Bump-less dresses

October 7, 2009 10:04 AM

Please help me find some nice dresses that work on a not-so-apple-shaped body!

I'm having a tough time finding dresses that look good on my body. I've never had hips or a defined waist, but since my pregnancies my belly has gone from 'never-quite-flat' to 'permanently look about 3 months pregnant'. I'm 5' 8" and otherwise have nice long legs, medium-to-large chest (38 C/D) and broad shoulders. I'm only 10-15 pounds overweight, but it's all sitting up front and center.

While I'm working on getting rid of the belly-fat, I've gotten quite good at picking slimming clothes for my body - V-necks and suit jackets etc, but however I try, I cannot find any dresses that look good.

For skirts, I tend to look for stretchy materials (w/a jacket over it) so the skirt won't look like a circus tent. But stretchy dresses are exactly the wrong thing for me - I look more pregnant than ever. Empire dresses also make me look pregnant, and simple sheaths look horrible. Wide straps are not good with my broad shoulders, and I don't like loud prints.

Googling advice for apple-shapes yields results that seem to be geared towards bigger women than I. Is there another body description for 'fairly evenly proportioned except for my belly'?

Bonus points for links to specific dresses that I can try on in person - I'm in CT w/access to most major brands.

posted by widdershins to clothing, beauty, & fashion (16 comments total)

I think you could mask a little bump in a dress that had a fairly high defined waitline (like at belly button level) and an A-line shape out from that waistline. maybe?
posted by WeekendJen at 10:18 AM on October 7

Wrap dresses? Especially with a cami underneath - the contrast will further distract from any belly issues.
posted by chesty_a_arthur at 10:24 AM on October 7

I feel your pain--I've never been pregnant but have gained some weight all in that area and got offered a seat on the train this week. Ouch!

I second wrap dresses, or faux wrap dresses as Weekend Jen linked to--I like these better than wrap dresses so I don't end up exposing more than I intended!

I also like dressing with some ruching or something at the belly (like this) hides rather than highlights.
posted by peanut_mcgillicuty at 10:41 AM on October 7

I think you should be looking for dresses in structured (woven not knit) fabrics in either a wrap style or a shirt-dress style.
Suggestions:
Shirt dress- my suggestion on this is to pair it with a wider belt to define your waist better
Trench dress
Ruffle wrap dress
More formal v neck dress

If you say whether you're looking for formal, day, work, etc. that might help us find the right things for you. Also, do you like colors or prints? You can do both with any shape, but avoid small prints if you're looking to camoflage your shape.
Good v neck work or evening dress
Black, wide belt dress
posted by rmless at 10:45 AM on October 7

The problem with most wrap dresses is that they cinch at the waist - exactly where I don't want them to be tight. I don't have big hips to provide a waist line - instead the dress hangs straight down and makes my belly look even bigger...

I'm horrified at the thought of wearing a belt! Seriously? Doesn't that just call attention to the width of my waist?

Solid colors are my favorite. Busy prints are my least favorite. I'm happy with tasteful (not necessarily small) prints in between.

And re the type of dress - any and all, really. I'd love to find a nice dress for work and I would also like to find one for the holidays. And if I somehow find a style I love, I'd get casual ones too.

Thank you all so much for your help so far!
posted by widdershins at 11:01 AM on October 7

Another option is to wear a vest or jacket over a dress like this. (She has more hips than you, but this look would work well with your figure too.)
A wide belt will help define a waist (even when there isn't one), and take the eye away from seeing a straight shape that has a bulge in the middle. It becomes a straight shape that has a black (or whatever) band in the middle. See this girl. Without that belt, she'd look like 2 stacked rectangles, but the belt adds interest and shape and breaks up the look and you end up not noticing the small bulge underneath as much as you would if the sweater was only broken by the lines of her bust and bulge of belly.
This entry on how to conceal muffin-tops might interest you as well, though I'd recommend against the trapeze top because I think they make people look pregnant.
She also recommends many dress types for apple shapes which pretty much echo what has been said here.
posted by rmless at 11:26 AM on October 7 [1 favorite]

See, as someone with an ever-expanding waistline (thank you SO much, Wisconsin cuisine) I not only like wrap dresses and those nice forgiving knits but prefer the busy prints. I think they really take the emphasis off of any bumps or weird visible panty lines or anything like that. I'm not saying giant florals or anything, but a sort of allover pattern in, say, black and white works well.

Here are two pictures of me that show what I mean. This isn't a wrap dress, but it's similar -- I'm kind of limited because of my ginormous rack. In the first picture, you can tell I'm kinda nursing a baby bump without the baby. In the second, my stomach is hidden by my dashing boyfriend, but look at those gams! See how it diverts the attention? And it also sort of camouflages the fact that I'm built like a linebacker. I think things that are solid colors, particularly deep ones, make more of a contrast and draw attention.

Meanwhile, that dress is super ultra comfy, and everyone told me how great I looked.

Also, I don't know how big you are, but you might try looking at igigi.com, which caters to plus-sized women. That doesn't mean that you have to be a size 28 to shop there (I think they start at a 12), but they make their clothes to fit curvy bodies and bodies with a bit of squish to them. I bought an AMAZING dress there that just skims over my body with a solid-colored knit underlay and then a more formal lace layer on top. The money you spend there is totally worth it.
posted by Madamina at 11:38 AM on October 7

Thank you guys. I may actually order the dress peanut_mcgillicuddy linked to - the print is a bit busier than I normally like but maybe it's time to move out of my comfort zone... I like the black dress in rmless's first post too. I'll post back if I get them.

If anyone else has more advice, please keep it coming. Thank you MeFites!
posted by widdershins at 1:27 PM on October 7

I'm horrified at the thought of wearing a belt! Seriously? Doesn't that just call attention to the width of my waist?

As others have said, I find that a lovely WIDE sash belt can be just the thing, at least in my experience camouflaging early pregnancy.
posted by redfoxtail at 1:55 PM on October 7

I'm a plus size apple shape (and fellow belt-hater, who remains unconvinced). "Apple" shapes can also sometimes use advice under the headings of "square" and "rectangle," so you might want to search those terms, too.

Definitely try Googling "waterfall front dress". I bought a dress of that type over the summer and I LOVE it. The style is similar to this, but with sleeves.
posted by gnomeloaf at 3:53 PM on October 7

sSomething to look for is dresses with a high waist, but a wide waistband and full skirt underneath. A dress that's nicely fitted around the ribs below the bust and above the waist can be very flattering.
posted by 5_13_23_42_69_666 at 6:09 PM on October 7

Personally, I would not order the dress peanut_mcgillicuty linked to. I don't think you really want anything with spandex in it. It will cling to your belly.

I am apple shaped and I went dress shopping recently and found the following:
1. Spanx. Buy some. This mitigates some of the problems with the belly bulge. You need the half-bodysuit that goes up to under your boobs.
2. Take structured fabrics over jersey knits and other potentially clingy knits. Anything I tried with spandex in the skirt area was a big fat No.
3. Nthing wide belt, I had a wide belt that sat 2"-3" above the navel that worked very well.
4. Try contrasting top and bottom (solid top, print bottom) to break up the line and provide a bit of contrast to hide the belly. I did this and it worked great.

Think along the lines of these sorts of things. Those are Jessica Howard dresses, check and see if the skirts have spandex before you order and avoid all things spandex in the bottom. Top is OK.
posted by crazycanuck at 9:21 PM on October 7

gnomeloaf, thank you! I had no idea what those types of dresses are called and I love them too. Now I know what to google for.

From rmless's links yesterday I saw that Macy's has a 'shop by bodytype' section and I came up with these three: 1) black and brown bold print, 2) beaded top, and 3) waterfall black dress. I think I'm going to order #3 - every girl needs a LBD, and I haven't had one in a long time. My local Macy's has dress #2, so I'm going to try that one on today - that one will probably hide my tummy the least, but it does have some reducing features: a) the beading draws the eye to the chest, the legs and the wrists - away from the belly, b) the waist is black, c) it's lined so shouldn't be too clingy. We'll see. I'll report back to let you know how they work out...
posted by widdershins at 5:48 AM on October 8

hey looking at the dresses you picked, there was another there which would be good too. This is really nice, and This has the high wide waistband that would work too
posted by 5_13_23_42_69_666 at 10:14 AM on October 8

Ooh, 5_, I really like that first dress! Maybe I'll get both the black dresses and see which one I like best. Shipping is free right now, and I think I may be able to return directly to the store as a Macy's cardholder... Thank you!
posted by widdershins at 12:21 PM on October 8

OK, here is my sad update:

Dress #2, beaded top - saw it at the store and didn't even bother trying it on - it was not very attractive in person.
Dress #3, waterfall black dress and the dress suggested by 5_13 etc - they looked horrible on me! I looked like I was wearing a circus tent in both. I am so sad and have once again given up on dresses for now. Maybe after I lose another 5 lbs or so I'll have more success. : (
posted by widdershins at 11:55 AM on October 20