To ask why all wrap dresses are designed to flash chest?

[polkadotpjs]

Every one I've tried or ever bought without fail seems to be cut to the navel almost , necessitating a vest and therefore rendering it frumpy. Why? Why?
Yet I'm constantly told a wrap dress will suit me (kind way of saying I need help to find a waist o fear or that my belly needs hiding)
Sadly they do suit me but I cannot find one with a high enough neckline.
Rant over. I'm post migraine and angry and upset all at the same time. And my teen never talks to me. Sigh

Not just wrap dresses, I find the same with wrap tops.

Usually avoid both but found a top that I couldn’t resist from Quiz, as it otherwise flatters the figure but do need to find a matching camisole for underneath.

Depending on the fabric, I either add a stitch - but it does take a bit of fiddling about to work out exactly where to put it. Or a press stud if you can’t add a stitch as you couldn’t get out if it if you added one, but you need one that really presses together well - the cheap ones don’t hold. Hook and eye is often better. Wrapdresses do suit some larger Chest women - I look great in them, add some ruching over the middle to hide the stomach flab or if it’s a top my now larger sized skinny jeans and I feel great. I can’t cope with straight fronted dresses (tummy flab unless I’m in a corset) and nothing high necked. For work I like shirt dresses with top couple of buttons undone and usually press studs in between the buttons.
Buttons are always in the wrong place. My gran who was a seamstress told me that the correct way to position buttons was to put the first one where it’s needed in the cleavage area and work up and down from there so there is no gaping, but mass manufacturing just clearly starts at the neck and work down so you always end up with a gap where there should be a button. If I could afford made to measure I would have the button in the right place.

I've never owned a wrap dress because of the gaping front issue. But this thread has inspired me to give them another try, with a vest or a brooch.
As a keen dressmaker I would aim to make the front crossover edges slightly shorter so it curves inward rather than gaping outward. On a shop bought dress I'd try just running a thread by hand up the inside of the front edge invisibly ie just through the facing or binding and pulling it slightly tighter, spreading any gathers round your bust area rather than the neckline. The front should then curve inwards but without any pulling that might result from using a popper or single stitch.

MrsKoala I have fairly broad square shoulders...

I think they're just a difficult shape!

Some cowl neck tops can be a problem too - I have a gorgeous one from Phase 8 that would literally show my entire bust if I didn't put a vest under it - I love it though which is why I put up with it!

They certainly make your boobs look big, even without gaping

And yes, that's a top, but same principle applies

Oh God, wrap dresses are awful. Almost as awful as non-communicative teens, but at least you can return the dress or stuff it in the back of the wardrobe

They've gone now but there was a great shop that did these, in a variety of fabric and colours
Thankfully I bought one in plain black and it's not as hot as wearing a vest under, they also did lace etc
Goes all the way round instead of just being a flap so really secure too

Pop a hook and eye on

Of course you could just wear a copeed cami underneath but inmy opinion, camis and panels ruin the look of some dresses. It would also be possible to make dresses so they don't need additional sewing or solutions, manufacturers just can't be arsed. I have one from Bravissimo similar to this, and no pinning needed, stays decent. www.bravissimo.com/products/flo-stripe-dress-pd666/#bluewhite-print-pd666bwp

cropped, I have no idea what copeed is

This works for me, might it answer for you?
With a very full dressing gown with big lapels and bold stripes I have two ties.
Top one is just under my arm from side seam, other tie is on inside of lapel.
Lower ones, halfway down thigh.
As well as stopping the gaping it keeps the stripes more lined up.
Ties would be easily adjusted if you wanted to show either no gap or a deeper one.

@ohforarainyday Yes! Precisely! That's what I was saying (in a roundabout way) upthread.

I just bought one and have the same issue so I don’t want to wear it. I love the dress but I really don’t want my boobs to hang out and they just seem to pop out when I bend down. I have larger than usual ones atm due to breastfeeding.

I'm clearly very strange then... I love a wrap dress! I have big boobs and a wrap dress is the only type of dress that fits me. I can tie the waist as tight as I like and wear a pretty vest top so the top half can do what it likes. It never gapes.

I wear a vest top with everything though. When you are large of nork it's the only way to make sure they stay in place. I never go out without a vest. Summer or winter

As an aside - Faux wrap dresses are my enemy- I get very cross if a dress pretends to be a wrap dress and it's not - I have to get the size of dress to fit my boobs so a faux wrap dress is always too big for my waist.

@JustGotToKeepOnKeepingOn

I'm clearly very strange then... I love a wrap dress! I have big boobs and a wrap dress is the only type of dress that fits me. I can tie the waist as tight as I like and wear a pretty vest top so the top half can do what it likes. It never gapes.

I wear a vest top with everything though. When you are large of nork it's the only way to make sure they stay in place. I never go out without a vest. Summer or winter

As an aside - Faux wrap dresses are my enemy- I get very cross if a dress pretends to be a wrap dress and it's not - I have to get the size of dress to fit my boobs so a faux wrap dress is always too big for my waist.

I agree with you. I'm a 14 on top, 10 waist and 12 bottom so wrap dresses work for me as I can pull it tighter round the waist without having loads of material swamping me.

I love a wrap dress. Use a safety pin to stop the flashing. However from behind I look atrocious in them

I find a safety pin is perfectly adequate to stop them gaping at the front, even though I'm top heavy and have enormous norks.

I've yet to find a way to avoid flashing my knickers at the slightest gust of wind when wearing one though.

I don't use a brooch, that just looks odd with my large boobs.

But I do have a few bits of cahrity shop lace/doilies that I pin into the gap - well, I say pin, I use small pieces of glue on, washable velcro so it doesn't show through.

@LakieLady a trip to a couple charity shops should provide you with a kilt pin

Or more velcro at the knee!

Can I ask, those of you who wear brooches to close the dress, where do you attach the brooch?

I've used a safety pin before now (same mechanism?) but it just bent the pin and then pinged off, but not before giving me a sharp stab.

I'm generally an hour-glass but top-heavy and my shoulders are not in proportion as they're quite narrow. I have wrap dresses and I love them but find that the way they look when I put them on in the morning isn't the same way they look by the time I get to my meeting hours later.

It's a mystery to me.

@ohforarainyday

I wish people would drop the whole "if you don't like it just don't buy it" thing.

The point is women's clothes are rarely designed for women's bodies or with women's comfort and needs in mind. Men's clothes are designed with men's comfort and needs in mind. It's sheer patriarchy in action.

There's absolutely no reason women's clothes can be manufactured with proper pockets, and there's no reason wrap dresses can be made with a popper. The only reason they aren't is because of a culture of women being trained to accept that the world is not designed for them, even when it comes to products that are literally for women.

bit difficult though isnt it, as the range of womens body shapes is quite vast. A lot of women like pockets in clothes but actually, if the pocket ruins the line of the outfit, it isnt going to be popular. Women often shy away from clothes where you can see a vague outline that theyre wearing pants or a bra (horror of horrors) so a couple of practical deep pockets can make hips look wider. I personally would rather take a bag, and i rarely use my pockets. A popper on a wrap dress - youd need several to accomodate different sizes of boob. The beauty of a wrap top is that you can adjust it to fit your boobs and your waist. Thats if its a proper wrap dress/top and not a fake one thats stitched.

I bought a wrap dress by Gok Wan when he had a range in Sainsbury’s.
Not only did it come with a body-shaping full-length slip, but a popper halfway up the neckline at the crossover point. If Gok could think it through, why can’t other designers?

@Notjustanymum

I bought a wrap dress by Gok Wan when he had a range in Sainsbury’s. Not only did it come with a body-shaping full-length slip, but a popper halfway up the neckline at the crossover point. If Gok could think it through, why can’t other designers?

I bought my mum one of those in Navy. She looks gorgeous in it. She wouldn't have worn one otherwise.

Poppers, pins & brooches are your friend here. I have a similar issue, but love a wrap dress & a broach works for me

I'm with you on the migraine & teens, though I think I'd be grateful mine wasn't speaking to me as all she does is belittle, hurl abuse & snarl 🥴