Just as difficult/impossible some dresses are to do up on one’s own, some dresses go on pretty easy but require contortionist moves to get out of. Of course, then the question is not who’ll help zip it up but who’ll cut me out of the dress should it come to that. A prime example of such a dress is the Ihrin shirtdress. While I love the eggplant color and the boxy pleats, the snaps under the arms are ridiculous. Shouldn’t those just be on a baby’s onesie?
Before I go any further with this, Let me clarify too that I am not talking about tight dresses nor one’s that are too small….apparently designers just forget that we all don’t have a team of people to get us dressed.
A lot of the issues also have to do with design and material choices. The problem I think lies with a combination of the back zip, extra material and/or lining and where the zipper nips in at the waist. Ganni’s Embossed Basket Dress, for example, is made of very heavy fabric and it’s always difficult to get the zipper up past the seam where the material seems to be the bulkiest.
Little hooks only make more of a mockery of the situation. Worse yet are covered buttons and loops half way up the zipper that get in the way while zipping up. Maeve’s Lepidoptera Dress, one of my very favorite dresses, has this exact problem. Getting these dresses on requires someone to hold back the fabric and carefully pinch along the zip so that none of the material catches. And since I don’t have eyes in the back of my head, hooks and buttons are a little tedious. Fear of tearing particularly delicate material (I’m looking at you Kate Spade Striped Kerrigan Dress!) also makes me hesitate to roughly tug on a zipper.
Some dresses just require extra nimble fingers, like Maeve’s Otta Dress http://www.anthropologie.com/anthro/product/clothes-dresses/24066433.jsp. It takes a little extra time to get into this dress thanks to a side zip plus covered buttons with loops. Thankfully, over time the buttons and loops have loosened up so it doesn’t take quite so much dexterity (something I often don’t have first thing in the morning). Also, I’ve discovered that doing the zipper up and then the first and last button makes it easier to get all the other buttons through their loops. Dress strategy.
Q. Should I probably avoid purchasing dresses that require Cirque du Soleil-like moves to put on?
A. Probably. But while that seems like the logical course of action often the dresses I think are the cutest end up being the ones that require a bit more effort to get on. The cute quotient typically wins out.
Fact: I have actually “used” a trip to the hair salon to get a dress done up all the way. No, I didn’t book a hair appointment to get my dress done up but I did put on a dress that I always struggle to zip up in the hopes that my stylist would notice and zip it up the rest of the way. It worked. Sad, I know.
Truth: Whenever my family comes to visit I always wear the dresses that are a pain to fasten….then back into the closet they go until their next visit.
Let’s take a closer look at some of the culprits, shall we?
Buttons, hooks, loops, a zipper and a whole lot of material…oh my!
Delicate fabric, fitted waistline and a heavy zipper = nervous dresser
Thick fabric + flimsy zipper….help!
Caution: To be worn only when you have a bit of extra time to spare getting dressed
Thank goodness for side zips, wrap dresses, button up shirt dresses, pull on styling and other easy to wear dresses….they help give you a rest between all the other days when you struggle.
Who knows, maybe one day I’ll try this little tip or this device (check out the video)…I’m not getting my hopes up that either will work under all circumstances.
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