Fashion Flub: The Bag Dress

It happens to the best of us. You wear an outfit you think looks pretty cute and then you see a picture and think… otherwise.

A recent example: the bag dress.

outfit (2)

I bought this dress on super sale during a J Crew spree, and last time I wore it minus gluten-free bun in the oven, I added this belt (also from J Crew. They own me).

outfit

It added instant shape and looked super cute. Well, last time I rocked the pink baggy dress, I was trying to still hide the gluten-free bun in the oven, when I should have embraced it and worn a belt anyway. A brown leather belt worn above the belly would have looked much better.

Lesson of the story: with anything baggy, especially dresses, try to add some shape. A belt is the easiest way, or pair looser fitting pieces (like tunics or flowy tops, super wide-legged pants) with something tight (leggings, skinny jeans, pencil skirts, or a form-fitting tank).

When was the last time you wore something and thought about it later and shuddered?

A big one for me: multi-denim-colored tie-dyed bell bottoms with frayed hems that I wore in middle school. They were from Wet Seal and I thought they were the coolest things ever. Um, yeah.

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34 Comments

  1. Tamyr on July 16, 2011 at 7:58 pm

    Haha totally!
    I wore this earthy colored butterfly dress on my first ever runway walk & thought it was the most awesome thing ever. I found it in my closet just a couple of days ago & I wouldn’t be caught dead wearing it on the street. It looks outdated & weird. I use it to go to sleep.
    So much for this fashion statement being timeless.

  2. Jessica @ brighteyesandbushytales on July 16, 2011 at 7:59 pm

    I agree with the belt thing – I almost feel wrong if I dont wear a belt with a flowy dress.

    You look great! 🙂

  3. Jessica @ Stylish Stealthy & Healthy on July 16, 2011 at 8:00 pm

    I always think the whole baggy-chic look is so cute on other people but when I do it I feel like people are going to assume I’m pregnant. Which is fine…if you are pregnant. 🙂

  4. breakingsilence @ Freshman -15 on July 16, 2011 at 8:01 pm

    I had glittery (yes, covered in glitter) acid washed blue jeans in 6th or 7th grade. What on earth was going through my mind when I picked those out? Ahh, gotta love the late 90’s-early 00’s…

  5. kaila @ healthy helper! on July 16, 2011 at 8:04 pm

    I agree adding a belt makes everything ten times cuter!

  6. Laury @ thefitnessdish on July 16, 2011 at 8:05 pm

    this has been happening to me a lot post baby. NOTHING fits me, and I like refuse to buy a whole new wardrobe. So I am trying to get creative and wear stuff that was too big, or like combine things..then I see a pic and I’m like…ummm…what was I thinking with that haha. I may just have to give in and go shopping because I am wearing the same 2 maxi dresses ALL the time.

    • Fitnessista on July 16, 2011 at 11:43 pm

      maxi dresses are the best thing ever created.

  7. Kristine @ Running on Hungry on July 16, 2011 at 8:06 pm

    I will say that once your GF bun gets a little bigger that dress will be so perfect!

    And I fully wore OVERALLS (both the khaki and denim variety) in middle school… and also had the short-all variation! Ahhhhh.

  8. s on July 16, 2011 at 8:14 pm

    i wore stretchy metallic-toned polyester shirts in middle school. umm, yeah. 🙂

    • s on July 17, 2011 at 1:18 am

      AND i just found a leopard print one today going through my clothes. oh dear … at least i was rocking my style, whatever it was.

  9. Paulie on July 16, 2011 at 8:18 pm

    HOLY BABY BUMP! I love it! and i love that belt.

  10. Destini on July 16, 2011 at 8:27 pm

    This happens to me ALL the time. I honestly just discovered the art of belts *foolish I know*. When I was more busty(before the sweat and exhaustion from the gym) I always had this problem, then I’d add a belt and i looked even more busty, so I would avoid dresses like this. Now that the gym has taken away my bust, this problem isn’t so bad and if so the belt to the rescue!!

    P.S That bag dress might be more desirable soon with the GF bun in the oven 🙂

  11. Lindsey on July 16, 2011 at 9:08 pm

    I was just shopping for jeans and had to wonder WHY on earth the big bell bottom flares are back in style. ew.

    I still have a few pieces that I love, but are a bit big on me. Today I wore a sleeveless top that had chiffon draping in the front, it is a little shapeless now, but with a skinny belt, it added just the right amount of waist definition. I love not having to get rid of some clothes that are just a little too big with just a bit of ingenuity!

  12. Hannah on July 16, 2011 at 9:37 pm

    OMG I had those jeans you are talking about!! Haha, flub of flubs.

    • Fitnessista on July 16, 2011 at 11:42 pm

      jean twins!! YES.

  13. Jen @ familyfoodfitnessandfun on July 16, 2011 at 9:46 pm

    I remember pinning my jeans and rolling them up! Oh my….if I only knew! Love the belt 🙂

  14. char @ char on a mission on July 16, 2011 at 9:54 pm

    I’ve totally done that with tops before that you think you can get away without wearing a belt…until you look in a mirror haha. Ok so remember how you talked about awkward preggers things happening. Well at work today there’s a girl that I know is pregnant but for some reason the older lady I was working with didn’t and just assumed she was ‘fat.’ I was slightly angry because I thought you other pregnant ladies (ie: you) and thought wow, quick to judge! Despite the bag dress, you still look lovely!!!

  15. Gina @ Running to the Kitchen on July 16, 2011 at 10:07 pm

    Haha the description of those jeans had me laughing b/c I can totally picture them. Anything from wet seal gives me the shudders!

  16. Sara K on July 16, 2011 at 10:17 pm

    I still think it’s a cute dress! Hmm I’ve had quite a few embarrassing fashion faux pas in my day…most involving some combination or featuring of a) A bubblegum pink Juicy velour hoodie, b) A distressed Abercrombie mini, and c) Pink uggs…I cringe that I owned those now.

    • Fitnessista on July 16, 2011 at 11:41 pm

      that was my uniform for a little while in my life, freshman year of college. hahah

  17. Averie @ Love Veggies and Yoga on July 16, 2011 at 10:19 pm

    When was the last time you wore something and thought about it later and shuddered? = this week. I was moving. I was constantly dirty, grimy, and disgusting. I sort of cared. But not that much. haha! At least I got moved in 🙂

    And you look adorable in your dresses!!! Baggy is fine. When I was pregnant, I hated things being tight and clingy on my tummy. I still do actually! 🙂

  18. Sana on July 16, 2011 at 10:34 pm

    Aww, baby bump!!!!

  19. Sam on July 16, 2011 at 11:24 pm

    Biggest fashion flub ever? Gladiator sandals that have straps going across your ankle. Hello, gnome warrior fighter status. I do not need my legs cut off only from my sandals.

  20. Yolie @ Practising Wellness on July 17, 2011 at 3:14 am

    This is so so true and something I am really guilty of…I love baggy clothes, because they are so comfortable…but my boyfriend hates me wearing them with a PASSION, lol! Having looked at photos of myself in them, compared to a cute tight tee and skinny jeans or something…I am beginning to see his point 😉 I always feel a bit uncomfortable wearing belts though, because I don’t have much of a waist – I am more up and down than hourglass…it feels so tight and constricting. I do however think they look SO good when others wear them. Maybe one day I will find a comfortable one. (fingers crossed!) 🙂 I do LOVE maxi dresses that are really flowy though and I think they look beautiful without a belt. Thank you for this awesome fashion flub post – I needed the reminder ! 🙂 xyx

  21. Brett Marie on July 17, 2011 at 5:14 am

    Like you said- happens to the best of it, but even your in fashion flubs, you still look ah-mazing…cutest mamma- to-be ever. My worst fashion flub would have to be in high school. Homecoming week had a theme for each day and one was super heroes, so me & 2 besties went as Charlie’s Angels- SILVER skin tight jeans (also from wet seal-damn them!), shimmery black tank, & pleather jacket. To continue the humiliation- the picture of the travesty was still up in my childhood room until last year when I forced my mom to burn the evidence.

  22. Brittany @ Itty Bits of Balance on July 17, 2011 at 7:54 am

    I don’t think it looks that bad– but I do agree the belt-look is much more bueno.
    The last thing I wore that I regretted was an old pair of lounge-around jeans that were 4 sizes too big. My boyfriend made me change a few hours later because he said I looked like a ghetto hoodlum.

    ..Enough said.

  23. Amber @ Chicken and Chocolate on July 17, 2011 at 11:00 am

    I can’t think of anything specific off the top of my head, but when I think back to some of the stuff I wore in middle school and early high school, it’s scary! haha

    I had to add a belt to a dress yesterday to avoid the bag look. I had a baby shower to go to, and couldn’t find anything to wear. I dug to the back of my dresses in my closet, and pulled out a super cute one, except when I put it on it was baggy and didn’t show off that I’ve recently lost 13 pounds (I actually looked like I’d gained!), so I grabbed a big belt and saved the day! You could see my waist, which looked smaller, and those things totally pump up the chest area (which I need lots of help in)!

    You don’t look overly bag-like in that dress though, the bump helps I’m sure! 🙂

  24. Kate on July 17, 2011 at 11:40 am

    In middle school I had these fluffy sweaters from Limited Too that I wore ALL the time. I’m pretty sure I had one in every color and they were NOT attractive.

    I didn’t have one, but does anyone remember those stretchy bubble shirts that looked like they’d fit on a doll and then stretched out all the way to normal size???

    • Fitnessista on July 17, 2011 at 12:55 pm

      omg YES. i had one!! i never wore it though, thank goodness.

  25. geetha on July 17, 2011 at 12:44 pm

    * bump* *bump* :))

  26. Amy (purewellnessamy) on July 17, 2011 at 5:37 pm

    I’m queen of the bag dresses! My husband can’t stand them, but I find them to be so comfy and cool in the summer. I’ve seen pictures of myself in them and while I agree that I look, um, the opposite of hot — okay flippin’ frumpy!!! — I really don’t care! Sometimes being comfortable trumps cuteness! For me anyway 🙂

  27. Lindsay on July 17, 2011 at 6:14 pm

    I had glitter jeans in high school. Yep, that is exactly what it sounds like… ewwww!!!

  28. Amy on July 17, 2011 at 7:58 pm

    I have to be honest, I think you look completely adorable- belt or no belt 🙂

    In middle school, my mom was in charge of my clothes and I was tortured for my shiny gold shoes and her love of things like turquoise knit pants…. I still shudder a little when I think about it.

    So excited for the reveal tomorrow 🙂

  29. jenna on July 18, 2011 at 2:58 pm

    wet seal was the coolest! lol i used to rock out some bright orange jeans and a faux shiny leather jacket. so kewl.

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