Question about spring dresses for hourglass shape - YouLookFab Forum

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Question about spring dresses for hourglass shape

Von

Veteran

I have been seeing lots of cute sheath dresses and shirt dresses in stores for spring, but as a curvy girl, they are not working for me. Am I doing something wrong? Is there a trick to making them look like something other than paper bags on me, or should I just stick with what works?

Examples:
http://bananarepublic.gap.com/.....=949892002
This dress would look frump-tastic on me, but looks so carefree.

Cute sheath, and besides it being too short, how do I make this look like I'm not a big block? In order for it to skim my body like it is here, I have to buy up a size so it's not a clinger, and then it looks bad.
http://bananarepublic.gap.com/.....=949949002

This is my typical dress shape, but I don't always want to be so vavavooom at the office -- but there is no way this shape of dress fits me and it's NOT bombshell. I always need a jacket or sweater, and that's no fun!
http://bananarepublic.gap.com/.....=932442002

Body Type

14 replies

Latest reply was from Von

Thistle

Veteran

It will be interesting to see what others say, but I think certain dresses are just going to look bombshell on certain bodies, and other dress shapes are going to look less conventionally flattering.

When sizing up, though, I think you would need to have it tailored so it still fits properly everywhere else.

shiny

Veteran

I rarely have any luck with BR dresses, they run small in the chest. If I size up to fit the chest, the proportions everywhere else are just all wrong.

Emily

Veteran

I am a pretty evenly proportioned hourglass and am similarly wary of sheath dresses, but I've been really happy with my BR ponte sheath (#1). It helps the dress isn't totally shapeless. It is tailored enough to belt per #2, and the ponte lets it follow my figure a bit instead of just hanging off my chest. #1 clearly isn't as conventionally figure flattering as #2, but I let it go because I like the look.

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Von

Veteran

Shiny - I only ever have luck with the BR Gemma wrap dress (love the fabric!). I have bust issues way more than I used to at BR these days, they're *under busting* everything it seems.

Emily - I have two ponte sheaths from Lands End and just bought one last week from Talbots, I'm definitely a ponte sheath fan, I love how you can do it with or without sleeves. The shape is pretty flattering, and probably as close to a shift as I can get.

Thistle - I've never thought to have a shift or shirt dress altered, I always just assumed if they're not hanging right in the dressing room, it's not worth it to alter because it's not a *signature style* of mine (probably because I've never had one altered to fit correctly so that I fell in love! :P)

Thistle

Veteran

Not blaming you. I am not a fan of the shift dress either. At least, not on me. Others rock it.

Of course, being a pear, I am not much of a fan of dresses. I MUCH prefer skirts as they are kinder and require almost no tailoring to get to fit.

Laura (rhubarbgirl)

(website)

Veteran

Shirt dresses with a tie belt like that first one rarely work on me. I think they are suited to more rectangular figures, as they give a suggestion of waist with some camouflage. Sometimes I can wear them shorter more as tunics over leggings or tights with the waist unbelted, but that's not an office appropriate look for most people. I'm a pear, so if I bought something like the second one I'd have to buy up a size and have the top half altered - way too much trouble in most cases. And I have a long torso so that can trip things up too.

The third one with the color blocking is always going to look vavavoom on someone with curves. Again, it's a style that's designed to give someone curves who doesn't have many.

If you count the dresses in my closet, I think 95% of them are knit, and most of them are casual. It's just impossible for me to find a fitted, woven, office wear dress that fits me without extensive tailoring in stores. So I stick with separates which give me more flexibility in fitting.

Von

Veteran

I think if I had awesome legs and wasn't so clumsy in high heels, I'd throw on that shirt dress in a second and say "But I have the awesome legs for this!" But I don't do sky high heels so well, and my legs are only moderately cute.

Liz A.

Veteran

Von, I'm not convinced the first dress would look frumpy on you. I might need to see it in action. However, I do agree that BR dresses are way too short! 35.5 inches? I need at least 38 to be appropriate for the office, and I'm 5'6.5"

So to your original question, I'm a proportional hourglass with wide shoulders, and I have the best luck with faux wrap styles in a stretch jersey. With the stretch, I find that I can size up enough for my shoulders and butt and yet it doesn't look too super baggy in the waist. If it is just too baggy, honestly I usually live with it, but tailoring would be an option. I do also have luck with sheaths like Emily has shown. You have to try on a bunch to find the right one though.

Another thing that I've finally realized (and now have to get rid of a few items) is that smaller consistent patterns that are repeated over the dress are somehow less flattering on me. I need a solid color or a bold splashy pattern. So like the first pattern (without considering the dresses themselves) would be more flattering than the second. Not sure if this has to do with shape or what.

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mcchannen

I'm in support of alterations for sheath dresses--I love them, but they never fit off the hanger since I'm a pear-like shape. The trick is to 1) try and find them on sale so you don't feel so bad about the price of the alteration being added on to the total cost and 2) make sure that the seams/fabric can actually be altered (i.e. take it in to a tailor before taking off the tags).

celia

Veteran

I feel like pulling a Jessica Simpson and say "I love this body that created one amazing person and I love it with it's own shape, but I wished my hips wouldn't make me look bombshelish even when I am not trying"

Well, I also find sheath dresses hard to fit but have nothing against alterations if I think it will work for me.
If you really want one for the sake of variety why don't you try to have one altered?
I did that once when I was in serious danger of loosing my cool if one more person suggested that wrap dresses would work well for my frame.

This being said I think the first dress would look office appropriate with another belt and tall boots.

Emily

Veteran

Ah, I used the word "sheath" rather than shift when describing my dress. I always think of a sheath dress being rather bodycon, or at least tailored. My dress is somewhere between the two, I suppose, which is probably the best compromise.

Re: your picks from BR, Have you tried replacing the self belt in something like #1 with a leather one? Or perhaps playing with the placement of the belt loops so that they sit perfectly at your natural waist? I'd love to see you in the ponte dress, too, I highly doubt you would look like a block in it.

adorkable

Veteran

One alternative suggestion:

Fit-and-flare can be nice since it's a bit less va-va-voom than something fitted at the hips, AND it can allow you to show off your waist some!

columbine(erin)

Veteran

I use combinations of cardigans, belts, boots, flats, etc. to alter the proportions some on my two sheath dresses. I'm somewhere btw. a pear and an hourglass and have decided that knee length sheath dresses that skim the body are generally way more flattering on me than skirts or dresses with gathering, pleats, too many seams, etc. If you can find a sheath dress with a waist at the right spot and lines that skim the body and that is not too short when seated, it sure can be a lovely thing.

Von

Veteran

Liz, BR Dresses are SO short, and I'm always wishing for dresses closer to 40 also, you have to account for skirt creep! In the Gemma wrap dress, I have found the tall size to fit great. Mine could stand for about an inch of hemming, but I havent bothered yet because I love the look of it.

Columbine - you're right about a good length sheath -- they can be marvelous!

I tried on a shirt dress at Ann Taylor last night and it was disastrous. Definitely marking structured shirt dresses off the list, as it was "button up shirt drama" added in with "hips don't lie" drama, and the buttons were all hanging on for dear life. Perhaps I will make it to BR this weekend to try on the flouncy one - and I pray it's not skimming my upper thighs!

As I was combing the closet this morning...I found a tie up shift dress that I purchases from Talbots a few weeks ago (it's not in season just yet, so I forgot about it). I tried the dress on first with the tie belt. It looked horrid, I'm talking The Flying Nun bad (it has white trim!) I told the sales associate that I wanted to try the dress 1 size up + with a new belt (a cute skinny belt). It made SO much difference. The sales associate, who actually was wearing the same dress (and looked like she was in a black sack) was like "ohhh wow! I didn't know it could look so shapely!". Something about the tie belt just made the entire dress look wrong - not sure why a skinny structured belt made it look better, but it did.

I need to look into fit + flare, I've never considered it because all that I've seen in fit + flare seem to be short.