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Original poster

M&S green cord dress - any thoughts?

201 replies

DoDoDoD · 01/12/2023 08:46

Hi, thinking of this - I’m 5 ft 4 and big boobs w small waist - usually a 10 or 12. It’s online only - do you think it would be very voluminous? And what’s the quality like w Nobody’s Child? https://www.marksandspencer.com/cord-v-neck-button-through-midaxi-tea-dress/p/clp22581426#intid=pid_pg1pip48g2r18c2|prodflag_New

OP posts:
Thread gallery
10
DuchessOfSausage · 01/12/2023 12:37

The Toast one is awful too. Looks like someone trying to hide a pregnancy bump

IHaveNeverLivedintheCastle · 01/12/2023 12:38

CharlotteBog · 01/12/2023 12:27

I don't often say this, but I think it's awful. It's just about OK from the front, but from the back it looks like something from Anne of Green Gables (which I love, but don't follow the fashions!).

It's says they cut Nobody's Child to be form fitting. There's nothing form fitting about this on the model.
I think it you filled out the top with larger breasts you'd look like an 80s pottery teacher, and if you're more lean it's just going to hang and make you look scrawny.

If you love it OP maybe wait until it hits the sales...I have a feeling it will.

Why does a dress have to be "form fitting".?

As DaisyDoor said, it's a voluminous dress - "a flattering dress is necessarily just one that makes you look like there’s less of you"

it's meant to be voluminous.

I really like this one too.

Nobody's Child smock dress

Black Gingham Check Issy Midi Smock Dress | Nobody's Child

Black Gingham Check Issy Midi Smock Dress

https://www.nobodyschild.com/black-gingham-check-issy-midi-smock-dress.html

MidnightMeltdown · 01/12/2023 12:40

I quite like it but wouldn't wear it. I don't like the plunging neckline

DuchessOfSausage · 01/12/2023 12:42

@IHaveNeverLivedintheCastle , it's in the description. "Nobody’s Child designs are cut to a form-fitting shape, so if you're looking for a more relaxed fit, we recommend choosing the next size up."

CharlotteBog · 01/12/2023 12:59

IHaveNeverLivedintheCastle · 01/12/2023 12:38

Why does a dress have to be "form fitting".?

As DaisyDoor said, it's a voluminous dress - "a flattering dress is necessarily just one that makes you look like there’s less of you"

it's meant to be voluminous.

I really like this one too.

Nobody's Child smock dress

Show quote history

I'm not saying it has to be form fitting, I was quoting what M&S website said and then remarked that the dress is not form fitting.

Original poster
DoDoDoD · 01/12/2023 12:59

cheezncrackers · 01/12/2023 09:11

I think it's okay as long as you don't want to wear anything over it, apart from maybe a big coat. It's so baggy that a cardigan would look awful. I do wonder though if, at 5'4" and with big boobs it might not be terribly flattering? I'm the same size as you and find that fitted styles are more flattering that baggy ones, which make me look bulky. I'd try it on with the footwear you'd wear with it and see how it looks.

Yes, I know what you mean. Fit and flare style dresses usually suit me and the top of this looks sort of like that but all the gathers under the waistline makes me think maybe I'd be a bit drowned by it!

OP posts:
BlackAmericanoNoSugar · 01/12/2023 12:59

I like the front waistline and bodice, but I think the waistline is at the wrong level at the back and makes the model look very broad across the back and a bit frumpy. Also, that's a very low plunge at the front and so the model isn't wearing a bra, but if you're big boobed then you will be wearing a bra so you will need to wear something underneath and the overall effect will be modest sister-wife.

Original poster
DoDoDoD · 01/12/2023 13:01

starfishmummy · 01/12/2023 10:08

You say you are bug busted, so I suspect the combination of that and those sleeves will not be at all flattering.

Biggish - 32 DD

OP posts:
Original poster
DoDoDoD · 01/12/2023 13:03

EarringsandLipstick · 01/12/2023 10:47

God this glitch app, atm.

What I wanted to say was:

I'm a little smaller than you; that style would swamp me & I suspect will be really long on you.

Show quote history

yes - so much fabric at the back, I'd worry about that too

OP posts:
Original poster
DoDoDoD · 01/12/2023 13:05

DaisyDoor · 01/12/2023 11:10

I love it.

I find it so interesting that so many comments focus on whether it will make you look bigger. It’s a voluminous dress, it’s supposed to be big. There’s no reason anyone would assume you fill it out any more than you’d assume a policeman’s head goes all the way to the top of his helmet. I hope the popularity of dresses with shape like this signals a move away from the notion that a flattering dress is necessarily just one that makes you look like there’s less of you. There are so many other things about a dress.

https://www.toa.st/collections/womens-dresses/products/maya-organic-cotton-needlecord-dress-blue-slate These have a similar style.

Thanks. I loved it when I saw it but have made a few expensive mistakes with Toast where I ended up looking like a wee dumpling peasant bringing their cow to market. I'm not great at knowing what suits me, get very taken by the photos and then feel terrible when the dress doesn't fit!

OP posts:
cpphelp · 01/12/2023 13:07

Love it

VitoCorleoneOfMNMafia · 01/12/2023 13:17

Big boobs and high fitted waists don't go together unless the clothes are from a specialist full-bust clothing maker because there's not enough vertical fabric to go over your breasts. I always find that either the shoulder seam gets dragged forwards or the waist is dragged up onto my breasts. It's not enough to make the bust area wider to cope with full breasts, it's got to be taller as well.

laclochette · 01/12/2023 13:23

I'm 5'6" and 8-10 and I feel like I'm not tall and willowy enough for these sort of prairie chic dresses. Unfortunately I'm of the mind that they only look good on models and make the rest of us look like Mrs Tiggy-Winkle

MidnightMeltdown · 01/12/2023 13:30

BlackAmericanoNoSugar · 01/12/2023 12:59

I like the front waistline and bodice, but I think the waistline is at the wrong level at the back and makes the model look very broad across the back and a bit frumpy. Also, that's a very low plunge at the front and so the model isn't wearing a bra, but if you're big boobed then you will be wearing a bra so you will need to wear something underneath and the overall effect will be modest sister-wife.

Yes, lots of tops and dresses are ruined by this sort of neckline imo. Unless you're flat chested it looks ridiculous

TheWanderingWoman · 01/12/2023 13:46

I like the style but I'm not overly keen on the sleeves. Also it says on their website that the model is 5ft7 so it will probably be quite long on you, I'm 5ft3 size 10 and I feel like it would drown me a bit.

Lunaloo09 · 01/12/2023 13:47

I think that it might not look great...I only say this as my sister is 5'4 and doesn't wear this type of thing as she thinks it makes her look even shorter!
If you do get it though I hope that I am completely wrong as it is a gorgeous dress and I quite fancy ut myself!

Petrarkanian · 01/12/2023 13:49

I have this dress, I'm 5"2, I love it. But I don't care what other people think. It's big I'm a 16 but the 14 fits better.

CharlotteBog · 01/12/2023 13:52

laclochette · 01/12/2023 13:23

I'm 5'6" and 8-10 and I feel like I'm not tall and willowy enough for these sort of prairie chic dresses. Unfortunately I'm of the mind that they only look good on models and make the rest of us look like Mrs Tiggy-Winkle

From behind I don't think it looks particularly good on the M&S model tbh, but maybe that's the fashion.

DuchessOfSausage · 01/12/2023 13:57

@DoDoDoD , the models tend to be tall and willowy and almost flat chested. Clothes are often pinned or bulldog-clipped to look better in photos. Some sites have photos that have been photoshopped

If you are short(ish), you need to draw the eye upward. Midi hems draw the eye downwards, as do V-necks. Volume usually makes things look wider. Gathers, pleats and ruching adds bulk.

The NC green dress will add width to your shoulders, arms and bust, and to your bottom, it will make you look shorter. Even the model looks like a little girl trying on her mum's dress.

If you look at what people in the public eye wear, some have a definite look that they stick to.

sensationalsally · 01/12/2023 14:10

I think it's gorgeous - and I usually hate M&S clothes. I'd be a bit surprised if it turns out to be as voluminous as it looks in this picture - the model's probably extra-slim.

daisychain01 · 01/12/2023 14:12

I think you'd need to be tall ie at least 5ft 8 or thereabouts to 'pull it off', because of the puff sleeves and the fact it has a lot of material in the skirt part.

daisychain01 · 01/12/2023 14:14

laclochette · 01/12/2023 13:23

I'm 5'6" and 8-10 and I feel like I'm not tall and willowy enough for these sort of prairie chic dresses. Unfortunately I'm of the mind that they only look good on models and make the rest of us look like Mrs Tiggy-Winkle

I agree re the Mrs Tiggywinkle look 👍

CormorantStrikesBack · 01/12/2023 15:32

I find these dresses swamp me, I'm 5ft 3. I love this one but have sent numerous Nobodys Child maxi dresses back as they seem as wide as they do long on me.

IHaveNeverLivedintheCastle · 01/12/2023 16:59

Petrarkanian · 01/12/2023 13:49

I have this dress, I'm 5"2, I love it. But I don't care what other people think. It's big I'm a 16 but the 14 fits better.

It's a beautiful dress - one of nicest I've seen linked to recently.

Do M&S have it in store or is it online only?

PillowQuilt · 01/12/2023 17:03

DoDoDoD · 01/12/2023 13:05

Thanks. I loved it when I saw it but have made a few expensive mistakes with Toast where I ended up looking like a wee dumpling peasant bringing their cow to market. I'm not great at knowing what suits me, get very taken by the photos and then feel terrible when the dress doesn't fit!

Show quote history

This made me laugh so much as I'm 5' 2", size 14 and this is my exact experience with Toast. The '18th century Dutch peasant look' my partner called it. Anyway - I have this from Seasalt and love it. It fits like a dream.

Wightwick Cord Dress

A versatile, classic dress with a simple waisted shape, fastened with tonal buttons below a notch neckline.

https://www.seasaltcornwall.com/ie/wightwick-organic-cotton-cord-midi-dress?color=36466&gad_source=1&gclid=CjwKCAiApaarBhB7EiwAYiMwqg6aOC5WSUJhZ-TLNDRVn8cZqavR-taFBgKOTI5y67HBtevODLaICRoC4JgQAvD_BwE&glCountry=IE&glCurrency=EUR