Bright dress is bright.
91 of 250
- Pink sleeveless dress (last seen here) from Ann Taylor Loft– $25 on sale
- Green bracelet from somewhere, circa the 20th century
- Pendant necklace, a recent gift from my fabulous nieces and sister-in-law
- Purple peep toe pumps (last seen here) from Next via Filene’s Basement– $15
There’s nothing like a good plunge bra, amirite or amirite? I went ahead and ordered this one from 6pm.com, as planned. (For those wondering, the 32G was the best fit.)
Plunge bras are one solution to a dress or top that is a little lower-cut than usual. Of course, if that’s too much skin, you can always wear a camisole underneath. But here’s another idea: take your top or dress up at the shoulder. There’s a good chance it’s too low because, well– you’re short. Or you have a short torso. It took me a lot longer than it should have to figure that out.
You know, it’s amazing to me how looooong everything is nowadays. It’s true that I’m “petite,” but at 5′2-1/2″ I’m no more than 2 inches shorter than the average American woman, and still pretty firmly within the bell curve. But all of a sudden, I’m trying on pants that flop past the ends of my feet and I can’t find a tank top that doesn’t cover half my booty. (I blame low-rise jeans.)
Is this a recent trend, or am I just now noticing it? Hmmmm… More on this story as it develops.
Related posts:
Lurker commenting for the first time because, as a tall girl with a long torso (extra vertebrae! I’m a mutant!) I have to say I appreciate that things are longer now. Think about it: it’s a lot easier to shorten something than it is to somehow make it longer.
Could you maybe do a post on how to find a good tailor? I’ve got a few dresses I need to be taken up in the shoulders and bust areas.
True, true. And I would love to know how to find a good tailor. I’m not sure if I’ve decided to allow an alterations loophole for my $250 budget this year, but I could sure use a few. I’m incredibly jealous of my friend, T, who is shaped much like me and has a fabulous tailor in Brooklyn that charges something like $12 to take a dress in at the waist, $7 to hem it.
I have a pretty long torso and up until recently, everything was short on me. As in, barely reached the top of my pants. Finally, now that they’re making longer shirts, I actually have normal-length clothing. I feel your pain (even if in reverse).
I hear that. You know what we really need– for basically every item of clothing to come in petite, average and tall lengths at every size. I’ll tell you right now, it’s not easy being petite, but there are even fewer “tall” lines out there.
I’ve got it both ways–long torso (I have an extra vertebrae too, how bout that?!) and [relatively] short legs. It would be ok if I was the kind that liked to show off my midriff, but most of my life I’ve been trying to pair the longest shirts I can find (usually meaning oversized) with a good pair of 12P high-waisted pants. Personally, I think our pants should be sized more like men’s–waist/hip/inseam measurements instead of amorphous sizes. And don’t get me started about trying to find dresses where the waist is actually at my waist and the bust is actually at my bustline (at the same time even!)!
Yes, mlshiira! With all my bra sizing posts, I have been thinking about this issue… As crazy as bra sizes are, to my mind, they’re waaaay more consistent (across brands) than clothing sizes. I think a big part of that is, well, two-fold–
1) They use “real numbers” like 32, 36, 40– this doesn’t make them absolutely consistent (if you’ve ever shopped for men’s pants you know that all 32-waist pants are not actually 32″), but it helps to keep them a little bit honest.
2) There are *more* bra sizes across similar populations, because each bra size takes into consideration at least two measurements– ribcage and boob size. That is, for people with 32″ ribcages, there is theoretically an almost limitless number of bra sizes– 32AA, 32A, 32B, 32C, 32D, 32DD, 32E, 32F, etc.
But for people with 32″ waists, it’s not like, in a given clothing line, there are just as many pant sizes. If you’re lucky, you might have your choice of a Size 10 regular, petite or tall. If you’re really, really lucky, at a place like Ann Taylor Loft, for example, a given pant might also come in two or three “fits”– essentially differential sizing based on hipspring and/or rise, etc. (ATL sometimes offers the same pant in an Ann, Julie and Marisa fit, which vary in “curviness.” Banana Republic does this to some extent, as does Gap, etc.) So a Size 10 might have three to six sizing options AT THE ABSOLUTE MOST, but usually only has one, maybe two (10 and 10P)– especially when it comes to tops and dresses.
I’d like to see a sizing system a lot more like bras or men’s pants, but that will mean a tradeoff, because it definitely is more expensive to manufacture clothing that way. Still, even cheap old me would pay 20-50% more for clothing that’s much more likely to fit. Because, really– think of the time savings in the dressing room! And the reduced or eliminated cost of having to return things ordered online! Even if clothing were made in more sizes as I’m proposing, they wouldn’t be perfect. Bra sizes aren’t, either. But when I am a 32 or 34 100% of the time, and an F or FF about 90% of the time, I do a lot less guesswork when ordering bras than if I were trying to figure out what size dress to order, and I’m much more likely to be satisfied. I would LOVE to know that I’m either going to be a “6-short-curvy,” “6-regular-curvy,” “8-short-curvy” or “8-regular-curvy,” in a top or a dress. Even though that’s four possible sizes, it’s a lot fewer than a 4, 4P, 6, 6P, 8, 8P, 10 or 10P (and that’s if I even have all those options). Not to mention, if something were actually cut “short and curvy,” how much more likely it would be to actually fit me!
*sigh*
A girl can dream.
This dress color pops on you. It is definately a show stopper!
Thanks, cutandsew! It’s a whole lotta bright, but I kinda love it.
[...] break up the expanse of a looong top for women with shorter [...]
[...] sleeveless dress (last seen here) from Ann Taylor Loft– $25 on [...]
[...] peep toe pumps (last seen here) from Next via Filene’s Basement– [...]