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Opinions on DvF dress for me

Anonymous

I spied this DVF "Justin" dress, and am wondering about the neckline and clinginess.

Link: https://www.therealreal.com/pr.....ap-dress-7

I am fairly flat chested and wear 1 size smaller on the top vs. Bottom. I am slightly pear shaped and have small saddlebags (dislike this term but there you have it).

My questions are:

Will this style cling to saddlebags?
Can I pin the top closed if it is too low-cut, or add a little hook? Bad idea?
Is this casual enough to wear with a cropped jean jacket?

It is a size 4 (32" bust) which is perfect.

I know I can try and return but would like to be reasonably assured of success before I pull the trigger as I will have to cross the border to pick it up.

Thanks!

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Shopping

19 replies

Latest reply was from Janet

Angie

(website)

Fashion Stylist

Pass.

You have a smilier body type to me, Smittie - and there are better options than DVF wraps. They look best on those who can fill them out. In that respect - we don't have the real estate.

Next.

Anonymous

Hahaha! Ok. ONWARDS!

Tanya

Veteran

I have an extremely similar DVF dress (minus the collar) and it is size 4 too. My usual size is 2, but you are supposed to size up in DVF dresses. I am pretty hourglass-y with 34-24-36 (30D bra) and square shoulders, and I do have some saddle bags too. I find the the skirt had a very slight A-line and does not cling to my hips. I either add a pin at the chest area or wear it over a cami, as it otherwise shows too much cleavage on me.
I am at work now but could take pics tonight and post them for you.

Suz

(website)

Veteran

Nodding with Angie. When my weight was higher I wore a wrap dress reasonably well. Then I lost weight and -- oops!!! Suddenly I looked horrible in wraps and surplice styles that had been my go-tos at a higher, slightly curvier weight.

I'm about 10 pounds up again from my lowest weight (grrrr) but still 25 pounds down from my highest, and a similar body type to yours -- and wraps still look awful on me. You will look fab in a fitted sheath with a jewel or envelope neck or a narrow V.

Anonymous

Tanya,
You are too kind. Please don't bother taking pictures though as I think this purchase is too risky for me given Angie's assessment.
However, it is still helpful to know that it doesn't cling on the bottom.

Angie

(website)

Fashion Stylist

YES, to what Suz said. Fitted sheath with a high neck, shirt dress with a collar, or a Fit & Flare all the way. See my own dresses below for inspiration.

Smittie, Tanya and I are the same height and wear a similar size, yet she is curvier than me all over (I'm at 32 - 25 - 34), so straighter). We wear a lot of the same items, yet her curvier silhouette makes all the difference in the wrap dress. Her broader shoulder line helps too.

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Suz

(website)

Veteran

At my lowest weight my measurements are identical to Angie's (except I'm 2 inches shorter, ha!) -- right now they are more like 33-26-35. I have the squarer shoulder line (as you do, too, I think, Smittie?) and that does help somewhat -- but being slightly straighter in the waist and also -- I think? -- having shorter hair and a long neck makes that neckline somewhat problematic. It sort of highlights the bony part of the chest and the lack of curves up top. (Your own hair might help somewhat here, again -- but worth ordering? I think you'd want to try one on in person first.)

On the saddle bag issue, though, it's not a problem -- those dresses hide that area really nicely in fact.

Anonymous

Thank you Angie!
Ok, higher necklines it is.
Angie and Suz: Do you find sheaths emphasize short legs because they highlight the hip area? That is my niggle with them.

Staysfit

Veteran

My DVF size is also 4 in wraps. My measurements are closer to Tanya's, 34, 25.5, 36 Bra size is 32 C. I love these dresses. Always wear with a camisole!

JAileen

Veteran

Smittie, are you interested in this style or this particular dress? If you're interested in this style, I ordered an EF dress in this style from Macy's that has really good coverage. I usually can't wear this style either. My bust is relatively small. I haven't decided whether to keep it or not, because I just don't need a lot of new dresses. I bought it on a stupid presale, so I have to go pick it up after we get back from our trip.

http://m.macys.com/shop/produc.....ryID=64883

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Anonymous

That dress looks amazing on you J. (how are the side views?).
The coverage looks excellent, but I am even less endowed than you! Thank you for posting though.

JAileen

Veteran

Looking back at my pictures, I didn't take a side view. And I can't pick it up until tomorrow when we're leaving on our trip. I hate these stupid hoops you have to jump through to get the sale price.

I'm 5'6" and I bought the medium. The SA thought the small pulled a little in the back, across my shoulder blades. This is the story of my life: tops are too big in the front and too small in the back.

Suz

(website)

Veteran

I find sheaths make me look longer and leaner. I always wear a small heel and never a super high heel. I have the exact same linen sheath Angie has from Nicole Miller in a different colour. (Pics 1 and 2) Plus a sleeved David Meister sheath (Pic 4). I also have other ones...some quite body con (pic 5) and some closer to shifts in fit. (pic 8)They are hands down my best style.

Shirt dresses also work really well but tend to feel more casual to me. (6 and 7, although 7 is silk, so dressier).

Another style I love for summer is a sort of tent swing dress -- very cool. (10 -- one of my favourite dresses ever, hands down).

A fit and flare with an A line or wider skirt can also work but sometimes feels too "girlish" to me personally. The right neckline and drape helps. (9)

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rachylou

Veteran

I have a SLEEVELESS DvF. The sleeveless look better on a smaller chest, IMO. On the other hand, I'm always thinking about giving it away, because it's sleeveless...

Staysfit

Veteran

Smittie, we are all full of helpful suggestions. Suz dress collection is wonderful! I noticed that you were thinking of wearing the DVF with a jean jacket. What sort of dress are you looking for? Is it for a special purpose? Is it for work? A vacation? Dinner out? A wedding? A casual get together?

IMO, a sheath dress can make legs look shorter depending on the hem line/length. I don't think it's connected to their tighter fit around the hips. I look at my pictures and there are some dress lengths where my legs look long and others where they look like stumps and my hips look wide, (they aren't). I know which lengths work best for me in a sheath and I try to stick with them. Some skirt hem lines are straight, and some taper in slightly and rarely they flare a bit in an A-line. The big issue with sheath dresses is fit. The waist needs to hit at the right place. The torso and hips need to fit properly, etc.

Janet

(website)

Veteran

I love those dresses and what they do for my figure, which is totally different from all of yours! Seriously, I will not even utter my measurements because you all make me sound enormous, but my DVF wrap dress makes me look pretty darn good. Unfortunately, I never have occasion to wear it. I'm hanging on to it anyway. Someday, someone will have a spring wedding I have to attend, right? One that's not in Texas (it will be 90 degrees I'm sure) or August in the mid-Atlantic.

Two of the great things about this dress that you ask about (for reference in case anyone else wonders): 1) these dresses tend to be very saddlebag-friendly, meaning they skim and don't cling. 2) I had mine sewn at the neckline at the point where the layers close, to keep it from gaping open -- I simply pull the dress on over my head and it's no problem for putting it on or taking it off, even sewn closed like that. I prefer it without a visible cami underneath.

I agree that a sheath would probably work really well for you.

Anonymous

Janet, I am an XS and my measurements are quite a bit bigger than those of these ladies A 25" waist is mythical to me!

Janet, Do sheath dresses fit you well? Because I find that they emphasize my saddlebags.

Staysfit: I want the dress for work, but work is low-key, so I want to wear a jean jacket with it. Anyway, you're right that I t might be the hemline that I have issues with. I see you all with knee length dresses and I find that length TERRIBLE on me.
I must have something above the knee for some reason. Also, I think you're on to something with the sheath dress having a flare at the bottom. That might work on me.

Suz: You look amazing in these dresses and I can see how the high necklines work. Also, you know how you have short calves? Well I just found out I have quite short THIGHS and I wonder if this causes the issue with the skirt length, and the need for it to be higher.
(My calves are regular, which explains why I have no problems with tall boots.)

Suz

(website)

Veteran

That is interesting, Smittie. And yes, it might mean that dresses fall at an awkward place on you. But show us some dressing room photos so we can say for sure! A regular length calf gives you more options, truly. I would think that knee length (or just above or just below) would work well! Many people do have a "sweet spot" whether that be just above the knee, just below the knee cap, or an inch or two above or below. I find I have a bit of leeyway with a tapered skirt -- it can look good anywhere from just above to a few inches below -- providing it is tapered. Straight skirts have to fall exactly in the right spot (right below the knee for modesty, right above the kneecap if that is not an issue). Wider skirts are better either below the knee, or above.

Part of the reason a higher neckline works for me is my short hair -- with longer hair I have more neckline options. But with age (and fewer pounds than at my highest weight) I do have a slightly bony "breastplate" area that an open neckline can expose too much of, if it is too deep. (A shallow open neck like a boat or even a modified portrait neckline can be gorgeous).

I am short -waisted, too -- not by a huge amount, but by some -- so if the waist dips in, that will extend my legline to some degree.

Oh, also? When my hair is longer my legs look shorter. It fills the space below my face and my calves look shorter in proportion. The shorter hair draws the eye up. An updo would do the same.

Janet

(website)

Veteran

Smittie, two of my absolute favorite dresses are sheath dresses, but I think they work so well because they are a substantial fabric (almost a scuba type fabric) and have some stretch. Dresses are very hard for me, so when I find one that works, I pounce. Unlike you, I do much better with a hemline that falls at, or even better, *just under* the kneecap. Which is a tough demand because I have long legs, and a lot of that length is in my thighs (my knees run into airplane seat backs nearly as badly as my 6'6" husband's). Above the knee hemlines just look bad and create a weird, unflattering, unsophisticated proportion on me. Sigh. Isn't it a good thing there are so many options out there, since we all have such different bodies?

I think my waistline was last 25" when I lost a ton of weight during a very stressful time when I was in my early 20s. I got down to my high school weight of 117 lbs and looked amazing in pictures, but was not healthy or happy. Oh well! Thirty years and thirty pounds later I'm in a much better place in my life, even if the waistline is closer to 30".