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Tips Buying a Shift Dress

bimbo — Sun, 13 May 2012 16:16:30 +0000

Think cut, shape, fabric and colour.
It’s time to shop smart, buy less and buy better. The cut and how the dress is made is very important. The cut should be in a classic style and the ideal length is just below the knee. That way it will always be timeless and never date. It should be finished to a good standard. Watch out for puckering, check that it has a decent hem and a long invisible zip so it’s easy to put on (and take off!)

Dress your body shape. Shift dresses suit most body shapes. They are ideal for hiding those extra pounds around the mid-riff that won’t seem to budge. If you are pear shaped look out for a shift dress with an A line skirt.

The quality of the fabric makes the dress. Cheap fabrics are usually very thin and cling to bumps. Don’t forget to give the fabric a wrinkle test by clutching a handful of the fabric tightly and releasing it. If the material has creased that’s exactly what’s going to happen when you wear it, and that’s not a good look.

The colours we recommend for a shift dress is the colour of gemstones. Any gemstone. A block colour is stunning and will suit any age group. If you are reorganizing your wardrobe don’t be influenced by the ‘current seasons’ colour choose something that compliments your skin tone instead, and most jewels will.
It’s a girl thing.

A black shift dress is going to be the most useful dress in your wardrobe because it is very versatile. It’s the number one dress to consider adding to your staple wardrobe. The key is to accessorise it by adding bright colours, the variations are limitless. It’s perfect for formal occasions, yet easy to jazz up when you want to change the look.

A patterned fabric is great for diverting the eye away from the figure, no need to accessorize and if you want a more formal look you can just add a plain jacket.

Reasons to Buy a Shift Dress

bimbo — Sun, 13 May 2012 00:13:18 +0000

•   A shift dress always looks smart
•   A shift dress is versatile and can be worn for any occasion
•   A shift dress never dates
•   A shift dress is comfortable to wear
•   A shift dress is kind to the the waistline
•   A shift dress gives you a great silhouette, so you look AND feel elegant.
•   A shift dress is like a blank canvas – you can dress it up or down
•   You can wear your shift dress plain and just let the dress do the talking
•   If you want to be sophisticated add diamonds
•   If you want to add a bit of fun add some funky accessories
•   A shift dress looks sassy with heels and wicked with stiletto’s. Men will love you
•   A shift dress looks casual with ballet pumps. Your feet will love you
•   Add a leather jacket – instant rock chic

History of the Shift Dress

bimbo — Fri, 13 Jan 2012 18:17:05 +0000

Hubert de Givenchy has been credited with designing the shift dress. He designed the black shift dress Audrey Hepburn wore in Breakfast at Tiffany’s, in 1961 and the dress (along with the film) went on to become a legend. He went on to design most of Audrey Hepburn’s wardrobe for her movies, and had many famous clients including Jacqueline Kennedy and Princess Grace of Monaco both great fashion icons in the sixties and both fans of the shift dress.

However the story we love the best is Lily Pulitzer’s. Lily was an American socialite from New York. In 1950 she eloped with Peter Pulitzer and they settled in Palm Beach, Florida, where Peter owned several fruit groves. Lilly decided to make juice from the fruits and sell them to tourists. She set up a fruit stand by the roadside in Palm Beach and the juices were very popular. Lilly asked a dressmaker to make her some dresses that would help cover the stains from the fruits. The design was simple, a sleeveless dress with two front darts and the length falling just below the knee. They were made using brightly coloured, patterned cottons. Her customers loved the dresses as much as the juice and some wanted to buy them, so Lily started selling dresses too. The design became a ’classic’ shift dress and at the time were affectionately called “Lilly” dresses. When Jacqueline Kennedy, who was an old school friend of Lily’s wore one of the dresses for a feature in Life Magazine it started a fashion trend throughout America.

The shift dress became popular with women all over the world.

Back in London, in 1966, Mary Quant queen of the mini skirt took the shift dress and turned it into the mini dress, which was worn 6 or 7 inches above the knee. A young 16 year old was hired to model the dress, she had just been ‘discovered’ in a hairdressers where she worked as a Saturday girl. Her name was Twiggy and she went on to become the first supermodel of them all.