I am not Forever 21’s target demographic, I don’t do cheap and cheerful fast fashion and I didn’t want to be 21 when I WAS 21, so being 21 in eternum is more Kafka than cool for me, but good on them for at least allowing fatties in their store. Yes, they have their plus sizes tucked way in the Corner of Shame next to the maternity gear, but hey, at least we’re encouraged to share the same air as the straight-sizers.
And yet –as perhaps I’ve mentioned for the mazillionth time– I’m about to spend a month on the beaches of Mexico, so I want easy, effortless dressing that won’t break my heart if they get ripped off me in a fit of hot hot Latin passion by some fiery young thing with dark, smoldering eyes, lips like two very naughty pillows and the lightest dusting of freckles across his taut, bronzed* …wait, where am I? Dorothy? Rose? Sophia? Where’s my cheesecake?
Anyway, I picked up this dress:
And yes, it’s styled for hell and the model, while pretty, is not a very good model but the bones of a good dress are there. It’s rayon (I like rayon for summer, not everyone does) and is partially lined. That was a pleasant surprise considering how many designers at higher price points still don’t bother to line their dresses.
It’s also an easy dress to posh up.
I added a nautical-themed Hermes scarf as a belt, another one in a coordinating color as a headband, a pair of handmade Christian Lacroix espadrilles and all of the sudden this $23 dress would be at home anywhere along the French Riviera.
This is why I always bang on about investing in accessories.
Yeah, the shoes and the two scarves clocked in at just about $400 each, but I’ll have them until I die and can wear the scarves in a million ways with a million outfits and one tactfully deployed luxe piece makes an outfit look rich, which an expensive dress with cheap accessories kills a look deader than a Kennedy hooker.
Oh, you’ll notice it’s got an open back.
One could, I suppose, just wear it with a regular bra if you don’t care about your bra straps showing, or toss on a cardi, which you’d want to do if you were going to wear it to work or dinner anyway, but I wanted to be able to wear it backless so I took a risk and picked up Sin Bra.
For the record I teeter between a 38 DD and DDD, depending on the bra. Good genes mean I don’t have any droop, but I’m still not keen on traipsing around unfettered. I love the Sin Bra.
Basically, for $10 you get 6 sets of film-thin surgical adhesive cut outs and “petals” which you use like so:
And they worked. It was light and secure and although it didn’t give me that Foam Cups of Impenetrable Doom look, it definitely gave me the support I needed without feeling weird or uncomfortable like the silicone cutlets do, plus they’re waterproof so you can wear them swimming.
I can’t say they’ll work for everyone, but they worked a mint for me. They get two thumbs (among other things) up from Miss Plumcake. If you have the need, go git you some.
*Nose, they’re on his nose
That scarf? To. Die. For.
Comment by Klee — June 14, 2011 @ 1:36 pm
Does moving the petals not hurt like a big ol’ hurty thing?
Comment by Margaret — June 14, 2011 @ 2:18 pm
I mean removing, of course. Stupid phone.
Comment by Margaret — June 14, 2011 @ 2:19 pm
@Margaret: Nope. I don’t have especially sensitive skin, but you just hold the skin taut and peel back not up and it’s just fine.
Comment by Miss Plumcake — June 14, 2011 @ 4:25 pm
Sigh, I turn 39 next week, my girls would be saying ‘hello’ to my knees…
Comment by Leah — June 14, 2011 @ 11:13 pm
Sigh, I turn 39 next week, my girls would be saying ‘hello’ to my knees… Trust me, NOT a pretty unfettered sight.
Comment by Leah — June 14, 2011 @ 11:14 pm
Doh!
Comment by Leah — June 14, 2011 @ 11:15 pm
Margaret, I’ve also heard that a little bit of oil (canola, olive, baby, whatever) on a cotton ball will help with painless removal of such things. Apparently it breaks down the adhesive.
Comment by The Accidental Tangoiste — June 15, 2011 @ 10:36 am
I just want to say how happy I am to see that they used a model who actually has normal, slightly saggy grown up woman breasts. I’m sick of seeing bras being sold by women who have no need for them.
Comment by Margo A — June 15, 2011 @ 2:17 pm
@Margo A: Right? That’s why I went with them. They’re a Spanish product, so I wonder if the slightly more relaxed Mediterranean attitude about not all body parts needing to be pneumatic affected their image choices.
@Tangoiste: You’re right. I’m not sure how effective it would be in the actual removal since it’s theoretically liquid-proof, but it couldn’t hurt and oil is the best way to remove any adhesive that remained on the breast.
Comment by Miss Plumcake — June 15, 2011 @ 2:49 pm
Ahaha, that explains the name. I figured it was probably the Spanish for “without,” but I quite enjoyed thinking of it as having more scandalous implications.
Comment by The Accidental Tangoiste — June 15, 2011 @ 4:41 pm