The Shift Dress

So I've been thinking a lot about why my latest purchase from My Lolita Dress failed me so badly. I have a few staple pink piece in my non-Lolita wardrobe that I wear without a problem, so I don't think it was exactly the color. The fabric wasn't terrible, and while it was thin, it didn't feel cheap or wrinkly. It was loose, but it was structured to be that way. So what went wrong?

Then this morning I was browsing one of my favorite online shops, Modcloth.com, and I was hit like a battering ram with this new beauty:

Oh gosh, I literally felt my jaw drop. It's gorgeous! I instantly stuck it in my shopping cart as I eagerly await my next pay day.

But it got me thinking-this dress has a lot of style similarities to my much failed MLD dress. They're both pink. They both have a shorter hemline. They both have no defined waist. They both are cutesy. Was I going to have the same miserable result with this dress as I did the last?

But then it occurred to me-I already own two dresses in the style of the Modcloth dress, and I love them! They're both so incredibly comfortable while at the same time always make me feel polished and pretty. And I think that's where I hit my snag with MLD. As similar as the cuts are, there was still one huge difference. That is, the MLD dress was still a Lolita dress, and as such needed to be made large enough to contain a petticoat. It wasn't an actual shift dress, but designed after the style of a Lolita dress.

Now, I know I'm not a designer, but after slipping on one of my favorite shift dresses I could blatantly see that as flowy and loose as they were, no petticoat would ever live comfortably beneath their hems. They just aren't structured that way. So while I expected to have the same lovely, princess moment with my MLD dress, it was ultimately doomed to failure. I was looking for a shift dress effect, not a Lolita dress effect.

Personally, as I am slowly trying to wade into the world of proper clothing terms and design, this revelation is pretty huge to me. It means I can't assume every Lolita dress without a defined waist is going to fit like a shift dress, but it also doesn't mean I have to give up my beloved loose and comfortable frocks either.

So with that, I leave some further inspiration as to just how beautiful shift dresses truly can be.

Thank you Modcloth!