Does This Photo Make My Dress Form Look Fat?*

I can't believe I forgot to mention one more "extreme" quality of linen: It sheds like a bitch. Little bobbles fall out of it, mysteriously, the minute you cut into the fiber. This thing is still leaving behind a dusty trail. I'm sure this is temporary - till all of the short fibers dislodge - but it makes an order-driven sewist insane.

So here's a shot of the linen Concord tank - more to show the see-throughness than anything else. It does not look like this on me or I can assure you, I'd throw it out:

I've decided that I like the fluttery quality at the hemline. It doesn't fit like a T shirt would, but it's whimsical.

Here's a great opp to talk about Why Bra Fit Matters:

The very lovely Empreinte Emily - which does fit me, if slightly snugly at the centre gore, does NOT fit my dress form. Its boobs are wider and shallower than mine and it's already wearing a batten stuffed bra (under the cotton sleeve) to approximate my boob shape (which pushes the Emily underwires down still further). It's under bust measurement is larger than mine. So the reason this bra appears to be too long at the under bust and a bit pancakey is that the band is pulling the wires out of shape (again, dress form = wide with no give like an actual rib cage) and the actual upper and centre cup fullness, which the bra mandates, is not happening. I should have taken a shot of the upper cup without the tank. This is what we call size AND shape-mismatch peeps and it's not doing my dress form any favours. This is the basis of my tongue-in-cheek post title.*

You know I talk to a lot of women about bra fit. They email me. I meet them at parties. I work with them. And the most frequent thing I hear, once they transition into a bra of the correct volume and band size (generally about 2-3 cup sizes larger and 2 band sizes smaller than they imagined they'd require), is that they feel thinner. Sure, they also say they feel more gorgeous (and not because they feel thinner) and graceful. But I suspect the reason that these peeps feel thinner is because their breasts aren't floating, unsupported under a boob-hat. Especially if one has projected breasts that are not self-supporting, the lift provided by a well-fitted bra accentuates a distinction between the full bust and the underbust / waist area. That almost always lengthens the silhouette.

This is a great teachable moment about how shape is as important as size in ensuring that you're wearing the correct bra fit. It can take dozens of tries before you find a bra that suits your breast shape, but when you do, you will feel gorgeous. And, once you understand what sort of bra shape actually works on you, you'll save a lot of time because you'll be able to avoid those shapes that are never going to suit.

At any rate, there is no bra that I own that is ever going to fit the form so I went ahead with this one.

About the See-Through: I think this shot overestimates the translucency of the top because the dressform is cotton-white. I'm going to wear this today and, if I can bring myself to, I'll get my friend to take a photo. I think this top deserves a bit more reality than is in evidence here, even if I am a wuss about the selfies.