Has the spring weather put you in the mood for dresses lately? It has me. That, plus Curvy Wordy’s Wallis finds and a recent Twitter exchange with The Full Figured Chest and Butterfly Collection have shaken me out of a rut.
Thanks to Curvy Wordy and Claire from Butterfly Collection, I’ve given wrap dresses another try even though I refuse to believe they’re the panacea for busty dressing that fashion magazines want them to be (and as you know from yesterday’s post, I also refuse to believe that empire waists are our savior).
I was regretting my decision not to spend $40 on the dress below in the week before Easter because all I wanted was something light, pretty and new to wear that day. Incredibly, it was still there last week, but this time for $20! That never happens to me–the only dress like it, in a color that looks great on me, in my size and 50% off. It’s a Jones New York dress in size 12. I even made an exception to my anti-cami policy for it.
In the photos above, I’m trying my hardest to implement the Sue Bryce tips I told you about yesterday, but I’m not sure I’m being very successful. It’s harder than it looks! I also compare the dress with and without a long string of pearls for your opinion. It’s only the slightest difference, but I do think I look a little narrower with than without. Thoughts?
Interestingly, I did not worry about my balance point with these pearls because I know the camisole hits my second balance point–right where my cleavage begins so it’s always easy to figure out! I’m committing something of a busty no-no by letting the necklace cascade off my chest–the fabric is slippery so the pearls slide all over the place–but since it blends in with the background, the bouncing necklace isn’t as noticeable.
Next up is a Calvin Klein rayon/spandex dress that I found at Marshall’s for $40 over the weekend. This has all sorts of potential, and you know I’m a sucker for scoop necks, sleeves and stripes. But those stripes are causing a conundrum–how to keep the horizontal stripes from going diagonal AND keep at least 3/4 of my boobs covered?
In the pics below, I’m wearing my new Fantasie FL2222 Rhiannon that I bought at Bra Tenders on Friday just because I want to show off its amazing lift. On the left, you can see what happens to the horizontal stripes when I hike up the neckline to cover most of my boobs. On the right, you can see what happens when I don’t. Even I can see which one looks better! I’m just not sure I’m ready for that much exposure.
Here’s the same dress with my new 36GG Masquerade Persia 6581 that I also purchased at Bra Tenders on Friday. I ADORE this bra and the shape it gives me–and the gorgeous, meant-to-be-seen lace. Unfortunately, I don’t think it’s meant to be seen with this dress. Perhaps a Marlies Dekkers type style would be the solution here?
I hope you’re as encouraged as I am about the dress possibilities out there for us, and I find it super helpful to see what other bloggers are wearing and thinking about. In fact, you can look for a guest post from Holly of The Full Figured Chest here tomorrow on just this subject.
Meanwhile, now that I’ve found a few dresses I like, I have no shoes to wear with them!!!
Darlene-
I really like the dresses on you. My thoughts for the green one–the cami you are wearing is too heavy for the dress-more of a tank top-how about a true cami-thin spaghetti staps, low scoop just to cover the cleavage-to me the white shirt is throwing off the look of the dress–
I like the striped dress as well-how about a very low black cami under that to make you feel more comfortable
Old Navy has great stretch jersey tank tops that have thin(not spag) straps that come in all colors that I wear under everything.Perfect coverage.
Wow. Thanks for these ideas, Donna. I’ll experiment with them! I got the cream cami at Marshall’s, but I had ALMOST gone into the Old Navy next door instead.
Another great (and reaaaaaaaally cheap) option for camis are those cheap-o very young clothing stores in SoHo and Chinatown. The only one whose name I can think of is “Amsterdam Boutique,” but they’re all along Broadway from White Street up to Houston. They all pretty much have the same stuff—including extra long, very stretchy camis with adjustable straps in every color imaginable for $5 or $6.
Also, I can’t put my finger on why, but you do look more svelte in the second photo of the green dress! Upon first glance, I thought maybe you were trying two different sizes.