It’s a problem that women up and down the land have faced while struggling into dresses that are a perfect fit on top, but strain at the seams on the bottom.
When you’re a classic pear shape, it usually means you’re a dress size bigger on the bottom but there’s nowhere on the high street that caters for such a problem – leaving you with the option of only ever buying separates.
It’s a problem that frustrated designer Ilona Cash so much she decided to set up her own brand AmbiDress, the UK’s first range of dresses that are a size bigger on the bottom than they are on top to fit perfectly on the hips.
Sheffield-based Ilona, 31, from Derby is a 10 on top and a 12 on the bottom and is determined to make sizing more ‘honest’ with her range of nine dresses and a skirt.
‘High street sizes aren’t true to body shapes, they’re not realistic and most body shapes aren’t represented,’ she told Femail. ‘This holds people to impossible standards and helps reinforce a negative body image. It’s my mission to stand against this.’
To put Ilona’s designs to the test, Heather Elrick, 27, from London tested four of the dresses to see if they really are a perfect fit.
The TV presenter is a size 10 on top and a 12 on the bottom and has always battled to find clothes that fit well.
‘I have always had to either struggle to fit in a smaller size or gone for the larger size, which then swamps my top half and makes me look bigger than I am,’ she explained.
TV presenter Heather Elrick, 27, from London, pictured wearing AmbiDress, is a size 10 on top and a 12 on the bottom and has always battled to find clothes that fit well
‘My waist is small so jeans have always been a nightmare and usually gape massively around the middle.’
‘When I was younger, it would knock my confidence that I couldn’t fit into the fashionable dresses and clothes that my friends were wearing. They just weren’t designed for pear shape figures.
‘And it led me to diet and exercise to try and change my body shape- when in reality I can’t change genetics.
‘No matter what size I am, my bottom half is always larger than my top.’
Heather said the top half of this floral dress fit perfectly while the bottom half skimmed her hips and complemented her shape
RED FLORAL DRESS
It was a breath of fresh air to try dresses on that actually fit. I didn’t struggle to squeeze into them, neither did they dwarf me. The top half fitted perfectly whilst the lower half skimmed my hips and bottom and I felt they complemented my shape well.
The floral dress was simply beautiful, and I think flattered my figure the most, I loved the fabric as it clung to the right places and skimmed over my hips and bottom and made me feel very feminine.
DENIM DRESS
I loved the denim dress as it was so versatile, usually denim is quite an awkward fabric for me in regards to it being quite tight and rigid, but this was so flattering. I could dress this up or down.
I think a brand like this could help to boost women’s confidence in embracing and learning to love their bodies, we are all different, and I’m surprised it’s taken this long for it to happen.
Not everyone is straight up and down and the same size all over, some women have larger tops and smaller bottoms.
Denim is usually a nightmare if you’re pear shaped as it’s such as rigid fabric, but Heather said this dress was perfectly comfortable
LITTLE BLACK DRESS and PATTERNED DRESS
These were perfect for office wear, along with the grey skirt.
I tend to find office wear quite rigid structured, as I would usually opt for the smaller size to show my figure and then struggle with comfort all day.
Especially when sitting down. However these were all structured yet still gave me movement and were so comfortable!
Overall I was very impressed with the range and I’m excited that this could be the start of a revolution in terms of sizing and fitting for women’s clothes.
Usually office wear leaves Heather feeling restricted as it’s too tight on the hips when she sits down, but this dress allowed her to move around comfortably
The TV presenter said she’s always had to put up with dresses that are too tight on the hips or too lose on top. Right: Heather modes AmbiDress’ grey skirt
I would definitely wear the designs again.
I would love to see an expansion on designs, with more casual wear added and possibly jeans and trousers that cater to women with larger hips and bottoms but smaller waists.
I think it’s extremely important to have brands like this, I’m happy that people such as J-Lo and Beyoncé are embracing curves and different body shapes and all women should be able to find clothes that fit and suit their body shape and feel good about themselves.
THE STORY BEHIND AMBI DRESS
Ilona Cash studied fashion in Brighton and has worked in the industry for 10 years, including designing for a boutique’s in-house label and a high-end outdoor performance wear company.
Despite her interest in fashion, she’s always struggled to find clothes that fit properly as size eight on top and a 10 on the bottom.
‘The size difference isn’t extreme and visually may not even be that obvious, but it’s there and the result is that I can’t really wear anything that’s one piece such as dresses and certain coat styles.
‘If it fits my top and then it’s squeezed so tight round by bottom that I’m bursting out and cant move around well, or if it fits on the bottom and bags out around my bust.’
Ilona Cash, 31, from Derby (in one of her own designs) is a size 10 on top and a 12 on the bottom and set up her label out of frustration at struggling to find clothes that fit well
Ilona says that lack of choice on the high street is down to the constant demand for new style, which means that design is the priority over fit.
‘It’s a really fast moving industry, styles change every six weeks or so. With a really well and long establish system of sizing the industry is focused very much on design rather than fit.
‘And for years we, as consumers, have put up with this and made do with what is available, but with discussions about sizing really gaining momentum now I think this is changing.’
Even if you do manage to find a style that fits well in one shop, it’s unlikely you’ll be able to replicate the same in another.
‘The fact is that there’s a lot of confusion around sizing right now. The sizes differ from shop to shop, sometimes even within the same shop. There’s a lot of vanity sizing in the mix meaning that your measurements may not match the sizes on labels,’ Ilona said.
‘AmbiDress celebrates diverse body shapes and aims create a positive self image in people by designing with their shape in mind and making them feel comfortable and look beautiful in dresses which are classic, stylish and well made.’
Ilona is currently working to expand her range and designs for women who are top heavy and needed a smaller size on the bottom are available for pre-order at ambidress.com.