Darlene recently sent me a glorious photo of herself wearing a silver wiggle dress from the brand Stop Staring, and it reminded me that I’ve been sitting on a pile of Stop Staring dresses for years now without reviewing any of them. So this week, you get a full roundup.
Unfortunately, Stop Staring seems to be terribly inconsistent in their fit, and I have dresses ranging from medium to XL. So I would definitely recommend buying from a source that has a good return policy, such as the Stop Staring website directly or reputable retailers such as Unique-Vintage.com or 6pm.com (which always has them marked way down…though the selection and sizes are limited).
In general, I find Stop Staring to be incredibly curve-friendly, for both boobs and butt. The cuts are super flattering on a big bust and many do a lovely job camouflaging a protruding tummy. However, the straps and shoulders all seem to be excessively long and/or wide-set, which is an issue on my short, narrow shoulders.
In all these photos, I measure 37”-29”-41” and height 5’6” with bra size UK 28GG/30G. In all the indoor photos, I’m wearing the Freya “Pinup” Longline Bustier in size 30G.
First up is the classic “Million Dollar Baby” dress, which was my first foray into this brand. It was gifted to me by a friend who bought it for an event and then never wore it again. This dress is made of the company’s signature “millennium bengaline stretch.” Note, however, that the Billion Dollar Baby dress below is supposed to be made of “millennium bengaline stretch” as well, but it’s an entirely different fabric content. So don’t necessarily expect all dresses labelled as such to be the same.
This dress is size XL and measures 13” at the waist, 16” across the bust, and the straps are set 11” apart. It has TONS of stretch, so it’s still very comfortable even though it’s smaller than my measurements. You could definitely buy your usual size in this dress, maybe even size down if you want it extra sexy (though it would be quite tight and might require shapewear to maintain a smooth silhouette). The fabric is 74% cotton, 22% nylon, 4% spandex, and possesses a slight stiffness.
The Million Dollar Baby dress is very boob-friendly, with room to spare, I’d say. All that crossover and pleating at the bust hugs your bobs perfectly. Though I did have to shorten the straps by nearly two inches.
Next up is the Billion Dollar Baby dress, which is the same construction as the Million Dollar except with cap sleeves instead of spaghetti straps. Again, I have a size XL, though in this case I think I would have been better off in a L. The XL is super comfy, but while it doesn’t look loose, the cap sleeves fall off my shoulders.
This time, the waist is 13.75”, bust 18”, and the sleeves are 12” apart at the shoulder. The fabric is 74% polyester, 22% nylon, 4% spandex, and feels softer and less stiff than the Million Dollar, but no less stretchy.
Again, the bust has oodles of room, though the fact that the shoulders are too long means there is a lot of cleavage on display for me. I’ve got to alter them for sure.
I used to own this exact same dress in navy blue with white polka dots, but I sold it when I was clearing out my closet of things I don’t wear often enough. But I do have a photo of it on me from a wedding I attended:
This is a size large. Originally, I ordered XL since the blue Billion Dollar seemed to fit fine at the time, but the polka dots ran bigger despite being the same style and fabric content, so I exchanged for L.
This one still had the same shoulder issue, but I fixed it by pinching the front panel of the shoulder behind the seam where it meets the bust cup in front, and sewing it in place. It blended in perfectly with the bust pleating and stayed up on my shoulders much better. I plan to do the same thing with my solid blue Billion Dollar Baby as well as the other cap-sleeve dresses below.
Next up is the “Jitterbug” swing dress. This one has the same bust and shoulder construction as the Billion Dollar Baby, but with a gathered skirt. It’s also made of entirely different fabric—this one is 55% polyester, 42% cotton, and 3% spandex. It feels more like cotton. It has no stretch at all, and only a tiny bit of give. So would you believe this one is a size medium??
The waist measures 14.25”, bust 18”, and the shoulders are 12” apart. Yeah, the waist of this medium is bigger than the XL, but the bust and shoulders are the same. Logic??? Anyway, I actually got really lucky with the fit of this one—it’s perfect! The shoulders are also much shorter, though they’re still a bit too wide-set for my narrow self, so they tend to slide off if I bend in the right (wrong) way.
Once again, the bust also fits beautifully, but since there’s no stretch, it won’t be able to accommodate nearly as much boobage as the Million and Billion Babies. The waist is a little high on my long torso too, so I usually wear it with a belt that I can push further down onto the skirt to emphasize my waist better.
Next up is a new style. This print is no longer available (I got mine used on eBay), but the exact same style in green and blue plaid is called the “Genesis” dress. It was also sold on ModCloth for several years under the name “Pine All Mine Dress.”
This dress is size large. It measures 14.25” waist, 18” bust, and shoulders 12” apart. It’s made of 65% polyester, 32% rayon, 3% spandex. It has some give, but no real stretch, and it feels like a soft, slightly thin flannel.
I forgot to take a photo of the back, but it looks the same as the Jitterbug, only it doesn’t dip as low. The bodice construction this time is slightly different too. There’s a flat base layer, then gathered layers on top that cross over. The sleeves are flat, triangular-shaped cap sleeves. There’s plenty of boob space for me with a little space to spare, so bigger busted ladies than me could definitely rock this dress.
The last dress I have is the “Madstyle” dress, which is exactly the same as the Genesis one. Although this one has the same construction and is the same size (large), it fits a whole size bigger. The waist measures 15.25” (since this is the flat measurement, that’s a total difference of two inches!), bust 19” (another 2” increase!), and shoulders 12”.
The fabric is 63% polyester, 34% nylon, 3% spandex. Once again, there is no stretch but some give, and it feels like flannel.
Looks okay from far away, but it’s noticeably too big when you look close. The waist is too loose, the shoulders too wide and loose, and the bust is too big and just not filled out.
I bought this one off eBay, so I couldn’t return it. I tried wearing it with a belt and considered altering it, but ultimately just ended up relisting it to try and get some of my money back.
Those dresses are awesome!
Have you tried Stop Staring???