I Can’t Decide…
Readers, please help me out on forming an opinion on this caftan by Just My Size:
First of all, normally I hate caftans, because they are very closely related to the universally horrific mumu. It’s one of those things you put on a fat person because you acknowledge that even they must leave the house sometime – so to me, the very concept of caftan is an inherent denial of the reality of plus-sized fabulousness. And this one is unfortunately not demonstrated on a plus size person (WTH, JMS? Your company is founded on not being in denial.)
I also normally don’t like drawstrings because unless they’re on a handbag, I almost feel like there’s a circle around me in the Picture of Life pointing and saying “Fat Chick here” instead of the shining neon Las Vegas headliner title of “Awesome Woman.”
I don’t want to like this. It’s a caftan.
But it’s floaty and sheer, which is on-trend this season and the drawstring seems to actually have a silhouette purpose of bringing the overall shape back to forum so it doesn’t seem like someone tried to throw a car cover over the wearer. I’d need to see this in the wild, I think, but the way it is… it might work. Maybe?
I love the color and I love the print design but I still just have to say no to the shirt altogether. I think the drawstring looks good on that model’s figure but on mine I think if I tied it tight enough to get a shape out of the shirt it would hit right where my stomach fat would go above it and if it didn’t it would still look like it because the shirt billows there. I also think someone would have to be at least 6 feet to wear it, all that fabric at the top, back, and over the arms would swamp me. However I am with you that to see it in person could completely change my opinion.
Sweet pan-fried Jesus no. That is a mumu, plain and simple. Call it by any other name but its a big billowy drapey thing.
This is one of the problems with plus-size fashion: they rarely use models who are actually built like the customers. Yes, the woman in the photo is probably a size 14 or so. But is she the target demographic? Not at all.
Fugly print! Prints are the worst part of fat clothes. Because I’m a size 20 I always have to wear flower print or disgusting paisley? I hate caftans. I’ve never seen a good one.
I don’t care for it either. Maybe if it were a v-neck? It just looks like she has a square piece of fabric with a hole in the center. I have something similar but it has a bandana pattern, it’s pink (I think silk), no draw string and I think it’s nicer and shorter. I don’t care for muumuus at least out in public. If you’re walking from the bedroom to the bathroom then no problems but definitely not out in public.
I kind of like it, although I agree it looks like an awful lot of fabric. I can’t tell from the pic or description, but I once had a caftan-thingy that I liked a LOT because the drawstring was just in the front (didn’t tie around the back as well), so it pulled the material in at the waist without making me look like a big sack of flour.
I’m only 5′3″ and that thing would totally overpower me.