Evans calls it a “blue velvet drape pocket dress”. I’ve been calling it the “Beth Ditto dress”, “blue velvet dress”, or “the dress” for short. Oh, and it is — at least, it feels shorter than this picture appears (perhaps because the picture was taken by someone taller than I):
Blue velvet dress on me. Click to enbiggen.
The dress arrived weeks ago, but I haven’t had an occasion to wear it. The man of the house was concerned about the shape and the fit — he felt it was too short, that the skirt tapered too much (apparently he’s not a pencil skirt fan) and it “looked like a vase”.
I thought it was great, although shorter than I’d thought. I liked how it looked on me and that it was comfortable. I also liked the pockets.
Saturday I wore The Dress all day at a convention — with black leggings & Mary Janes.
I also got compliments, including “Where did you get that? It’s fabulous!” I ended up explaining who Beth Ditto was to several folks, which isn’t bad either ;)
For reference: I’m 5’8″, weigh 400lbs, and got the dress in UK size 32, which is supposed to be a US 28.
Edit to add: Marianne Kirby aka The Rotund posted about this dress too. Devon also wore it in this post. Devon lives in the UK and posted many reviews of the Beth Ditto collection on her blog.
Living ~400lbs 
Yay a Lvng400 headless fatty picture! You’re rocking it! You look awesome in that dress! I love it and want it! Those pockets are deeeeeep!
BTW…where are the tights from?? :)
Thanks! The leggings are black Danskin leggings in size 4x. ;)
Looked like a vase? That’s kind of adorable. Also that dress looks fantastic on you.
How do the Danskin leggings hold up? Are they kinda warm? I’ve been looking at them lately and kind of want some.
Thanks!
I’ve had the Danskins for years and they seem to be holding up. I’ve got some cotton blend ones and some non-cotton ones; the cotton blends breathe a little more but the color seems to fade more. Both are warmer than tights under skirts, but when it’s cold/rainy I layer them under pants, too. I sometimes find them at Nordstrom, which is cool for trying on without having to pay shipping.
The man of the house likes the Danskin bike shorts too.
What’s wrong with vases?
That’s a gorgeous dress. Say, how long did it take to get an Evans dress, and did you have to pay ridiculous postage for it?
I don’t know what’s wrong with vases! ;) (Edited to add: Hubby says he’s worried I’ll fall because the dress looks like it will shorten my stride. Maybe he’s seen too many Carol Burnett sketches? ;)
I don’t recall the exact postage, but I’ve paid less on orders within the US (not always a resounding recommendation unfortunately). Currently Evans has £8 shipping to the US.
Oh, awesome. I’ve been worried about ordering stuff from other countries for fear of customs or something…I don’t know. I’m a scaredy cat.
You look absolutely amazing in that! My mum’s bought me the rose dress – which is stretch cotton but a similar shape to this – for Christmas – I can’t wait to have it! If I look half as good as you I’ll be happy!
I hope you like it. I have the rose leggings, but not the dress.
Looks great! I wish you health to wear it. All the Beth Ditto collection clothes are pretty nifty.
Thank you!
It’s a great dress. It’s refreshing to see someone who is overweight accept her body and dress up. I know there are many overweight women out their that do dress up, but it seems more common that they cover up and hide. Enjoy it!
P.S. I don’t think you look like a vase.
Cute!
I love it too.
Thank you :)
I’m not a fan of velvet, but seeing you in it? It makes it look much lighter and easy to move around in than I had thought. You keep rockin’ it! I love it!
Thanks!
Ooh la la! And the store picture shows what neat details it has – love!
Yeah, it’s hard to photograph dark velvet. ;)
I think that looks great on you! I am actually jealous of how much more awesome it looks on your size 32 body than it would on my size 14 body. Which is a bit of a failure of body acceptance on my part, but a complete win for the designer of the dress on making something that looks so beautiful on larger bodies!
Some cuts work better for some bodies, others work better on others! One of the comments I got Saturday was “That dress REALLY shows off your curves” — and yes, it emphasizes my hips and bust.
It’s one of Beth Ditto’s, and she’s an “apple” too.
I love vases – my favourites are curvy and sexy and you put gorgeous flowers in them. That being said, I think you look like a hot woman, not an inanimate object :)
Fabulous! You look wonderful in it, and it’s a beautiful dress.
Beautiful dress, beautiful picture.
And while I love my own unique figure, that dress looks much better on someone your shape and size than it would on an in-betweenie like me. It still amazes me that so many designers don’t want to explore the aesthetic possibilities of designing for bigger bodies.
Thanks!
It still amazes me that so many designers don’t want to explore the aesthetic possibilities of designing for bigger bodies.
This dress is from punk singer Beth Ditto’s line, and according to reports in the UK press Beth wears size 28 (presumably a UK 28). I’m not surprised that she came up with something different from “normal” fashion.
It looks great in the pic. I ordered it a couple of weeks ago, but they were sold out of my size — UK 28 IIRC.
Yeah, I dithered over the blue velvet dress vs the floral print and the floral print sold out of my size before the blue velvet did. I think the velvet is down to just sizes 14 and 16, and the floral is totally sold out.
There is still eBay …
I love this dress, too – on you, especially! The whole design is flattering (who decreed that larger women couldn’t wear form-fitting clothing?!), and I love the scoop neck (rather than a v-neck, which I don’t think is as attractive, but that’s just me), and the ruching that flatters the hips and accentuates your waistline.
And too short? No! With leggings or tights, it’s just right. :)
Thanks. I like the ruching too, and that it’s not just cosmetic — the pockets are in the ruching, so things like wallet/cell don’t show but are readily available. ;)
The dress is fabulous! Outfit posts are great in one way, but I’ve noted a downside. By the time I read them, the items (at Evans or Torrid or wherever) is usually sold out! I wish retailers would either backorder (especially this dress which I feel is both classic and multiseason) or put a mechanism in place to track demand. Then we could hope that the next season would have higher inventories.
You look fabulous and your legs are soooo shapely!