Here is more good news for busty women in North America: Miriam Baker is going strong and expects to launch an ecommerce platform very soon (I’ll update this post once it goes live) has just launched an ecommerce platform on her website. The reason? The success of her Jennifer dress at trunk shows has convinced her to make it a core style readily available to all women.
I was lucky that she made it available to me as a gift when she was here in New York in January, and I finally had an occasion to wear it when I travelled to Dallas for my friend’s birthday last weekend. Here is how I wore it to my friend’s birthday dinner.
Do those pearls look familiar? I’ve taken to heart that I can wear all necklines–including this high jewel neck–if the width is wider than the widest part of my face and another detail falls at one of my balance points (in this case the cluster of pearls begins at my low balance point).
The fabric has an almost scuba feel, substantial but light. At 90% polyamide and 10% elastane, it is super wrinkle resistant, which made it practical to wear on the flight. This time I paired it with my comfortable new ankle boots and polka dot nylons.
The fabric lends itself to Miriam’s architectural design, and like DD Atelier, she transforms the technical details necessary to accommodate a large bust into aesthetic elements. The blue lines in the photo below show her use of seams.
On the right, you can see that the waistband only extends across one third of the waist, and she creates visual interest with seams that continue out from its croners. On each side of the bodice, she uses diagonal seams that follow the length of the torso and become darts above the waist. Below the waist, they hide the pockets.
I didn’t take a good picture of the back of the dress with me in it, but here is a friend posing in the dress for me. There are long waist darts on either side of the exposed zipper.
As you would expect from a good full bust design, the armholes are high enough to completely conceal an ordinary bra.
The only drawback to the design may be personal to my shape. The seam that runs from the bottom of the waistband towards my right hip creates a fold that sometimes looks pouch-y around my stomach. If the fabric had more drape, this wouldn’t be an issue, but the design wouldn’t have quite the same edge either.
As far as fit goes, I’m in love. I told Miriam that my bust was 41″-ish and my waist was 32″-ish. This put me between a size 10 and 12. She tried me in the 12 first, which had the interesting effect of creating pointy air boobs (like the Prada designs I showed you in 2010). I actually kind of liked them, but Miriam wasn’t having it, and once she put me in the size 10, I saw why. My bosom had the nice rounded shape that doesn’t draw too much attention to itself, and everything else about the size 10 dress was scaled to my frame. It is such a wonderful feeling to be able to wear an elegant dress that was made to fit me!
Finally, even though the dress fits my 32F/FF boobs perfectly without looking baggy, I’m happy to report that there is enough room for a larger cup size–and that’s without even relying upon the generous stretch of the fabric! Miriam has successfully created a bodice that will fit those of us who know our true size is well above a D and those who still think they’re a 36DD!
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For more about Miriam Baker, you can read my posts from 2015 here and here.
You look fab, Darlene!
I love that dress on you Darlene!