Why volume doesn't work on my body - YouLookFab Forum

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Why volume doesn't work on my body

Kari

Veteran

I had a chance to browse through the forum on my downtime today, and Angie's thread on volume as well as Maya's post with her beautiful dress made me wonder why volume works on some curvy hourglass bodies, but not at all on others - specifically, mine.

Here's a visual illustration for you. From straight on, a sack dress is okay on me but not great. From the side, I look as if my entire torso sticks out as far as my breasts and butt all the way around. And no, this dress definitely did not come home with me.
(Compare to this side view in a very fitted dress, or this one in the Nine West dress.)

It's not just one voluminous dress that doesn't work on me. My profile looks just as wide and blocky in any other sack dress that I've tried, or tunics or tops that aren't fitted/structured (like this one, when it wasn't belted.)
(Edited to add: the above dress is a very drapey/not stiff fabric, and I experience the same problem in sack dresses with less volume - except that I look blockier from the front as the dress would fit closer around my hips - and regardless of the length & shape of the neckline.)

I'm perfectly happy continuing to define my waistline rather than surrendering it, but I'm also curious as to what makes the look fail on my figure. What makes a voluminous dress work on some curvy hourglass bodies when it doesn't work on others with a similar body type?

Body Type

17 replies

Latest reply was from Rose

Mellllls

Veteran

I certainly don't have an answer but I am sure Angie will know. I can't get volume to work for me either...but I'm more pear-shaped than hourglassy.

marianna

Veteran

I have no answers but these are great visuals. Thanks, Kari.

Kari

Veteran

Well... at least I'm not alone in being mystified. I'm glad the visual is helpful (even as I'm cringing at it!)

Maya

Veteran

Kari, it could be a lot of things. It looks like the fabric actually isn't so great because you are getting the tent effect I talked about in Angie's thread, where it isn't collapsing back under the bust. Why that is, I have no idea. It could be the fabric or it could be the size. Sometimes I have to size down in a voluminous garment.

It also looks quite billowy in the back. My arm isn't conveniently placed in this picture but you can kind of see how it gently comes in under the bust and fits fairly close to my back:

http://img.photobucket.com/alb.....e2788f.jpg

So while voluminous generally means relaxed, it doesn't mean big and billowy. It still needs to be streamlined and skimming.

Also, the dress you tried on could stand to be shorter. It looks like a good length for you in a normal tailored dress, but sack dresses need to be a bit shorter to work, otherwise it's an overwhelming amount of fabric and easily looks dumpy.

Sorry I don't have more specific answers. Angie can probably give you better guidance.

Kari

Veteran

I don't think the fabric is the problem, Maya, because it's a super light fabric that seems like it *should* collapse, but doesn't. I'd agree with you that this specific dress isn't right for me. However, I've tried on countless voluminous dresses just to see if I *can* make it work, and get the same disappointing result every time. I've tried straighter sack dresses and had the same problem, and I've sized down until the dresses cling across my hips, and my torso still looks like a gigantic block.

Maya

Veteran

Hmm, how mysterious! I wish I could shop with you personally and see for myself.

I bet if you went shopping with Angie she would have you sorted in seconds (and you live in the area...just saying...).

I'm sure you realize this already, but if you have tried something 100 times and can't make it work, it's okay to step back and say "it's not for me." But I admit I too am curious as to why this happens to you. We are built very similarly so it is very strange to me.

Angie

(website)

Fashion Stylist

Thanks for the visuals and the effort of this post, Kari. You rock!

Maya, great explanations. You are my volume protégé.

My dear Kari, that type of sack dress is very hard to wear and too voluminous in the back unless you are very, very tall. And if you're shorter you need the back taken in a little. You need a low neckline and far less volume, more like these styles (in some instances the necklines aren't low enough so bear that in mind) :

o http://www.shopstyle.com/actio.....=140841484

o http://shop.nordstrom.com/S/30.....JdETOWtPCA

o http://www.shopstyle.com/actio.....=125543518

o http://www.jcrew.com/AST/Brows.....73uCZWhhoA

o http://www.neimanmarcus.com/st....._sku=T2EY4

o http://www.asos.com/countryid/.....ID2WI8XMcQ

Perhaps you've experimented with these types of styles too and you still didn't like the silhouette because it felt wrong and foreign. OR, you needed to get used to yourself in straighter lines. Either way, I love that you tried :0)

elpgal

Veteran

If you lay the dress flat, how do the seams in your dress look, Maya? Perhaps, Kari's dress is cut with seams running straight down?

Maya

Veteran

There are no seams on my dress. I'll double check but I think it's just one piece of fabric (minus the ruffles).

Michelle

(website)

Veteran

I don't have a single theory to put on the table to answer your question, Kari, but just wanted to say I enjoy your posts so much and am so glad you're back on the forum. Your posts tend to be thought-provoking, beautifully explained or frequenstly both!

LoP

Veteran

Great post, Kari! You have a very similar experience to mine. I might be a bit taller than you (5'10''), but I think we have similar figure in general.

I don't know why the few that I have work. It might be structured shoulders and slightly narrower hem. (Example: http://www.legacyofpearl.com/T.....ne-8082473)

JuliaInGermany

Kari, could it be that you are more curvy at the hips than Maya is? It seems to me that you go in and out more while Maya's hips are slimmer compared to her bust making her a bit more triangle-y.

I think that a sack-dress totally obscures your waist and also the curve between your hips and your thighs (which are your assets and should be shown off). It just gives the impression that your tummy and thighs are bigger than they are. On Maya a similar dress skims past the waist and hips making them look lean and streamlined. I think the point is to show off the slimmest part of the body instead of hiding it. Could that be an explanation?

I have the same issues with my maternity empire waist dress. You'd think that's a good look for a pregnant woman, but not for me. It hangs from my tummy, obscuring my slim legs and making me look gigantic from the side. If I wear something that goes "in" under the bump I look so much slimmer.

BTW, I love that blue dress on you. I wish I had your curves!

crwilson

Veteran

I love your post Kari - and it makes me think that I had better take a side-view picture of myself in my voluminous dresses. You look AMAZING in the other dresses you posted. I keep thinking that there must be a way of making the volume trend work, but it's so tricky, and you look so good in fitted clothes, that it might not be worth the search for the perfect voluminous dress, especially if it's not a look that you love.

malcontent

Kari, I agree with your assessment. The voluminous dresses you posted obscure your gorgeous figure. I do think a full-volume dress is very hard to wear for anyone curvy in the bustline, though there are exceptions. If you felt good in the dresses you posted, I would encourage you to wear them. But, of course, you know that there are better silhouettes for you and feel relatively frumpy in those.

I believe Maya made the point that not everyone dresses with the hourglass ideal in mind and that volume can make a more architectural statement. And that's certainly a perspective to think about. However, I am one of those women who prefers to keep the hourglass silhouette in mind while dressing. I don't feel that I have the type of body that works with more intellectual fashion, in any case.

Rose

I love this post! THANK YOU Kari. For one- I am a scientist and I like data-- here in this post we have data (e.g. photos for comparison, from several angles). Love it. Secondly- I can identify with your statement that volume doesn't work on you, I feel the same way.. photos of me in those dresses would look identical, and I would argue it is the bust line that makes all the difference (tent effect) except that Maya posted that photo of her in a sak-like dress and it did not have as much of the tent effect, which is puzzling to me.. I have learned (through YLF and through many of your posts Kari) that I look so much better in fitted, structured clothing. I do hope to bend the rules one day and try volume (and other silhouettes) so I may give Angie's dress suggestions (above) a whirl if the opportunity arises.

Maya

Veteran

Not puzzling, bustline has nothing to do with it. I swear! I dont know if the skeptics will ever believe me but I will take a side view of my blue sack dress when I get home and prove it.

If you have the right bra and neckline, volume is fine on a full bust. This dress was just not cut well for Kari. It is more problematic in the back than anywhere else, and is entirely TOO voluminous, and too long. It might work on a very tall gal in heels but that's it.

Rose

Maya-- I soooo look forward to you proving it to me!!
I can't wait to see your photos of the sack dress as "evidence". I have to admit I thought you looked really good in the sack dress photo(s?) you recently posted. I don't have a volume or sack dress to show otherwise I would take and post photos too.