was S-XL. This shirt was an epic fail as I suspected.
Then their XL size jacket. I was almost angry when I put it on. I mean the shirt at least buttoned up and issue was gaping buttons, but this? Seriously!!!
No words, just nothing, nope.
Tiger of Sweden
This brand, which I really like, was the one I expected to be the worst fit but it actually was better than Filippa K. Their button front shirt I did leave on the rack as there would’ve been absolutely no way that it would have buttoned over my bosom. But they had an interesting mock wrap top with a v-neck that I kind of liked, so I took that with me to the fitting room.
The pants are also by Tiger of Sweden. This top was a nice surprise as it’s my size without considering my broad shoulders. I usually have to go to size EU44 for my shoulders alone + the bust, but below shoulders and bust a EU42 is the correct size. If you want something with clear waist definition, then this top doesn’t do the job, but all around an ok fit.
Then the jacket. It wasn’t an epic fail but not the best fit either.
The buttons are a little too high, but those can always be moved, but it was a little bit too tight for my big frame. Quality was superb. This is the biggest size they make, EU44.
Andiata
While this brand is a little Ann Taylor feeling for me in the sense that I don’t quite feel I’m ready for their overall look, I did decide to try it on as I know it’s superb quality and it looked like it’s a more generous fit. The size I normally take seemed too big.
I selected this top because of the leather detail on the front as well as the v-neck. I normally would not fit into size EU40, and this was too tight around my shoulders, and I had to wiggle my way out of it. EU 42 would’ve been a better fit. However, the bust wasn’t the issue so that was good news!
This was the best fit out of the two button jackets I tried on, and this is a EU42. I suspect EU44 would’ve fitted nicely after some re-positioning in the button department. This was only a tad too tight, but hey, I never can fit my shoulders in a tailored jacket in size EU42. Will need to revisit their basic black jackets and possibly invest in one.
There were plenty of clothes in the autumn collections that were not tailored, so I actually think there were quite a few pieces that could’ve worked with bigger busts as well. I will need to go test my theory soon! Also another trip for dress reviews is in the plans. It was hard to resist temptation as there were so many dresses that I would’ve wanted to try on. I suspect I’ll have better luck with dresses than I had with tops.
Next week I’m focusing solely on one brand that I got excited about and tried a lot of pieces to see just how bust friendly their line is. SAND you next week 😉
Thanks so much for this! I’ve liked quite a lot of pieces from Tiger, especially some of the dresses they have, but haven’t gotten around to trying any on yet. Maybe I should go and give them a try. I’ll probably give Filipa K a miss though 🙂 Looking forward to this next post!
Your welcome! It was a lot of fun to explore with an open mind 🙂 I like Tiger a lot too, will be going to do a post on dresses later on but if you beat me to it please tell me if they indeed accommodate bigger busts! Filippa K is truly a miss, though their winter coats might be an exception.
And not that it feels like it today in Sweden, but winter is definitely coming 😉 It might be nice to find a winter coat that isn’t a giant baggy dark-coloured parka this year!
It is so warm for beginning of September in Helsinki too. But winter will be here soon. I would recommend trying on belted puffy coats with a bit of an a-line hem, they give a nice waist definition and are super warm in the coldest months of the winter. Wrap wool coats with belts are one of my other favs, like my Filippa K coat. They might be intended to be shapeless cocoons but they can transform to nice shape showing coats for us busty ladies.