Can you make dress bigger by some ingenious method

[citylover]

I bought two lovely dresses this weekend - a shirt dress from East which fits perfectly, feels great (tho it reminds me of something my great aunt used to wear), looks nice i hope (!) and a sundress from Matalan which is same size (I suppose you might expect a difference in sizing from these two shops).

The sundress is fine on the lower half but although I can do it up (it has a side zip)it is extremely tight on top (I have rather large boobs. Am size 16 top and size 14 bottom. Both dresses are size 16.

Any tricks of the trade to loosen it/ let it out a bit. It did make me think how do all those skinny women with enormous (fake?) boobs cope with normal dress sizes.

Should add that I am neither skinny or have fake boobs.

Other option is to try to loose a few pounds.

Depends how the dress is constructed. Is it lined (lined garments are much harder to adjust/fiddle about with)? Is the front of the bodice one piece or are there seams running up the front?

Your best bet would be to resew the zip-free side seam and the front seams, with a narrower seam than the existing one. That way, you could add a few millimetres in 3 places. But would that be enough? You say the bodice is very tight, but clothes from discount stores like Matalan rarely have generous seams so you're not likely to have enough material in the seams to add very much. I have a wartime book of my MIL's which recommends things like letting out a dress by inserting a panel in contrast fabric but you may feel that's taking thrift too far!

You may have no choice but to starve for a week.

i have that problem with my boobs! size 16 on bottom and 20/22 up top!!! i alwyas b uy tops in strecthy materials cotton ones fit around the middle but not th etop or fit around the top but look like a tent around the middle.

try a minimiser bra?

Thanks I will have a look to see how it's constructed and see if I can 'let out' (sounds so quaint) the side seam without the zip.

I was very naughty not to try it on but find when I am in shops like that I sort of go into a different zone. I did try on the shirt dress btw.

Hmmm