How to dress: shirtdresses01: 36 13/03/2010, Jess Cartner-Morley, fashion, features, lifestyle, guardian, Guardian Unlimited

How to dress: shirtdresses01: 36 13/03/2010, Jess Cartner-Morley, fashion, features, lifestyle, guardian, Guardian Unlimited

They may seem easy to use, but do not be fooled

Shirtdresses seductive look easy in the windows. It is not too feminine, not too androgynous, crisp and clean, but not too formal.

Do not be fooled. There is a gap between what seems easy to use and what is actually easy to use. Just ask anyone who has ever tried a cotton shirt, dress shirt and immediately run screaming in the opposite direction in the mirror.

It is a form of thing. Tailoring gives angles, while the soft tissues highlight your curves. Shirting fabric tends to fall between the two: not sticky enough to show how he has and not structured enough to help nature in its path. It falls beautifully in a thin, so often seem attractive shirtdresses on mannequins, but is less rosy in real human beings. If Snoop, you will notice that in those stores that use of more normal proportions mannequins, a mirror of a dress shirt often reveals a group of bulldog clips - a sure sign of a dress that is going to look away when try it on.

Bulldog clips have made their runway debut recently, but it is something difficult to do in the office. Instead, the focus of armed shirtdress with a belt. (A proper belt, ideally, one that is not in danger of disappearing into his flesh, as the bond of cotton in this picture.) Next, mirror the changing face value, but honestly. If you find yourself wanting to undo extra buttons on the neck, take the appliance. Call me a prude, but if you feel like you have to show the top of brisket to make the point that you have a figure, the dress is not working.


Jess takes dress shirt, £ 99, by Banana Republic. Shoes, £ 359.99, by Zara. Fishnet, Jess own. Photograph: David Newby

Fashion
Jess Cartner-Morley


guardian.co.uk © Guardian News