It was only because I saw a customer carrying a shopping bag from them that I even discovered Petite Studio, and as soon as I could get my dear friend Camille to join me, we headed over. I was pinning all my hopes on the Lola dress because of its smocked back.

Camille’s experience with the Lola dress was much better than mine, so I’ll begin with that. The size M she purchased is still hanging in her closet and she’s wearing it this summer! Camille is 5’1″, wears sizes 2/4 in pants, and wears around a 28/30 G/H in British bra sizing.

There is so much that I love about this dress:
1. the adjustable straps
2. the dip in the neckline vs. straight across
3. pockets!
4. functional buttons in front
5. matching the lines of the gingham print across the seams
6. the high-quality seam finishing (see below)

The size large almost fit me–to the point that I actually purchased it and was willing to pin it. However, once I tried it over a padded strapless, there was simply too much volume for it to contain. Even if the safety pins didn’t show, you could tell it was too tight because the gingham lines were no longer straight. At the time of these photos, I was around a 33″ waist and 41″ bust. I wore my 32F Empreinte Erin to the store. I’m wearing the 34H Wacoal Red Carpet strapless (affiliate link) in the outside photos.

When I returned it, I asked the saleswoman (who remembered me! so nice!) if Petite Studio would ever consider adding more room to the bust area of its garments. She said that in-person fittings since their brick and mortar store opened last November have definitely put this issue on their radar.

If your frame is small like Camille’s, it’s definitely worth exploring Petite Studio. Here’s the other dress she scored, this time in size L. It’s a stretch velvet that was steeply discounted because it was the very last one in stock.

Here’s what it looked like on me. If Camille hadn’t wanted it, I would have purchased it and made it work with Brassybra.

Here are the rest of the pieces that we tried that we thought looked particularly bust-friendly.

The boyfriend style Veda Jacket.

In theory, the Ruby Top seems like it should work on fuller busts because the pleating at the waist creates more room for a larger bust, but it wasn’t quite right on either of us.

I just love the petite proportions of the Stella top , and the drawstring down the center has the potential to create comfortable bust room. With a bust dart from the side, it could be perfect.