...this Badgley Mischka dress to wear for Easter. It is not intended to be knee-length but I am only 5' so I might see a tailor in the near future. The dress is metallic cotton and is sufficiently generous in the bust, an attribute difficult to find in high-end clothing. The heeled sandals, which retail on Overstock for about $256, are "Velma" by Ralph Lauren Collection. They are calf leather so even though they will stretch with time, I recommend only purchasing them if your feet are narrow. I think I will rub coconut oil on the straps to make them softer.
J. Mendel made a bust-friendly military influenced coat that also incorporated draping, a hard combination to pull off. It always seems that military-style clothing have high necklines and are double breasted, neither of which are very flattering on large-chested women. Congrats to J. Mendel for being able to break out of the normal silhouettes that come along with military gear. Picture taken from style.com
A Free People tank top tunic "Heavy Metal". The hue is so rich in person. The top is somewhat sheer and very low cut so I will wear a tank top underneath. The back is low, as well. Picture taken from Nordstrom.
A MICHAEL Michael Kors silk top with beaded neckline. Picture taken from bluefly.
I ordered part of my costume from Ms. Purdy's Treasures on Ebay. When it arrived in the mail, there was a little hand written thank you card in a cute little envelope. I love when people are out-of-the-ordinary nice.
Tuesday, March 20th is the first day of spring (my second favorite day of the year!) and if you haven't figured out what will be in stores, here it is.
Dolce and Gabbana had the most accurate and easy silhouettes, but most of the pieces were covered in vegetable prints. Dior had the most grown-up version of the 1950s, more siren less Sandra Dee. This is a decade where two of the major trends (nipped waist, saccharine-sweet pastels) hit. Whether or not pastels are your thing, curvy women take note: this is your season. Rock it.
1970s (shoes)
Both flatforms and espadrille wedges, especially with bright stripes, are supposed to be "in" for spring. Honestly, I don't think wedges ever really leave the scene, just because they are so comfortable despite the height they give.
Most people will be able to find something flattering this season. Remember though, stick with the best decade for your body type. Don't try to work something just because it is trendy. The 1950s silhouette will translate best to the mass market because it is easy and cheap to recreate. The 1920s silhouette will be more difficult to recreate because sometimes, the only difference between a sack dress and a 1920s dress is the materials and embellishments. Meanwhile, the espadrille wedge is good for everyone (minus those with orthopedic needs) because they come in so much variety, that the design is really user controlled. For instance, I keep away from the 1970s and so I bought low peep toe espadrilles in cherry red, which is more of a 1950s look.
There are styles that I flirt with, even though I know it will never have a happy ending. There are styles I hate, such as androgynous, rocker, and 1920s, and so it doesn't matter much to me that those don't work on my body type. But I've sort of...fallen for "prep" recently. It starts with an item, an idea, and turns into a lust and soon I have a gluttonous amount of themed blogs on my Chrome tabs. My heart says yes, you do want to order just one embroidered pink/green ribbon key fob but my mind mind says, sorry love, you know it is not meant to be. Le sigh.
Prep is a style that is inherently for men. After however long, women caught onto the mens style and eventually stores began tailoring to them. However, the silhouettes are still formulated to look best on a body that lacks the err... defining points of femininity. Blazers? Made for men. Polos? Made for men. Bermuda shorts? Do I even have to say it? Even the shoes that go with the look don't "do" anything for a feminine figure. Smoking slippers, boat shoes, bean boots... Naturally, women have "overcome" this situation by just having the products made in girly colors like pink, green, yellow, etc. Some designers (ahem) Lilly Pulitzer, put all the colors onto one item. Granted, there are dresses, skirts, espadrilles which would in theory look quite smashing on a girl. However, the dresses are often not figure-hugging (which undoubtedly would make any women with a good hip-to-waist ratio look larger) and the skirts are mini, which as we all know look best on long, less-than-curvy legs.
It is all lipstick on a pig. It is also water under the bridge. I don't have the shape and I don't have the coloring; pastel pink and green on a "winter"? Hello?! Even if I did manage to find a preppy navy blue dress and have it tailored to my shape, it would wind up being more "Marilyn" and less "Muffy."
If you can pull this look off, go for it. The items are expensive, but well-made. Preps appreciate items that have obviously grown with someone. There is a certain romance about a well-worn Sperry Topsider. I leave you with a humorous video, which will attempt to re-brighten the mood after that somewhat pessimistic piece.
This one is my least favorite of the three. The color is not accurate in the picture; it is more of a watermelon on acid color. Also, the straps, though substantial, are way too stretchy to lend any support. There is too much extra fabric created from the shirring and it makes the suit look baggy.
And this one is my favorite of the three. The thick, supportive straps can not be detached. The support for the bust and waist is wonderful. The only real issue with this suit is that the shirring does not continue to the back of the suit and so it is rather plain from the back. This isn't a problem with this color and pattern but it may be a problem in the other varieties.
Jantzen, no longer in production (I paid about $60)
This suit is decent. It has nice control and a skirted (but not shirred) back. The strap is thin, not fully adjustable, and detachable. Also, the torso is not as long as I would like. This would make for poor bust support and a risky choice for working with children/infants, if it weren't for the snug design of the suit.
a Sir Alistair Rai scarf. The print is a hand-painted Hindu prayer for peace. This particular scarf is sold out but his scarves retail for about $120, depending on the design.
This is Madonna at this year's Venice Film Festival. I'm not a fan of butterfly patterns because I grew up in the nineties, but this gown manages to be both age appropriate and flattering (it hides her muscular yet bony arms). Awesome dress aside, LOOK AT THOSE SUNGLASSES. These red glitter beauties are Miu Miu. You should probably enlarge the picture to fully view their awesomeness. Naturally, the price makes me cry for third world countries but it is what it is.
I wish people could still dress like this, and not be considered crazy. It is funny how one can tell the woman is from the twenties, even though the costume period is the earlier 1500s.
Sorry I had to make the picture so large; I just want you to be able to see clearly how terrible it is. If you can't see what is wrong with this outfit, get off my site. Get off my site right now.
P.S. The magazine containing this ad is aimed towards teenage girls. Just remember kids, when you wear head to toe leopard print and matching horse-hoof shoes, you are letting the terrorists win.
They are like a rain...ballet flat? It doesn't much much sense until you think of how cute they would look with a floaty summer dress during sun-showers.
I also bought a Banana Republic black wool pleated full skirt. It had some spots on the back, which washed away with Woolite. Pictures...someday.
Later this year, the world of print publications will be introducing the World's first magazine catered to the petite population. Keep in mind, petite is not about weight--it is about height. Petite is a standard clothing size, as well as a word to describe ANY WOMAN 5'3" OR UNDER. The average height of women in the United States is 5'4" and so about half of us are petite. It is incredible how this large amount of people can be so grossly underrepresented. Designers don't design for us. Magazines don't write for us. Having to pay extra money to cut off excess fabric so that trousers do not drag is the norm for us. When designers do decide to offer petite sizes, we're lucky if they do anything besides chop off a few inches, say, raise the armholes or shorten the rise.
The magazine is set to premier sometime in 2012. They have a preview on their website and I am not sure as of right now if the magazine will be digital or print. The articles contain less marketing and more honesty than some others I've read. My only hope for this magazine is that their budget is set higher, because right now, some of the clothing in the shoots were...questionable.
P.S. The magazine is for women 5'5" and under because the world average height is different than the US average height.
Join to get your preview issue. It is free so there isn't anything to lose, besides tolerance for underrepresentation. And please, pass this on! It would be nice if this magazine could join the ranks of Vogue, Lucky, etc.
I enjoy reading blogs written by women who have the joy of living day to day life dressed in glamourous 1930s, 40s, and 50s garb. One day, a blogger wrote about her fox stoles, how lonely they looked at the thrift store, and how people give her rude stares and comments whenever she goes about her day while wearing said fox around her neck. I feel for her, I do. THERE IS NOTHING WRONG WITH VINTAGE FUR. It does not add demand for the product to the economy, it is the oldest way of keeping warm, and it is mighty attractive when worn correctly. However, that being said, those comments made by passersby need to happen. Fur being viewed negatively on a public level really is the best thing for this situation. Why? When the public accepts fur on a overwhelming level, there will be a demand for it. There is not enough vintage fur in the world to supply this demand and so, eventually companies would set out to increase the stock of furs to meet the needs of customers. This is when animals start being killed. This philosophy or whatever it is, happened with the overall acceptance of thrift store clothing. The idea of wearing thrift store clothing was really a great way of contributing to the "reduce, reuse, recycle" campaign. Wearing thrift store clothing became widely accepted and dare I say, trendy. Eventually, people probably (this whole thing is speculation) were not able to find as "fashionable" finds as their peers were and with more and more people getting into secondhand, a demand in the economy opened for neo-secondhand. Do you see what I am trying to say here? To put it simply, fur on an individual level is smart but on a public level, is dangerous. Unfortunately, the only way to deal with this to to have the basic public philosophy that fur is bad. In my opinion, I think we best donate the fur to the homeless people, who actually need it.
the mix of military and ballet influences, "The English Patient"-style fashions, and this faux fur coat at Urban Outfitters (terrible place). Unfortunately, it would likely be horribly unflattering on me; I would look like a bear. Ah, the disadvantageous state of being a curvy (read: NOT FAT) petite.
