Outfitblogging: When there are only three possible answers to the question, “Hey, where did you get that?”
I’ve talked pretty extensively in the past about the fatshion scarcity one discovers once one has to shop over a particular size. There’s just not much out there. A corollary to this is that there’s always the real possibility of running into someone wearing the same thing as you.
This was much more a problem for me in Ye Old Clubgoing Days of Yore, and when Torrid was still fancifully edgy and goth-tinged. There were certain Torrid dresses I wouldn’t touch (who remembers the black stretch-cotton halters with the skull print in pink or purple? I do) because I knew I’d see them on every fat girl in the room. And I’ve got issues with playing twinsies with anyone unless it was intentionally planned in advance.
I ordered the dress above from Evans, and the irony of going international when I live in what is arguably the country with the best plus-size options in the world is not lost on me. But it is a rare case in which I could go out relatively assured that nobody else would have my outfit on. Folks may occasionally take umbrage at my penchant for layers or my accessory choices, but ultimately I’m not in a place where I get to just buy a dress and have the dress stand for itself. There are exceptions to this (dresses from eShakti are often plenty stylish enough as standalone garments) but often I find myself experimenting - or catalog whispering - in order to develop an outfit that looks interesting to me. When there are only three brick-and-mortar answers to the question, “Where did you get that?”, anyone aspiring to do more than allow their fatshion expression be dictated by Lane Bryant’s seasonal whims is forced to get creative.
Case in point: the Beth Ditto domino dress, which any fashionable fatty could spot a mile off and know what it was and where it came from immediately. I was really dubious this dress could be worked. The novelty print! The stretch knit! I’m being honest, and I’ve been a staunch defender of the Ditto/Evans collaboration. However, I’m happy to report I was wrong, as Natalie of Axis of Fat capably demonstrates here. She looks fabulous, and provides a nice illustration of one of my Fatshionista maxims: You can’t let plus-size fashion run you, kids. You gotta take control and bend it to your will.
And now, a quick report on my Evans-to-the-US experience, since I’ve only ordered from them once before, back when they first instituted US shipping: Order placement was smoother than it was last time; no more weird required fields that don’t apply to US addresses. Shipping was very fast. I was expecting to wait a couple weeks but my package reached me in Boston within six days of ordering - that’s less time than it sometimes takes me to receive stuff from the West Coast. The garment quality is… meh. It’s okay, but not great. I would put it a half-step down from Lane Bryant and more on a par with Target, truthfully. The fabric on the dresses I bought is quite thin, and neither are lined. That said, as the photo above illustrates, they do look fabulous on, and the fit is about what I’d expect. To account for the size difference, I went up two sizes, though I probably only needed to go up one, but I figured better to get something a bit too big that I can alter to fit, rather than have it arrive too small and be of no use to me at all.
I would probably order from Evans again if they had something really appealing, but for now this site is just a once-in-awhile diversion for me.
The domino dress is fully lined. I was quite pleased with its quality, actually. The fabric and fabrication is very nice, almost like real clothes. ;)
Hey, I’m Amy, and from the UK.
I will certainly agree with you about Evans. It’s one of 2 places I can actually shop in the UK (we have the worst plus size fashion selection ever!), and the prices are way over the odds for the cheap garment they send you. Most things don’t fit quite right and they definately aren’t my retailer of choice (I much prefer Simply Be).
I really wished I lived in the US, because Eshakti looks amazing, I checked it out the other day after seeing you were wearing some lovely clothes from there on your blog, and ahh, it is so my style! But alas, they won’t deliver to the UK! :(
Amy, http://fashionpiggy.blogspot.com/
I have no problem with Target’s quality. Everyone seems to bitch about it, but I have a fabulous charcoal gray pinstriped suit that I bought there nearly 7 years ago (charcoal gray pinstripes never go out of style), and except for a bit of color fade through washing, it’s great. It’s my favorite thing to wear in winter.
I know what you mean about limited options, though. (As I’m sure we all do.) At the moment I’m being heavily influenced by The Uniform Project: I’m wearing the same 4 or 5 plain cotton dresses (although unlike Sheena Matheiken’s, they aren’t identical!), and seeing how I can change them with accessories. I have been thrifting a LOT lately, to this end. Which has led me to discover a WONDERFUL local thrift store that has - YES! - plus sizes.
Oh I’m so jealous, I just love Evans! When I was living in Paris, I use to go to London every 3 or 5 months just for shopping, and Evans was one of my favourite spot (ok, it was actually my favourite one!) but…. they don’t deliver to New Zealand… Why….? Lame…
anyways… ‘lucky you are!
Sarah
~ Lolita of modern times ~
That dress is fabulous on you! Love the print, the color and style. Plus it has pockets! Yay for pockets on clothes.
The domino dress from Evans just doesn’t do anything for me but it does look wonderful on the much younger women posting it on LJ.
Losing the ability to shop easily has been, for me, one of the more frustrating parts of becoming heavier.
Having clothing that fits well and looks good really is hugely important to maintaining this idea that I’m pretty and cute and look good. Not being able to find my sizes (even though I’m ‘just’ an in-betweenie) and having clothing cut in absurd shapes that don’t come close to resembling my body is just…it’s driven me to tears a few times.
And I know I have more options than you do. What a sucky situation we find ourselves in with regards to clothing. Just makes you want to shake a couple of retail executives into sense. We’d by nice clothing if they made it in our sizes, damn it!
~Kali
www.brilliantmindbrokenbody.wordpress.com
I love your dress. I understand your quality complaints, but it looks absolutely fabulous on you. As sort of an imbetweenie, normally I just wear the largest normal sizes (8-12) which i can because I have long thin-ish legs but I have relatively large hips and a well quite large butt so a size 14 fits better in that region but is way too large in the waist. I am an extreme hourglass (40 28 40 or 41 28 41 depending on the day) and it is impossible to find clothes that fit so all my clothes are too small or too big. But ill stop complaining now cause I have it better than a lot of people. And good luck in further fatshion shopping:)
I haven’t got a picture to show it on an actual human being, but the Little Black Dress from Beth Ditto at Evans is *stellar*. Okay, it’s semi-stretch cotton w/cheap cotton lining, and for £45, I’d like to think I could get more for my money, but this is Britain. Cotton goods are always low on quality & high on price here.
That minor complaint aside, this is a magic dress. I am normally a great big square with boobs (can you say boobs here? Well, cleavage then): no hips, no bottom, just belly. This dress gives me shape where I need it, hides what I don’t, and the straps are just wider than bra straps. It is the only LBD I have ever seen that is actually sexy for a plus size woman. I almost bought two: one in my current size, and one down a couple of sizes. But I was out of money, see, so I couldn’t. Anyhow, I strongly recommend this dress and hope I’m not the only ridiculously excited fan: http://tinyurl.com/l92dxx (It’s actually cuter on a human.)
Just…wanted to rave and didn’t know where else to do it.