Dilemma over tres expensive dress

[OooohWhatIfItHurts]

I have treated myself to this Paul & Joe number. It is the most I have ever paid for a dress. I was/am hoping it will be a classic I could use for a few years eg for special evenings out with my hubby.

It arrived yesterday and it is so lovely. It is the perfect red and does wonders for my skintone. In lots of ways the fit is fab (the folds disguise my mummy blubber tummy very well) but the issue - to my surprise - is length.

Okay it looks short on the model but I am 5 ft 1. Actually the real problem is the split at the back which is really long. I literally can't bend over without flashing my pants.

Do you think it would be possible to have this altered so that the split is shorter?

I could exchange for a size up but I'm losing my pregnancy (4st and counting) and don't want something which will be too big. They've also sold out in a few places so I don't want to send mine back and never be able to find it again.

I bought it from Question Air which has a 48 hour returns policy and so need to decide by tomorrow!

WWYD?

Sorry, losing my pregnancy weight.

Grim typo.

The dress is lovely but if you have any misgivings then I would send it back.

I think you would always feel self conscious either that the split is there or that it might look a little odd that it had been altered.

You are probably right. I'd be sad to part with it though.

Wish I could ask DH for a second opinion but am hiding it in the back of the wardrobe!

Personally if I felt even the tiniest bit uncomfortable/unsure but still kept it, I would always be thinking that I had wasted £300. Also you could well find the perfect dress days/weeks later.

See if anyone else on here has a link to something similar?

Perhaps bump later on for the evening lot?

If it's not perfect and your weight hasn't stabilised yet you really should send it back. Sorry. Take copious photos so you can have it copied by a seamstress when you're ready.

The split looks to be right up into the models vitals. Being 5'1" is probably the only reason it isn't indecent on you TBH. Fab dress though.

I would be gutted, infact GUTTED, if I bought a dress that expensive and then had to make any alterations at all! I don't buy dresses from Next if they don't fit exactly.
Send it back and keep looking x

Well I think it would be reasonably easy to sew up the split actually, and wouldn't look obviously altered (since the seam carries on above the split).

I bet Question Air could get it done for you for a small price if you say you're thinking about returning it...

The only question is, if the split is sewn up a bit, will you be able to walk? Looks like quite a tight dress?

(I did wonder if you could sew a panel in, but that would look like a bit of a bodge)

PS In general I agree with the others that I wouldn't buy something - let alone something expensive - if it needed an alteration.

However, it sounds like you really LOVE this dress apart from the split, so in this case I'd make an exception.

I would really object to paying so much for something that needed altering.

Would you consider getting something made?

Gorgeous dress! Do you know of a seamstress who could advise you? My mil is fabulously talented (ex sample machinist) and If I show her something she can instantly tell by the seams/cut whether what I'd like is possible/advisible.

Otherwise I would only pay those £££s if it were perfect.

TBH if you alter it it might affect the way it hangs, which defeats the object of paying so much for a good cut. You shouldn't be having to compromise at 300 quid!

if you sew the split up a bit you won't be able to walk...just a thought.

Sad though I am to see it go, I think it has to. DH is quite conservative and may think I look like a ho if I flash my knickers on our rare evenings out.

Anyone else know of a fab red dress? Decent budget for something special...

You are doing the right thing. It is completely overpriced.

Do you actually flash you knickers or does it just feel like it?

I used to wear a lot of shift style dresses with splits for work and before you are used to them you do feel a bit like your bum is on display when in fact it is not.

Get someone you trust to follow you around for half an hour and see if you really are flashing because the dress is *gorgeous

Well done amothersplace. I am wavering and need some stern words.

Nancy - yes. A lot of arse on show. I too wear shift dresses for work (but LK Bennett and Hobbs tend to design for much taller folk) and this is something else.

It has to go doesn't it.

Am going to try to draw the attention of the masses to a find-me-a-gorgeous-red-dress thread.

Have you looked at Vivienne Westwood Anglomania? The Wise and Avid gals are nuts about it for filt and flattery.

www.my-wardrobe.com/vivienne-westwood-anglomania/red-hybrid-jersey-dress-465429

what about this red dress from asos (looks like a copy of the Paul and Joe one but with NO SPLIT! asos obviously not as nice but could be a good compromise

Eagerly waiting for the Asos copy to download now...

It has now been packed up. I did try it on one last time and from the front I look f*cking fantastic. Such a shame. I think as much as anything it is the colour which is perfect for me.

.

Twas, do you know about the length of the Viv dresses? I've seen them in Selfridges and they always appear to be designed for Amazons.

Brave girl.
I would struggle to spend so much on a dress, as I do not go anywhere to wear them and would not get my moneys worth.
However I spent £370 on 2 pairs of jeans last week, and spend about £200 on boots- but wear them again and again.
That's what I tell dh.