Three heavy-hitter startups have emerged on the NYC professional clothing scene, and you’ve already read my impressions of two of them, MM.LaFleur and Of Mercer. Last week I got to try the Evelyn Dress from Nora Gardner, who happens to be a neighbor at my latest pop up shop (where I’d love to meet you if you’re in New York City this month).
This Instagram post put the Evelyn at the top of my try-on list. Besides the clever neckline details, I could see bust-friendly princess seams!
Here is what the navy size 8 looked like on me–plenty of room for my 32G-ish boobs without any smashing or strum-strum factor, and the perfect length for my 5’3″ height.
Even better, NO FOLDS DOWN MY BACK! One thing to note about the armhole–there is NO side bra display going on.
Here you can see the neckline zipped completely up on the left, and unzipped to my balance point on the right. Lowering the neckline helps to counter the cap sleeves’ effect of grouping my bust with my waist, AND it helps minimizes my chest by breaking up some of the mass!
You can see an indentation at my hips from my underwear band. I would either size up to a 10 or change undergarments to solve this. The fabric is certainly not to blame–it has a great weight and thickness, plus the dress is 100% lined, so there’s no conforming to bulges like you see in cheaper fabrics. Another great feature of the fabric is that it barely wrinkles, making it perfect for travel.
What I didn’t realize from the Instagram post is that this dress has TWO ZIPPERS, one in the back to help slip it on, and another in the front as a functional design detail.
Too often a dress like this is only available as a LBD, but Nora Gardner makes most of her dresses in multiple colors. Not only does her brand accommodate women’s different coloring, but it also accommodates different body shapes–the Evelyn also comes in a fit and flare, which is great for busty women with wider hips!
Ready to try the Nora Gardner Evelyn dress for yourself? I’d love to hear how it works for you.
It doesn’t look at if they would have anything to fit me. According to their chart, their largest size (16) fits up to a 42″ bust, and I am 47″. Even if the Evelyn actually has a few more inches of bust room than what the chart suggests, I doubt it would have that much more room. The waist and hip measurements of the 16, however, are close to mine. It would be far too short on my 5’9″ frame anyway. Yes, I know the model in their photos is my height, but you can see from those photos that the dress is well above her knees, and I don’t want my dresses to be that short, especially at a $300 price point. For that price, I want a dress to actually fit me, both in body shape and length. What is a tall, plus-sized, busty girl supposed to do?
Hi Laurie! I found you on hourglassy and I want to help you find a dress that suits your needs. I know I can help you! I have two ideas: (1) We can lengthen the Evelyn for you if we know that it fits in the bust; or 2: I can actually MAKE a dress for you if I know your exact measurements. I really want to help — let me know if you’d be interested in working with us more on this. Sincerely, Nora
Darlene, this looks gorgeous on you. Nice find!
I’m interested if Laurie follows up on the offer. I too am a 47″ bust, 38 waist, 47 hips, but much shorter at 5’4″
There’s a market out there 🙂