Success in summerdresses from a surprising source

When I saw the Paint Print Dress from Pepperberry, I knew I needed such dress: Fun pattern, sleeves, full skirt, knee length - what more could I wish for? So I went ahead and ordered it at full price (which I really try to avoid with Pepperberry!), and was super excited!

Well....

Not so impressive - the boob to waist ratio is definitely off (I got it in 18SC).
Maybe it is better with a belt?

Deffinitely better, but I fear that is not saying much. Besides, I really hate wearing belts, so my whole point of shopping bust-friendly is to get clothes that would render such unnecessary.

The neck line was really lovely, and quite modest, meaning I could probably wear this to work with tights. Though that brings me to another 'negative' point: Why so short? I'm 5'8"/173cm, so I wouldn't think I was above model-height, but on the model it was definitely knee length - On me, it's more like lower-thigh length. This would mean that I would want to wear tights or shorts under it, making it a bit less easy-to-wear for me.

Another crucial point, was the feel of the fabric. I didn't like it at all. Maybe I am very picky, because I felt let down by the quality of the fabric in my last pepperberry review as well. But once again, it really felt like cheap, stiff sheets to me. Sorry! It was also very wrinkled upon arrival, indicating that it would need to be ironed before each wear, which is tedious work.

It came in two layers, both of the same fabric:

Perhaps I am being too hard on Pepperberry: I've recently bought some summerdresses from Asos Curve. Mind you, despite the name "curve", it's not specifically a bust-friendly brand, so I would expect them to be less accomodating of my chest, but since they are also sooooo much cheaper, I would not hold them to as high a standard.

But look at these beauties:

Well, well, well! This is the Asos Curve Midi Dress in Pixilated Floral, in a size UK 20 (and it's on sale now, grr!). It's really nice jersey, that is nice and flowy and very comfy - because it is quite thin, it also easily has it sleeves pushed up, to make 3/4 sleeves rather than full length.

I am usually not so happy about elasticated waist-lines, but this one falls perfectly, and only reveals my figure, rather than any lumps and bumps.

It's a lot brighter than pictures reveal (also those at the Asos website doesn't quite do it justice), which I was initially concerned by, but upon putting in it, I'm quite in love with it ;) And I can tell, you, I've gotten many compliments when ever I wear this dress! A real winner.

In the same batch, I also got Asos Curve Exclusive Skate Dress in Scribble Print

Another jackpot! This is also a size 20, but it's definitely smaller than the midi dress so it does have a higher risk of showing of my back-bulges, as well as being a bit stretched out across the chest, but still a very nice fit.

It looks great with tights, but for summer when I want a bit of tan on my legs, I like to combine it with shorts - I have three lengths: Below knee="It's a little too warm for jeans", knee="whew, it's really heating up", and these, above the knee="omg, I'm dying, turn down the heat, please": The latter which I've felt like for the many past days, so I was very happy to have made a succesful haul of summer clothing!

Now, that's not to say all the Asos Curve dresses were perfect on me:

Asos Curve Exclusive Skater Dress in Mexican Floral

Asos Curve Skater Dress with Zip Front

They are both size 20, just as the other dresses, but this time, the waist/bust ratio is off: They both deffinitely hover a good few inches away from my underbust and waist. Funny enough, it seems to be for different reasons: The Mexican Floral is cut a lot smaller in the bust than the other dresses, and is really struggeling with my chest, and therefore can't reach on my underbust;  whereas the Zip Front dress is cut quite large all over, so my waist is simply too small.

So, I guess you could say it was 50/50 succes with Asos, but that's still pretty good compared to the fact that it is not specifically made for a large bust, such as Pepperberry is, and yet, Asos is the one who won out on this round of dresses for me!