Thursday, August 11, 2011

Is Banana Republic's new Mad Men line curve-friendly?

Ever since the announcement that Banana Republic would be offering a special, early 1960's style collection inspired by the TV show Mad Men, I think every curvy lady has been wondering, "will it be curve friendly?"

So, as soon as I found out the collection had come out, I rushed to my local Banana Republic to find out! My store didn't have everything, at least not yet, but here's what I found. (Sorry for the crappy cell phone photos... I didn't have my real camera with me!)


I'm wearing a size 4 in this photo. It fit pretty well, but then a sales lady handed me a skinny belt which cinched in the waist the rest of the way in without ruining the look of the dress and gave it a really nice look and fit! I quite liked this dress and may go back and get it at some point.


Ummm... need I say more?


Since it was the smallest size they had under like a 12, I optimistically went for my 'waist size'... 0. Surprise! It actually fit! Unlike the blue begonia dress it had a little bit of stretch, but it was still very tailored feeling. The lining was super super soft. I have wanted a dress like this for... oh I don't know... years. The perfect lace little white dress. I even bought one like it from Bravissimo a while back on eBay, before I knew how badly they would fit me, but of course it looked awful. But this was really nice.  I have seen enough fashion bloggers style their own to know it would be endlessly versatile whilst being soft, summery, and feminine. It flattened me out a little bit from the side, but not too bad and I think a different bra would help with that. I will definitely be getting this one!



Ok, totally not my style. but I know some of you will love it and with the belt to cinch it in at the waist, it's a pretty good fit.

I thought this pretty silk dark blue shirt was part of the collection when I grabbed it, but as you can see, epic fail as that's as far as it would button. It was also too big for my waist, despite being a size 0. Sigh. But I really liked this pretty black skirt. Very professional looking but also curvy bum friendly. (also size 0 and a great fit at the waist!) If this whole outfit could have fit me, I would have paired it with an artsy necklace and shoes and worn it to interviews or other times I wanted to look professional. It somehow felt very 'artist-dresses-up' and I liked that.


Ok, 1) SOOOO not my color, ick. And 2) massive at the waist. The second photo shows it held in.


So, as you can see, the collection was a bit hit or miss for us hourglassy, curvy ladies, but there was definitely a more waist tailored silhouette than most clothes. I thought that the more curve friendly pieces were quite nice, though. I definitely had my doubts but I was pleasantly surprised. i would love to hear other busties' thoughts on the collection if you have a chance to try it on. I will probably also be going back and trying s few other things on, as well as to get that white dress. (And maybe this time I can remember to bring my nice camera!) :-D

What do you think? Will you be trying any of the pieces from the collection?

Tuesday, August 9, 2011

Outfit post: Biubiu Summer City watercolor dress!

So, I got a new Biubiu order! Since I've already done my main review, this time I'm going to be secretive and show you the new clothes as I wear them, in outfit posts. :-) I am also adding a Biubiu tag to posts, so if you filter by that then you will be able to see all the outfits with Biubiu clothing in them!

I know this dress is called Summer City, but in my head I think of it as "the watercolor dress." In photos it struck me more as a big floral print, but in person I feel like it really looks a lot like a watercolor painting. Very pretty. :-)

At first, I didn't order this dress, thinking I'd be good and just try out the Indigo City. But then I regretted not getting it once it was too late. :-( Then, when I got my package, surprise! Kinga sent it to me anyway as a thank you for helping promote Biubiu. Thank you Kinga! :-) It may actually be my favorite thing I got, too. :-)


As far as the fit goes, it's pretty perfect- It reminds me of Trashy Diva. It's quite snug, so if you are smaller than me you could still wear it, but definitely size up if you are bigger than me, either in bust or in waist, or if you like a looser fit.



Dress: Biubiu
Necklace: Gift from boyfriend (it's a real butterfly wing!)
Shoes: Spring Step
Unders: Ewa Michalak halfcup and Hanky Panky :-D


Tuesday, August 2, 2011

Guest Post: Katja's review of Biubiu clothing

(Hi, everybody! Katja found out about Biubiu through my blog and when the clothes arrived, she was delighted with them! I thought it would be fun to have her write her own review for the blog, so you can see how they work on another beautiful Thin and Curvy lady! Click here to see my review of Biubiu. Here's Katja's review!)

My First BiuBiu Order

After month of depressing orders with Pepperberry and trying to squeeze my assets into clothes that for some reason have become bigger in the body but smaller in the bust, I stumbled across the Polish company BiuBiu and contacted Kinga to see what size I would have to order in their clothes.

I sent her my shopping list by email and she told me which clothes I would have to size up in and got everything ready for me as she thought would suit and fit me. To be honest I was a small bit worried the clothes might not fit, as the advice was only over email. But then the (big) parcel came and I could not believe my eyes. The clothes look so much more beautiful than in the pictures and every single item fit like a glove, and did not need to be stitched in the bust area like my Pepperberry clothes for showing too much cleavage.



I especially loved the Fuego in all the different colours. It is so slimming and looks great even if your stomach is currently not as flat as you would like it to be.

Another of my favourite tops is Delgado Zabajone which looks incredibly stunning with a pair of jeans. I find the clothes to be very good quality, they wash well and compared to Pepperberry clothes that I found to easily rip apart lately and stitches to come off, I think that the BiuBiu clothes are of much better quality.


Even my partner said ( without being asked!!! ;-) ) that he thinks the BiuBiu clothes flatter my hourglass shape much better than PB.

My favourite dresses have got to be: Stone Town and the Red Town.  they look incredibly sophisticated and just hug your figure and make you feel a million dollars.

The most compliments I got for this dress: Black Polka Dot. Again, very flattering and sophisticated, gorgeous material and just makes the most of your figure.

I am officially in love with BiuBiu and can't wait for my second order to arrive.

In PB clothes I am supposed to be an 8Really Curvy, and BiuBiu I am usually a 36b/bb.