If I like Toast but I am short and petite…

[Showmetheworld]

I feel like I’m searching for a brand which doesn’t exist! I love the style, patterns and fabrics of Toast dresses but I’m 5ft 4 and a small size 8 and their clothes are just enormous and unflattering on me.

I’m desperate for some throw on, hardworking dresses for winter in good quality fabrics which can also be layered with a roll neck and tights. Everywhere seems to sell garish colours or naff florals and I want plain interesting fabrics, or stripes/checks/corduroy/folk embroidery/block print/gingham.

I do like Sézane but feel like their dresses are still a bit fussy and I wouldn’t reach for them often enough to warrant the ££.

Where do people shop for their dresses?

Olive clothing might fit the bill but it's a lot of one sized garments. Sometimes they will have S/M/L sizing and some of the one size garments might go up to a 10. One of the models on there is petite and looks about a size 8 so you can see how it might fit on you.

Toast will quite often do 3/4 sleeved coats and jackets (that frankly look a bit daft on tall models) and I find the proportions of those are OK for me. They also do 7/8 length trousers which come up full length. It’s dresses that seem to be about 9 feet long with a few exceptions.

Just had a look (and at sezane for my curiosity) dresses are in the £120-155 range for both. Genuinely curious why anyone would lay this much for a dress?

😂I thought you were going to ask whether short petite people should be eating toast!! 😂

@MackenCheese I would never give up toast, we are entering perfect toast eating season 😀

@nearlywed21 I was your typical fast fashion shopper a few years ago and had a wardrobe of stuff I didn’t love and was always buying more. Buying less but better works for me now. I avoid anything too trendy and find that clothes I bought 3 years ago I still love. I would stretch to £120 for a dress I loved but it would need to be something that I would wear twice weekly, as versatile as a pair of jeans. My style is quite casual and whilst Sézane dresses are lovely, I would only really wear them going out for dinner etc. rather than if I was just popping into town. I get bored of anything too patterned and wouldn’t reach for it as often as something a bit less fussy.

Uniqlo sometimes have what you're describing and they go down to an XXS in size.

I'm similar proportions (and taste!) to you and I have my eye on this dress which is great value.

Uniqlo aesthetic and quality can't be compared to toast.

still, I am the same size as you op and anything more than a tee or jumper from toast is voluminous - the dresses and trousers are insanely oversized. I once bought a fitted wool coat in a size 6 and looked like a child wearing Columbo's famous raincoat

I have searched everywhere and cannot find a real alternative, although people here will likely suggest Kin (which I think is similarly humongous)

Toast have begun to irritate me anyway, I am a little tired of their overly pretentious artisanal aesthetic, considering they score pretty shitty on the ethical/transparency front.

link to ethical score
directory.goodonyou.eco/brand/toast

I’m a similar size OP and yup all the floaty waistless stuff swamps me.

Try
H&M
Esprit
Massimo Dutti
Fat Face (t shirts, not dresses)

Oh Karen Millen and Phase Eight are good for smaller fitting stuff too but they have less casual stuff.

And Oliver Bonas - though too many man made fabrics for me

The dresses aren't my thing so I can't really help there but the trousers aren't all voluminous.

I know what you mean though Pheasantly - I do like the overall look but my god they're sanctimonious, and the way they make out they're a local independent brand when the last time I looked they were owned by a Scandinavian corporate really pisses me off.

Sorry op that wasn't very helpful

@MackenCheese

😂I thought you were going to ask whether short petite people should be eating toast!! 😂

That's so funny!!!!

@Floisme

The dresses aren't my thing so I can't really help there but the trousers aren't all voluminous.

I know what you mean though Pheasantly - I do like the overall look but my god they're sanctimonious, and the way they make out they're a local independent brand when the last time I looked they were owned by a Scandinavian corporate really pisses me off.

sanctimonious, yes! I was also irritated when they began to label artists and painters as makers'. As a painter myself it makes me yawn. I have no idea what supposed connection any of their products have to do with creativity. It's just marketing pure and simple.

Thanks everyone, ISWYM about Toast and some of it is a bit drab, but I do like their knitwear, fabrics and prints, compared to some of the high street brands which I feel can look dated once a couple of seasons have passed.

I suppose it is just a case of picking the occasional piece up across a range of retailers, instead of my ideal one stop shop for dresses!!

I have the same problem. I actually think the sizes have got bigger and the styles more baggy over time. I remember about 10 years ago Toast used to have some lovely tweed jackets and also linen and wool dresses that were more fitted and suitable for anyone who is more petite.

There is a Toast store near me and I sometimes look in there as I really lie the natural fabrics but there is never anything there that would fit me!! And, being in my late 40s, you would think I am their target market…

Have you looked at regular the Toast thread op? I don't post on it (not often anyway) but they talk about how the clothes look on real bodies and about other brands too.

Soz I didn't read that before posting! Have you looked at the regular Toast thread etc...

It's a slightly off the wall answer but have you thought about sewing your own dresses, or having them made for you?

There are lots of brilliant patterns around that are similar in style to Toast and you could choose your own fabric.

Merchant and Mills go down to a size 6
merchantandmills.com/product-category/patterns/paper/

@BigFatBloomers actually yes! I adore the fabric in Merchant and Mills and did follow one of their basic dress patterns earlier this year in a lovely ikat cotton. My dressmaking skills aren’t brilliant however, and whilst I am really happy with my attempt, I could do with a few more lessons in reading and altering patterns to make the fit a bit more bespoke to my shape. Something I do definitely intend to pick up again, as it seems like the obvious solution to my problem!

@Showmetheworld
Definitely do that! Perhaps you could find a good dressmaking class local to you (or there are still some pretty good zoom ones around).

I follow far too many sewers/sewists on insta and they're really inspiring. You might find that there is a relevant hashtag if there's a pattern you particularly like and then you can pick up some good tips from other people's experience

Yes, the toast thread is lovely and friendly!
definitely pop in there.

I also love Poetry clothing but same issue, everything too long and large. It's such a shame.

I like Poetry too but I have a hatred of 3/4 and 7/8 sleeve and trouser legs.

Try Two Danes, @Showmetheworld