It’s a Wrap!
Last month we spoke about the return of good tailoring, and the current trend for using fabric & cut to make the very best of our figures: if we’re clever, we can showcase our curves and angles in the best possible light. For some, severe tailoring looks & feels fabulous. But for others it’s just too much; and sometimes it’s just not a practical lifestyle choice. For these people, there’s a great alternative: The Wrap Dress.
Introduced in 1972 by US designer, Diane von Furstenberg, the wrap dress has fallen in & out of favour over the decades and been adopted by such fashion luminaries as Princess Diana, Jerry Hall & possible-princess-in-waiting, Kate Middleton. While occasionally ‘high fashion’, it has remained a style staple to the present day.
Due to its design, the wrap dress lifts & separates the bust; it cinches the waist & creates an hourglass figure. In other words, it’s perfect for anyone with curves. And given that the average British woman is a size 16, it’s no wonder Trinny & Susannah continue to support this particular style of dress. They are, however, sticklers for ‘getting it right’, and advocate the use of the correct underwear for anything in a clingy fabric, saying Magic Underwear will ““suck you in and hoik you up quicker than any diet or exercise regime”
And the wrap dress can look fabulous on petite ladies too, but you have to choose more carefully. Go for styles with less fabric up top, or you could risk looking a little ‘empty’, but the good new is you can embrace the clingier, thinner fabrics that your curvier friend might want to avoid.
And for those of us (most of us!) who avoid dresses as we’re different sizes on top & bottom, this dress is different. The style of the dress means you can cinch it in to fit your shape. Making it right for you – exactly what this season is all about.
Available in lots of great colours & patterns this season, the wrap dress is a real winner!
Copyright October 2008 by Nicola Franklin
