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!

Pepperberry blazer: Not worth it for me

I bought the Lightweight Blazer from Pepperberry - I need a light summer jacket, and I've always wanted a blazer that fit, so I even broke my principle of only buying sales items at Pepperberry!

It seemed to be more generous over the hips than a lot of other blazers, and I liked the casual look of the denim-color and floral lining. Plus, I really liked the matching top, so I figured that I could potentially buy that later:

So, I ordered it besides the price-tag of £65 is more than I'd like to pay...

When it arrived, I immediatly noted 2 things: It was quite wrinkled, suggesting it would need to be ironed all the time, and, the fabric felt cheap. Heavy fabrics do tend to feel better, so I understand that this will feel quite different, seeing as they were quite serious about the lightweigh-ness of it. But still, it feels more like a double-layer of cheap sheets, rather than a nice summer blazer - for a blazer, I expected something a bit more structured and polished. I would still love if it fit nicely, though!

Well, it didn't. I was still unsure whether I would keep it or not when I took these pictures, but looking at it here, tells me that it just didn't fit me very well. The many folds around the buttons and bust reveals the bad fit in that area.
Additionally, it was very big in other places - my waist (which, is not suprising, since that would technically make me a size 16, rather than the size 18SC I have here) and back. My back seems to be narrower than my front (which you could all see in my full-body pic in an earlier review), and I've even heard recently that sometimes plus-sizes gets more fabric added on the back than on the front when scaling up, so this may be the case here: Maybe with the lapels and everything, the scalaing up didn't quite go so well.
It's also quite large on my arms, which certainly is new to me! My limbs are so big (In fact, I've had measured that they make up more than half of my total body weight!), that I often size up because of them. Of course a blazer should not have tight sleeves, but it did feel a bit weird that they were so loose. I guess since they are made to be able to rolled up to mid-arm, they couldn't taper in at the end, but seeing as they had buttons there anyways, it wouldn't be difficult to just unbotton those when rolling up to a wider part of the arm.
Speaking of the sleeves, though, I appriciate their lenght: Since the lining really is the nice detail here, it's great that they can be rolled up once to show that, while still being full lenght.
Other things that worked well was my hips: I judged right, when I figured it would be able to handle my bottom half, and it does so nicely - it doesn't even part at the front when I'm standing normally! This is really quite rare for me, so that's deffinitely a plus!

So, all in all, my sizing advice would be to go for a smaller waist size, to get the back and sleeves more fitted - and if you normally size up for hips, don't worry!
But, I would advice against buying it at full price - at least for my wallet, this would need to be way, way cheaper for the quality and price to match!

A few more Pepperberry items

I recently had a handful of bras I wanted to try from Bravissimo, and on a whim, I threw in a few Pepperberry pieces as well.

One of the items was Jaquard Floral Prom Dress:

 I do not have a straples bra that I'm satisfied with, but since I would plan to wear a shrug anyways, I figured this was worth a shot. The length and shape seemed ideal for my preferences and body, and I could see it as being a nice dress for restaurant visits and the like.
So here goes:

I would say, this probably would work quite well as a strapless: The body is boned, and is narrow in above the apex, making it unable to ride down.
On the downside, the body is way loose on me, meaning I had to tighten the waistband a lot, which seemed to work against the shape of the dress. To me, this was a dreal breaker. Additionally, it's too short: I always forget that I'm a bit taller than average, so when I see a dress that is as short as I want, I don't consider that it will not be that length on me.

Another thing I got was the Twist Strap Beach Dress:

This is actually not a Pepperberry item, but Bravisimo itself, in the same way that they have some strappy tops etc.

As you can see, we've got some serious problems. It cannot cover my bra at all. This is 'forgiven', seeing as it's probably not meant to be a proper dress, but more something to wear over your bikini when on the beach. But, that was not the intent I had for it, and it's therefor not really ideal for me. I am trying to figure what I could pair it with to make it wearable, as I have a very hot summer vacation coming up, and I would love a little dress like this.

Last item on my list is the previously reviewed Stripe Tie Back Top in the lighter color:

I've been using the darker one a lot recently, as it's a little hot to wear layers, but still too cold for short sleeves, so it nice to wear, so I'm happy to add the lighter (perhaps more summery) color to my collection.

So, that was some quick notes on my latest clothing haul! 

Still figuring out Pepperberry!

I feel like I've done a lot of positive reviews of Pepperberry, but I have also ordered some items recently that weren't all that..

The Cross Front Jersey Dress seemed like just my type - green (my favorite!), slightly more casual and appeared to be one to enhance curves, which I prefer!

Cross Front Jersey Dress

I got it in 18SC, which seems to be my go-to-size with Pepperberry, though I'd far prefer 16SDC.

And the results are in:

There are some clear signs of too little boob-space, since as you can see, the waist band rides up way too far in the front. I think this could have been fixed if just the band had been a lot tighter, since I didn't get this at all with the 16SDC, which suppoebly has about the same boob-space, but a tighter body.

Speaking of the waist band - I found it weird and bulky, which certainly doesn't help with showing off the waist, besides the fact that it's too high.

Another feature on this dress that makes me appear less curvy is the seams on the bust - the pleats (which I guess are to make more boob space) are in princes seams, about a third onto the boob, thus in my opinion, makes a weird placement - it either makes it look like your boobs are "too wide", like there weren't supposed to start further out than the seam. OR makes it look like they really do start more in the middle of your chest, thus making your boob-to-chest-ration appear smaller. Which I'm not a real fan of.

The bottom half (besides it starting slightly too high) is rather good in front - even though I have a considerable lower tummy, the pleats beautifully conceals this, without being baggy, and the length is also my prefered length. The back however, is not as good IMO. I do have a very significant bottom, but I do wish it had a bit of extra space back there - maybe with just 2 pleats? And while we are down there, I wish the bottom of the dress was  bit narrower, making the silhouette a bit more 8 shaped.

So, overall, I wasn't exactly overwhelmed by this dress. My mom however, loved it on me, but she genereally prefer much straighter figures than I do (something that has caused many clothing disagreements between us!).

All in all, I think I'll stick to Pepperberry's more simple tops, with the classic A-line skirts - the safe way to go! 

Pepperberry continues to impress me!

My ”problem” with a lot of the amazing clothes I see, is that it’s all very fancy: I have a casual-verging-on-sloppy style, so though I drool (and quite often buy it too!) over the beautiful dresses and sophisticated sets I see, I quite rarely get to wear it. 

So I was very pleased with the look of the Stripe Tie Back Top fromPepperberry:

I had seen a review by BrasIHateAndLove of the “Button Trim Jersey Top” which I highly suspect is the same top just without stripes, especially because it is labeled as being based on a customers favorite!

So, I popped it in my basket in the Heather/Grey option, and hoped for the best!

Well, I was quite pleased:

The fabric is very soft, so it’s so comfy to wear! Do you remember what I said about that whenever I think “this fabric is amazing!” it always turns out to be viscose? Yeah, this is viscose (with 5% elastane)
It’s very thick and heavy, which works quite well: You don’t have to tighten the back that much to get some good definition in the front, because the tie is so heavy that it pulls in just by the weight of the knot. Which is good news for me, as I hate tight ties on my back! So overall, it’s super casual, no fuss sort of top.

It is quite cleavage-y though, I can only wear it with proper plunges, not even an Ewa Michalak S-bra will do, even though that is almost a plunge! So that sort of limits it a bit for me – especially because it is so thick, it’s not very inviting to have an extra layer under.

In BIHAL’s review, she noted that it was generous in the size, which I’ll agree with – all over. So, if you normally fit your Pepperberry size perfectly, I’d advice you to size down. Since I have a little trouble fitting my hips and bust in 18SC’s as it is, I didn’t want to chance it with a 16SC, and I think that’s wise, going by the amount of cleavage on display. I may consider getting one of those Perfect Cami’s though, and then I could probably go for the 16SC.

BIHAL noted that it was quite long, which was a plus for her – even though this is labled as being 1cm longer (which is an odd small difference), it wasn’t nearly as long on me. I do probably have a quite long torso/my belly and bum just sit really really low, but I could definitely not wear this with just leggings- my bum would be hanging out! But I quite love this length to be honest, I usually curse at tops that are just that bit too short for me, so this made it extra nice and hassle-free for me!

Overall, this is now one of my favorite tops in my closet (and hopefully I’ll get more wear out if it once I get my new EM plunge!) Then I will probably order the lighter version as well!

And while on the subject of thing I want to order next… Have you seen Pepperberry’s new stuff?
This could work for me:

Ponti Skater Dress

Oh, this is good:

Colour Block Full Skirt Dress

Love it!

Stripe Hem Dress

Need this!

Boucle Jacket

Nice!

Nautical Spot Dress

Wow!

Floral Prom Dress

Yes please!

Floral Button Sun Dress

It's like someones been peeking at my wish-list!

Paint Print Dress

This dress is so beautiful I could cry!

Crochet Detail Dress

Damn it, Pepperberry, why do you make your most beautiful things right now when I’m extra tight on money? (long story short, I’m on my last month of current income, and I had reeeeally hoped my job hunt would have had results by now….)  

Loving the Lace! Pepperberry review

I have a few fancy event coming up, so I was on the look out for a fancy dress.

When I saw Lace Jacquard Full Skirt Dress at Pepperberry, it certainly fit the bill!

This was one of the few items made in the "Super Duper Curvy" size, which allows 5cm extra at the bust. Going by my last orders, this seemed like a good idea! So when the dress was put on sale, I snatched it up in 18 Super Duper Curvy.

Isn't it beautiful? But, too large - everywhere. I had to tie the ribbon tight to get waist definition, which made the thick fabric of the dress bulky - the stiffness of the skirt also made all the excess fabric stick out a lot. But, good news I suppose, it also seemed large at the bust! Which meant I could get a 16 Super Duper Curvy!

I'm so happy with the fit of this!

The waist-to-bust ratio of this is actually perfect for me! As you can see, I don't have to wear the ribbon at all to get the more nipped in look:

And the bust is perfect! I think if it was any smaller, it would make the waist ride up, but I would say this has the shape of rather 'pointy' breasts, so the apex had a bit extra fabric, whereas the top of my boobs was a nudge small-ish, but I suppose that is just the question of which bra you are wearing.
I have quite large upper-arms, so cap-sleeves are my enemy - both for the aestatic reason (which is easily solved by my matching shrug - I did as CurvyWordy and bulk-bought shrugs in every color off eBay!), but they also so often cut in and are too small. Not in this dress! They definitely had room enough, and stood out in a very flattering way - if the weather turned too hot for a shrug, I wouldn't mind exposing those :)
The fabric is quite heavy and structured, which means there's abseloutly no cling. There is a separate lining, which I honestly don't see the need for in this type fabric, and since the contrast between the nice, thick, lace fabric and the cheap, synthetic-feeling fabric of the lining, I think it would have felt like a nice dress if it wasn't there at all, but that might just be me.

I think this could be an appropriate dress for lots of occasions, it could even be a casual dress if you had a bit more dressed up style than me. For a party dress for a young person such as myself, I do feel like the neckline could have been just a tad lower (this was my mothers input as well!) but I suppose for family or non-evening do's it's quite nice in this way, and I'm definitely looking forward to wearing it!

But oh, a splinter in my joy of this dress is, that Pepperberry no longer makes this size :( On the phone, they told me that Super Duper Curvy was a test run to see how it sold, and seeing as there aren't any new SDC's, I guess they wrote that project off. Pepperberry, please don't! Another thing I noted is, that this dress doesn't show up when searching by the size - I wonder what other goodies are not showing up? :o We could miss out on some of the best items, eek!

*EDIT: As pointed out to me on my facebook, you can find more Super Duper Curvy items at this link!