How to choose the size in a bamboo dress

Short answer: Choose the size of a dress by shoulder and bust, not by waist. A jersey dress gives at the waist, but a shoulder that is too narrow cannot be fixed afterwards.

The shoulder cannot be changed

If the shoulder seam sits wrong, the whole dress sits wrong. The seam should lie where your shoulder ends, not out on the upper arm and not in by the neck. It is the one measurement that has to fit, and a tailor cannot fix it without remaking the dress. See the range in bamboo dresses.

How to check the shoulder

Put the dress on and stand in front of a mirror with your arms down. If the seam sits on the shoulder bone, it fits. If it hangs over your arm, the dress is too big at the top, even if the rest feels fine. If it pulls across the shoulder blades when you lift your arms, it is too small.

The bust is the second measurement

If the fabric pulls across the bust, the dress rides up at the front and looks shorter. You see it most clearly at the front hem, which lifts and hangs unevenly against the back. Measure at the fullest point with the tape level all the way round, without pulling it tight, then compare with the size chart.

Use a top you know as a guide

If you have a top that fits well over shoulder and bust, it is a good starting point. Lay it flat, measure from armpit to armpit and compare with the dress measurements. The top shows how the fabric behaves on your body, which says more than a number on a label. Find one to compare in women's bamboo tops.

The waist gives

Jersey with a little elastane follows the body at the waist and stretches when you sit down or have eaten. That is why the waist is not the measurement to choose by. A dress that sits a little loose at the waist rarely looks wrong, while one that pulls across the bust does straight away.

The cut changes the rule

A T-shirt dress is the most forgiving, because it falls straight from the shoulder with no fixed point at the waist. A dress with a sewn waist is the least forgiving, because the seam has to hit your waist exactly. The more fixed points a dress has, the more measurements must fit. See the straight cuts in bamboo T-shirt dresses.

Length follows size

If you go up a size to get room over the bust, the dress also gets a little longer. That is rarely a problem in a straight cut, but in a dress with a sewn waist the waist seam can end up too low. So check both where the seam falls and where the hem meets your leg before choosing the larger size.

Between two sizes

If you are between two sizes, choose the one that fits over shoulder and bust. If that is the larger one, the waist and length can almost always live with it in jersey. If it is the smaller one, the dress may pull and get shorter at the front during the day. That is the safest rule when the chart is unclear.

After washing

Bamboo viscose can shrink a little if the dress is tumble dried on high heat. You notice it first in the length and over the bust, exactly where the fit is most sensitive. Wash at a low temperature and let the dress dry on a wide hanger, and it keeps the size you chose, even after many washes.

Frequently asked questions

Which measurement should I choose a dress size by?

Shoulder and bust. The waist gives in jersey and is not decisive, while a narrow shoulder or a tight bust cannot be fixed afterwards without remaking the dress.

What do I do if the dress is tight over the bust?

Go up a size. When it is tight, the dress rides up at the front and looks shorter, and you can see it clearly at the front hem lifting against the back.