Review: Unique Vintage Watermelon Dress

Fact: there is no finer fruit on the planet than the reigning queen of the summer BBQ, more commonly known as the watermelon. Not only is watermelon my actual favorite food at the moment, it's been one of my very favorite choices for a novelty print. The only things I've bought for my baby so far are two watermelon dresses and a watermelon tutu. I'm that kind of obsessed.

So when I saw this watermelon dress on Unique Vintage's Instagram, I knew it was only a matter of time before it showed up in my closet. I often prefer to buy Unique Vintage from stockists rather than directly from them, because their shipping is much slower than most places, so I was pleased when Doll Me Up got this dress in stock.

I'm usually a large in UV-brand dresses, but after seeing that this style had absolutely no stretch (and knowing that my belly would be growing!), I opted for the XL. It showed up in a flash, but when I opened it up, it turned out to be a size small with XL hangtags in XL plastic wrapping. I went to fill out Doll Me Up's online customer-service form, but it was down, so I posted an SOS in my Instagram stories asking the universe what I should do. Lo and behold, I got a reply from Doll Me up within minutes, even though it was around 10pm at night. She set aside an XL and sent me a return label, and I popped it back in the mail the next morning. Now that, my friends, is customer service!

When my XL arrived, I couldn't wait to wear it out, but Chicago had other ideas involving terrible weather, so its debut had to wait. Happily, I was able to try it on and twirl around in my apartment to my heart's content, though!

The XL fits my growing bustline perfectly, though it's still quite roomy under the bust and in the waist. It measures 20.5" from armpit to armpit, plus a little extra room due to the gathered underbust seams, and 17" flat at the waist. Pre-pregnancy, I might've been able to squeeze my bust into the large, but I'm glad I didn't chance it now.

I'd been a little wary about the seaming under and around the bust, but fortunately everything that needs to fit in the individual boob pockets does. (Sidebar: 'individual boob pockets' is one of those phrases I never expected to type out.) While this isn't my personal favorite bustline style and it doesn't accommodate a strapless bra especially well, I'm willing to deal with it for the sake of the print.

I must admit, though, that if the print wasn't so perfect and perfectly me (and if there wasn't a matching kid's version of those dress en route to me), I wouldn't have kept this dress. My issues with it are small in themselves, but small quibbles add up and when you've assembled a closet of dresses you completely love, it's hard to justify keeping something imperfect.

Apart from not being a fan of this style of bust, I feel like the two bust cups are an awkward distance apart. That center gore between them doesn't really work with the shape of the body parts it rests on, and for some reason this is worse with a strapless bra. I'd wear a normal bra, but the straps are also much closer together than most spaghetti-strap dresses, and certainly closer-set than any of my bras. The bust-to-waist ratio doesn't really work if you're as busty as I am, either.

My biggest issue, though, is the material. The static cling is strong with this one, my friends, so much so that it was impossible for me to get a photo of how the skirt drapes without it clinging between my legs. I could try a petticoat, of course, but who wants to wear a petticoat in the dead of summer? If I'm perfectly blunt, the material isn't quite what I expect in a dress of this price. Making this style in a nice cotton would have solved this issue and still been breathable for the summertime.

So that's my review of this year's Unique Vintage watermelon dress. Now, would I recommend this dress? Well, if you live in LA, or anywhere else where the summers don't get obscenely hot and humid, the synthetic fabric probably won't bother you as much. And for anyone who has a smaller bust-to-waist ratio than me, the cut will probably fit you a bit better. Otherwise, there's a skirt version, and if you can pick it up on sale, I'd say it's worth it. Last year's watermelon skirt is still in stock in certain sizes around the internet, though, so I'd probably just grab that one if I didn't already have it. How do you decide whether to keep a dress that isn't quite what you'd hoped for?

Follow this blog on:

Instagram: @emily.hallock

Twitter: @ThoroughlyMLE

Facebook

Google Plus

Bloglovin'