Outfit post: Spaaaaaaace caaaaaats!

It's Unsuitable Deadline Day purchase time again! I have a list of things that would be genuinely useful for my wardrobe: a black jersey dress, chestnut brogues or loafers, plain navy top, white bra that actually fits… so what do I buy? A dress designed for someone fifteen years younger and four stone lighter than I am.

But look: space cats! It's got little astronaut cats coming out of space capsules, and other mogs in party hats celebrating.

This is a Lindy Bop dress, and I know from other bloggers that their quality has a reputation for being patchy, but I couldn't resist a dress covered in cats dressed as astronauts, and as it was just £19 in the sale I decided to give it a go.

The good
Well, duh! Space cats! This print is ace.

Lindy Bop does larger sizes. I can live with brands that only do smaller sizes – I simply don't look at their websites – but do get really wound up by brands that do plus sizes but only a handful of designs, so you go to look at their sites and see loads of lovely clothes, then have to click on the 'plus size' tab and see a mere handful of designs in larger sizes, and not the nicest ones.

The bad
The bust seam cuts across my bust. I'm a G-cup, and (I believe) the British high street cuts for around a C-cup. Compare a pint bowl with a half-pint bowl. Same shape, wider top, right? In torso terms, big boobs start lower. There's less of a gap between waist and bust. This dress was clearly cut for smaller boobs than mine. As it is, my mighty mams force the dress into the shape they want it to be, but that seam still looks odd, and I suspect this would be the case with other LB dresses. In their defence, this is not a problem unique to this firm.

Padded cups. Nothing like the shape of my actual bust – though, as with the seam issue, 'the girls' do their own thing there and force it to comply. Possibly the padding's there for people who want to wear this dress without a bra, though as someone who spent the late 90s wearing waify slip dresses, I believe if your boobs are small/firm enough to go braless you don't need padded cups, and if they're not small/firm enough to go braless, a couple of flimsy bits of foam and no actual support does sod-all good. In case you're feeling nosy, I wear a bra under my dress.

Sooo... How do I feel about the Space Cats? 
I'm on the fence on this one. As I said, I love the print. I can't send the dress back because Ziggy, who loves shredding paper, attacked the returns form. I'm tempted to take it to an alterations place in Bath and get it turned into a skirt, as it's the top half that's problematic. I got round that today by plonking a cardigan over the top. I'd order from Lindy Bop again, but I'd get a skirt, not a complete dress. Or order dresses knowing I was going to turn them into skirts.

Comments

  1. It's a shame about the size issues, but it looks fabulous with the cardigan. I think turning it into a skirt is the best option, then you get to enjoy it.

    I have many Lindy Bop items and have fallen into a routine of having found a dress style that fits nicely, I go with that one, as even Andy pointed out, the design may be the same but the colour, pattern and how you dress it up, makes it a different dress. I like how they will keep hold of a dress style, and just change the print, it makes it so much easier, I know my favourite design will always fit.

    My biggest issue with their dresses is length and often the waistline sits higher than I would like, but I wear a lot of dresses with cinch style belts, so that covers that little issue. I like the border print dresses like yours, but they do look awfully short on the website. How tall are you?

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    Replies
    1. Actually, you're spot in with the issue being a height one - I'm 5'5", so very average, and the 'waist' starts at the bottom of my ribcage. That could account for some of the poor fit of the bodice.

      It is great when you find a style you like, and their prints are so nice and distinctive it wouldn't be obvious the dresses were all the same shape.

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  2. I absolutely love the space cat print, but what a pity the fit is not as it should be. It would indeed make a fabulous skirt. I can't abide a dress with padded cups, and I wonder if they are comfortable on anyone at all. I bought a vintage bathing suit with padded cups, which made ly bust feel and look all wonky. xxx

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  3. At that price, you'd still be getting a bargain turning it into a skirt. I sympathise with your dress issues-I've got tits from hell.

    It does look adorable in the photo, and that's a nice cardigan too. I don't know if you could remove the padding, but that might be worth having a dressmaker do.

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  4. It is indeed frustrating about the fit difference between styles, I like Melanie now know a few styles that work for me and I stick to those. Sounds like a conversion to a skirt is a good idea to save the space cats! X

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  5. You look gorgeous, Mim.
    That is an epic print and a stupendous cardi, too.
    The fitting issues sound a bit of a pig. I think altering the dress into a skirt sounds like a top plan considering Ziggy's already decided that you're keeping it.
    Good luck with the deadline. xxx

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  6. I remember you talking about this dress...I have the same bust seam issues, particularly on vintage dresses and I never try on modern princess style ones cos I know that I'll either have a mono-boob or they'll look like two flattened breakfast baps! Nice.

    I'd go with turning it into a skirt, as I think that'll work well and you'll won't have to worry about whats happening to 'up top'!

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  7. Great print, I'm not surprised you wanted it! I realised that if I'm buying clothes online I tend to get skirts as they are more likely to fit then dresses with their too small top halves. Turning it into a skirt is a good plan though.

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  8. It looks lovely, Mim!

    I didn't realise you had a cardigan on until I read down the post...

    I think if it is uncomfortable/ill fitting on top (been there many times - I'm an F cup - plus I've got a wide back and shoulders) then turning it into a circle skirt is a really good idea.

    Space cats are fab!

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  9. I have similar problems. My 49 inch bust is what I have to choose my wardrobe around. Then once the bust is accommodated the shoulders don't fit and so on.

    Still, that print & silhouette look fab on you!

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  10. What a fabulous dress , Mim. The print is a delight and it looks great with your cardi. I can so empathise with the boobs thing. Mine are ginormous and all the seams for things end up in wonky places too. What is it with pattern drafting for busts? If you were covering someone's a@$e you would draft for a 3-dimensional shape. Surely it is not too hard to realise that bigger boobs need longer length and that the bust point is lower down? Rant, rant , rant!! This is why I sew, or at least would sew if I ever got the time. I think that you look fabulous anyway. Skirt seems like a great option, especially with that cardi and would give you the option of lots of coloured tops. Xx

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  11. Im not to crazzy about lindy bop myself, sometihng about the fit is just off on me, but I think it looks good on you and the prints are lots of fun

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  12. I was thinking of buying some stuff from them but this is good to know about the bust issue which I also have with mainstream shop dresses. I might get a couple of their cat themed skirts though!

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