I’m all about gradient looks this summer, and I’ve seen far too few of them available in plus. So I’m delighted to see that Torrid has a gradient look out:

Buuut I’m admittedly bewildered by the dress design. It looks like an attempt to bring the bubble dress into the 21st century, and into the plus size market. I applaud the attempt at innovation – given the absence of new designs in consumer clothing, any attempt at change or experiment is welcome. But the next question I have is: does this work?

I know who it wouldn’t work for – anyone self-conscious about wide hips. The raised bubble hem would accentuate that. Also, I would suggest wearing a slightly raised heel with this look – I don’t think the fabric falls well on the flat-footed model in this case.

So who would it work for? Basic hour-glass people, at least those with longer legs. Possibly pears in the smaller range – with my belly, I don’t think this would work well even though I suspect that it was actually designed with bellies in mind (points for thinking about it – it’s a step!) I think I’d look askance at someone over 40 wearing it, but since my 40s are 8 years off, I’ll have to see how I feel then.