Interested in Designing Your Own Dress?

Then you might want to check out this site:

DressByDesign

I saw an ad for this site in the February issue of Real Simple (Speaking of which, if you can either pick up a copy or read it at the library, do so - lots of good info in this one. Key articles: Best Jeans for different body types, Winter Skin Survival tips and concealer make-up road test).

Since I've become a true pear-shaped woman, I've all but given up on buying dresses (I have brought a couple in the past year - luckily they fit!) because of the 2 different sizes issue. So I figured I just had to check this out!

It's an interesting concept, which gives you a choice of 5 different classic dress styles which include the sheath, the princess cut, etc. (Sadly, no wrap dresses, which I would have thought would fit well with this business model!)

Now I have to say when I first logged on and took a look I kind of went "ick" -- I thought "These all look pretty dowdy". However when I went to the 2nd step I realized that you can make several changes - helm length, sleeve length collar style, etc. There are also several different fabric choices - and you can, if you choose, provide your own.

In addition if you, like me, are 2 different sizes top and bottom, for $40 dollars you can request a muslin dress form that you can pin to your particular size requirements and send back for use in creating your dress. The form is keep on file.

The base price for the dress is $189.00 with the final price determined by the type of fabric you choose (I wasn't ordering so I can't speak to the delivery charges). You can also request fabric swatches - through they can't guarantee that the fabric will still be available when you do decide to order the dress.

Check out the Testimonials page to see what purchasers are saying - and there are some pics of the buyers wearing their purchases!

I can see a lot of uses for a service like this - hard to fits, weddings, formal occasions, modesty dressing (yes, while some of us are trying to figure out how much skin we can show and keep our dignity, some women are trying to find good looking, well fitting clothing that covers up! Yep, we all have issues!)

So check it out! If for nothing else than the fun of trying different designs with different fabrics!

If you end up ordering, drop me a line and let me know how it turns out. Keep it clean and I'll post your feedback! ;-)