Disgusting Big Zips on Dresses?

alexa5x5

Over the last couple of years there has been a trend of using very visible large zips on dresses and tops. Is it just me or does anyone else think this is a horrible look? For instance I saw this lovely dress online from Topshop that is ruined by the huge black zip on the back! :mad:

http://www.topshop.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ProductDisplay?beginIndex=0&viewAllFlag=&catalogId=33057&storeId=12556&productId=2315604&langId=-1&sort_field=Relevance&categoryId=208491&parent_categoryId=&sort_field=Relevance&pageSize=200

Pandoras Twist

Yes, its vile. I have no idea why this became a trend. Probably just made it cheaper for them to make.

That dress is way to delicate for an ugly visible zip like that

ncmc

I think the large visable zip can work on certain garments, but definitly not on that delicate dress, makes it look so cheap and badly made.

Tabitharose

hate them hate them hate them

lainey316

I like them on some dresses, I assume the idea it to make the dress a bit edgy, like wearing a biker jacket over a prom dress kind of thing - a bit of contrast.

that dress, however, is manky & it doesn't work at all. It looks stuck on!

baby and crumble

That one actually looks fairly easy to change... get yourself an invisible zip for a few quid in woolen Mills, and maybe an hour handsewing (if you're slow) and bobs your uncle!

alexa5x5

zoegh wrote: »

That one actually looks fairly easy to change... get yourself an invisible zip for a few quid in woolen Mills, and maybe an hour handsewing (if you're slow) and bobs your uncle!

I was thinking that alright, I really like it so maybe I will.

baby and crumble

Do, the pattern/netting type material might cause a problem, but it's all white and TBH the net kinda thing will save a few slips if you make them! More people should learn how to do stuff like this, it's so simple and it can change the look of things you but so quickly! My Mam trained as a tailor and she was adamant we all knew how to do this stuff, at least the basics. the amount of money you can save and stuff by modernising and switching around zips and buttons and things like that!

Sibylla

I've seen some floral dresses with a zip up the front and it wasn't really obvious, but when you see really nice elegant dresses with a big zip ruining the structure of the dress it looks ridiculous, When did this become fashionable?

gubernaculum

exposed zips have been a trend for a while, remember a plethora of them around winter 2009! i hate it too, i think it's tired now and quite incongruous with all the pretty 70's stuff floating around!

i was trying to find a simple dress for a wedding about a month ago and came across this, which was a lot prettier coral in real life. didn't notice the big ugly strip of eyelets til i tried it on 'cause they were hidden under the ruffles. YUCK!

Sibylla

God that dress is atrocious, Clothing companies should be trying to flatter women's figures a size 0 would look frumpy in that.

Pandoras Twist

I dont understand why there's never been a functional brand. Theres brands that cater to larger sizes so why isn't there a brand that makes:

- comfy shoes that look nice
- coats with hoods
- on trend jewellery that doesnt turn bronze
- clothes that recognise what body shape real people have

elbee

I thought I was the only one! I have seen some items that they suit but mostly I just think it makes things look cheap. I saw a gorgeous classy lacy pencil skirt with a huge zip up the back and I was just thinking 'so from the front it looks like dressy office wear, then you turn around and it looks like you bought it Penneys. . . '

Moshimoshi

Pandoras Twist wrote: »

- clothes that recognise what body shape real people have

As opposed to what body shape fake people have?

Tayla

Wasn't it Victoria Beckham who made the exposed zip very popular, it was her signature trademark in her dresses, to be honest I always thought she wouldn't have liked it much either but only did it so the VB dresses would be recognised a mile away!

Pandoras Twist

Moshimoshi wrote: »

As opposed to what body shape fake people have?

As opposed to the body shape of tall, skinny models. You could possibly equate that with fake people though.

Moshimoshi

Pandoras Twist wrote: »

As opposed to the body shape of tall, skinny models. You could possibly equate that with fake people though.

I really don't mean to have a go at you, because I don't know exactly how you meant it, but I find that choice of terminology so offensive. It would be completely socially unacceptable to imply that an overweight person isn't a real person, but it seems fine to say that about a thin person.

The idea that high-street clothing companies would manufacture their clothes to suit some ideal of a woman's body doesn't make sense to me either. I'm guessing most clothing companies are profit-driven and at least try to make their clothes so that the maximum number of potential customers can buy them.

Pandoras Twist

I wasn't making a point about either fat or skinny people. I think its reasonable to say that catwalk models do not represent the proportions of the average female. I'm saying they don't take into account that people have lumps and bumps.

Take size 12 clothes for example, the average size 12 girl has curves either on her hips, boobs or maybe a small bump on the stomach. Stores decide to use some sort of clingy viscose or jersey material in their tops which does not flatter the shape that a person has.

Then there is the oversized trend as I have already mentioned. I went into topshop the other day and saw a lovely off the shoulder top. Picked up the size 12 and it looked like Id wrapped a blanket around myself. Had to get a size 6 or an 8 before you could see any sort of shape and it was in any way flattering.

How many times has Gok Wan and every other tv stylist told us that we should all be wearing wrap dresses because they flatter our curves? And yet the only place you can really get a wrap dress are shops aimed at older women. It cant be that hard to make a wrap dress look contemporary

Another example would be the bandage/body con trend. It's very very very hard to pull off unless you have a slim figure. So why, when the average dress size in all their major markets are increasing, do the stores create so many body con style clothes? And whatever about it being a trend at the time, its the fact that they go completely with the trend and don't really offer any alternatives for people (like me) who think that they look like some sort of deformed pear shaped dwarf in anything bodycon

silverspoon

Moshimoshi wrote: »

I really don't mean to have a go at you, because I don't know exactly how you meant it, but I find that choice of terminology so offensive. It would be completely socially unacceptable to imply that an overweight person isn't a real person, but it seems fine to say that about a thin person.

The idea that high-street clothing companies would manufacture their clothes to suit some ideal of a woman's body doesn't make sense to me either. I'm guessing most clothing companies are profit-driven and at least try to make their clothes so that the maximum number of potential customers can buy them.

I dunno, don't want to put words in anyone's mouth but from my experience, sizes in many places are cut to a template that often doesn't really flatter an actual woman's body. Thin or fat. I'm a 10. How much does that tell you about my body? Not a whole lot really. I could be a ten with small boobs, big boobs, a big bum, a flat bum, etc. etc. Two people who are both a ten can have completely different shapes.

I find that, for me, where my waist and hips are accommodated fine, my boobs are ignored and get squashed. And I don't even have big boobs! A personal experience is that the contours of a woman's body aren't properly cut for. And I'm not talking 'curvy' or anything like that. I think it's just not an issue for retail giants as such, because we all still buy their things by the bucketload, b!tch, and nothing happens. And yeah, some of it is cheap tat and we can't really complain about it - talking about Penneys etc here, but places like Topshop aren't exactly fantastic in this department either, and they should be since they charge enough.

On Topic: I fully agree, those zips are hideous, and they always seem to crop up on tops/dresses I would otherwise love. (I always naturally gravitate to floaty things in shops) I really don't understand it; I don't think I've ever seen an item of clothing where I've thought the visible zip worked better than having no zip there.

phasers

Those zips are absolutely disgusting, and it's really spreading. I always have to check the back of pretty dresses when I'm shopping in case it's been infected! Does anybody actually like them? I aslways just assumed it made the clothes cheaper to make.


Re the "real sizing" thing, it would be way too hard to get clothing to fit every shape. However, all you have to do is look at the mannequins in the shops to realise how warped the fit of the clothes is. They're usually pinned and tucked in so many places just to make the clothes look well fitting!

Ugh, hate those zips, ESPECIALLY down the front of a dress.

About sizes, I find it really difficult to find stuff that sits on me right, but I find Awear to be really good for my sort of shape. I'm a size 8 in some places and a size 12 in others, but an Awear 10 usually suits me ok. (I carry my weight mainly in my arms, thighs and legs, and I'm a 34C to 34D depending on the bra, so I can look thin and shapely when my waist is utilised, but chubby and frumpy when my lower waist or hips are excentuated, it's a really big difference)

Aoifums

I hate this. I picked up a gorgeous summer dress last year. Beautiful looking shape, nice pattern, didn't break the bank. I had it in the dressing room before I noticed the zip :mad: