The one thing about me and my personal style that has changed dramatically since my whole Weight Loss Saga started is that I am in love with dresses. This is mostly because somewhere along the way I shifted from being a definite pear shape to being more of an hourglass shape, but it’s also because finding a pair of pants that fits my big butt and stubby legs without causing me to spend the day fidgeting to make things fit right is pretty much impossible. Therefore in the Pants vs. Dresses debate, I have come down firmly on the side of Dresses.
The problem is that even finding good dresses that fit right is still a problem, because I’m a weird size. I’m a 14/16 but in today’s world of women’s sizes that can mean roughly 15 million things. So when Wendy Bix emailed us and said “Hey, Igigi wants to send us clothes to wear at Weetacon! Who’s in?” I said “Oh hells yeah!” and started picking out dresses left and right. And then I promptly forgot which dresses I requested because man alive, i was busy and shit.
So imagine my surprise when Wendy gathered us to explain that the lovely women behind Igigi were beyond generous and had sent us not one piece of clothing apiece, but instead multiple pieces…2, 3, 4 items to wear! And KEEP!! And next thing I knew we had gone from excitedly jumping around in the parking lot to frantically changing clothes together in the stairwell so we could put on a fashion show for the rest of the Weetacon revelers. (Please note: yes, I got to keep the clothes I am about to discuss. No, I was not told what to write and yes, these are my honest opinions.)
The first dress I wore was the Tres Chic Dress in a lovely black & white pattern. I love, love, love patterns on dr
esses; they distract the eye and hide any lumpy bits you might be trying to hide. This dress takes it a bit further and adds a princess knot that makes the front of the dress the perfect tummy cover and the cowl neck draws the eye up. I honestly wasn’t sure how I would like the cowl neck; it’s super tough for me to find one that doesn’t make me look dumpy. But this one hit just right, and I think the wider neckline kept it from making me look thick around the chin. The longer sleeves and modest neckline make this a perfect work dress, and the fact that it’s fully lined means no need for slips or Spanx. (I actually ended up wearing this to work my first day back from Weetacon since we had no time to do laundry!) Two thumbs up for sure on the Tres Chic!
The second dress I wore was the one that made Kevin drool; it was the Jackie 2-in1 in a lovely, lovely shade of royal blue. I love this dress. LOVE. BIG GIANT LOVE. Not only does it hug my curves as though it was made specifically for me, it has pockets! And can be worn multiple ways! The detachable belt can be worn aqua side up or blue side up, or it can be left behind entirely. Sleeves rolled up to show the aqua accent, sleeves rolled down or heck you can even wear the belt as a scarf (which would be a good way to cover up the top a little bit). This is definitely a dress I would grab for a night out; those pockets would be perfect to hold ID, lipstick and money (and yes, phone!). I went ahead and wore it to work but I will admit that I felt a little over exposed; I ended up putting some double sided tape on my bra to hold the top a little more closed. Next time I might try doing the scarf trick. Another two thumbs up plus a star because of the pockets.
Last but not least in my own personal lineup was the Carmella Lace dress, which quite a few of us got to wear.
This is an absolutely lovely dress with tons of quality lace and little details like different lace edging around the neckline and satin belt. The cut of the skirt is one I would not have thought I would like on myself since it was somewhat trumpety and that shape always makes my hips look ginormous. But this one didn’t do that. What the Carmella DID do was confuse the hell out of me. It is a true wrap dress, and the satin belt was long enough to wrap around more than once so I wasn’t sure where I should tie it. I tried it on the side but then it was too loose and kept busting wide open; once I tied it in the back it stayed shut but then I felt like there was way too much ribbon hanging out over my butt. I did finally make it fit me right but I think I need to try it on again when I have more time to fiddle with it than I did that night. I have a gala to go to in September and I think this dress will work well for it once I finally figure it out! So one and a half thumbs for the Carmella; that might get bumped up to two once I know how to wear it. (I think I might have been able to figure out the Venice Dress more easily but alas, that one is sold out in my size.)
So here’s the very best part of all this generosity that Igigi has shown to me and so many other women at Weetacon….I get to pass on some of that generosity! Yuliya has given me the opportunity to give a commenter a $50 gift certificate to Igigi so that you guys can feel pretty too! (PrettiER, because my commenters are the prettiest already. All three of you!) All you have to do is tell me which piece you are lusting after and where you want to wear it, and then I will use some fandangled random number generator (probably random.org) to pick one of you to give a piece of Igigi. I’m even going to give you a couple weeks to do some window shopping before posting your comment. Winner will be announced on April 8th (because I know for sure I will post an entry then!) Yay! Contest! Pretty stuff to wear!
(Big thanks to Jorie Tappa for taking the lovely pictures in this entry!)
