So I’ve got a bit obsessed with a brand recently which seem to fit me really nicely and is really flattering but I have to admit my terminology on clothing isn’t the greatest so I’m never quite sure what keywords to use when trying to find more.
the common features of the dresses I really like are:
- Fitted bodice and a mildly structured bust
- A band that runs around the body, under the bust but is structured band with the skirt starting from the bottom of it
- Knee or midi length, waist length, unpleated, gently flared circle skirt
- Generally rather structural or heavy fabric, not flowy and loose.
I have at least two that fits this description generally although with very different bodice styles - one has elbow length sleeves, a v-shaped back and a high neckline where the other is capped sleeves, a full back and a lower neckline.
They have elements of skater dresses (which I also really like) and tea dresses but don’t seem to be exactly those… I think tea dress is by far the closest I’ve been able to use, at least for the light blue one. I think the brand categorises similar items as knee or midi dresses but not much beyond those broad categories (and these ones aren’t sold any more from what I can see).
I’m using pics from the vinted listings as they are better pics than I’ve managed to take of them (and I’m still a bit scared of posting pics of me online…). Annoyingly they look pretty awful on hangers and in these photos but look great when worn…
I’ve asked friends but not really come up with a great word for them that we all agree on.
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Besides “skater dress”, there might not be a good unified term. The skirts are A-line. A band that hits right below the bust can be called an empire waist.
Generally, I find that trying ro search a particular term for a style often falls short. Filtering by desired features (mini/midi/maxi or pencil/a-line/pleated, for example) can help. Dresses come in so many shapes.
Yeah that’s kind of what I’m starting to think, just frustrating when you want to filter a bunch of things into one rather than scrolling endlessly on vinted in a broad category. I can identify a lot of the constituent parts (thanks Great British Sewing Bee) but its the whole I struggle with.
My friend found the term I needed. “Fit and flare” dresses!
A fit and flare dress is a dress silhouette featuring a fitted upper body (the “fit”) and a full skirt (the “flare”).[1]
Like the A-line silhouette, fit and flare dresses feature a fitted upper body and a wide hem. Both silhouettes flatter a wide variety of body types. The difference between the styles is that the fit and flare necessarily includes a fitted waistline while the A-line silhouette does not