Meet Nicky

 This week we played dress up with Nicky. She is 6 months post-partum and chiangmaicctv has been with her on her entire pregnancy journey. Nicky is 5'2" tall. Her bra size is 42B, and her bust, waist and hip measurements are 46", 43", and 51".

And here's the highlights video :-)

You can find all the pieces that Nicky tried on at this link.

Tops (by length)

Boxy Top

Nicki was not a fan of the boxy top! Although she loved the beautiful fabrics, Nicky liked our longer styles better and found that the boxy top cut her off at an awkward spot. We learned that she loves the flowy styled tops and quickly moved on from the boxy's!

Kimono-Sleeved Top

The kimono styled top was a pleasant surprise for Nicky! She was concerned that it may cut her off, much like the boxy top, because of the similar length. However, she really liked how the fabric draped when on and loved the elegant detail of the sleeves. Nicky gravitates to flowy styles right down to her love of flared legged jeans, so this style was very comfortable for her, she felt gorgeous in it, and could easily see being a part of her daily wardrobe!

Hi Lo Top

Nicky absolutely loved the Hi-lo top! She really liked the light blue, though she said she wouldn't have considered the colour for herself, and really liked where the top landed in the front! She found that she loved the style but the neutral colour was not for her, she loves fabrics that pop!

Front Tie Top

Nicky liked the front tie top style! She loved the colour of the piece and really liked where the piece landed!

Waterfall Top

The waterfall top was a real winner for Nicky! She especially loved the royal blue piece which she picked out because the embroidery reminds her of that from Ecuador and felt like home. She also liked that the high slits meant easy acess to her pockets. We found the waterfall was a very slimming and flattering style for Nicky.  

Long Tunic with Side Ties

Really liked the side tie top, especially how she was able to control how it sits at her waist with the ties. She also really liked the fun fabric! 

Tunic Length Kaftan

When we first pulled the short kaftan, we thought that the piece was going to be too much fabric and may look like she was swimming in fabric. However, we were pleasantly surprised! Nicky considered both of the blue kaftans to go home with her as she loved the fit, drape, and felt very comfortable. She loved the embroidery of the first piece as it didn't add weight to the drape and had a beautiful subtle sparkle. She also noted that she really liked the drape of the sleeve without having to deal with the excess fabric we see with the kimono sleeved top. Overall, Nicky loved this style for the comfort and the look of having the top shorter in the front while longer on the sides. 

Tapered Tunic

 Nicky is our model for tapered tunics so we knew that this style would be amazing on her! She mentioned that she already has many at home and loved that you can wear it at full length or hiked up to sit at her waist. Her favourite was the tie dye piece, one of the pieces she considered buying, for the bright colours and the neat mirror detailing.

Layering Pieces

Shrug

 Nicky loves the shrug style and wears hers all the time! She loved the fun vibrant pink shrug with the gorgeous sparkling detail! The shrug is such an amazing piece for its versatility, it can be worn as both a shrug and a scarf as Nicky demonstrates! We also tried Mira's shrug hack where you tuck the inner bottom of the shrug in the waist band of your pants to keep the shrug from moving around or falling off the shoulders.

Poncho

Nicky absolutely loved the poncho! She ended up going home with the beautiful blue poncho as she fell in love with the amazing silver detailing technique called Mukesh. 

Kimono-Sleeved Jacket

Nicky loves the kimono sleeve jacket! She has many of them at home and says they are a great piece to add colour to her daily wardrobe.

Cardigan

 Nicky loved the fabric and the style of the cardigan! We tried out the flipping hack to get a new shape from the piece. Although it was very nice, we found that it flattered her better styled the first way. 

Versatile Vest

 Loved the versatile vest and all the various ways you can style this incredible piece! Although the colour was not for her, she is still a fan of the style! 

Kimono Sleeved Duster

 Nicky had a lot of fun styling the Kimono duster! She really liked the monochrome underpinnings with the duster, saying it was something she wouldn't think to do when creating an outfit. She felt very regal in these beautiful pieces! She felt like the first fabric was regal on its own but felt that she was the regal one in the second fabric! It's clear she loved the style but found the second one she tried on significantly better because of the drape of georgette silks. Although it is gorgeous, embroidery can sometimes add weight to the pieces that causes the fabric to be a bit stiff. We had a lot of fun trying on the dusters! Despite being comfy at home, Nicky's hubby was a big helper in making decisions about the pieces Nicky tried. Both she and her husband were blown away by the fusiza duster! She is a lover of colour but was surprised how amazing this vibrant piece looked on her! Nicky perfectly shows what a difference the silk can look like on the rack compared to when it is being worn!

Dresses

Midi Length Kaftan

Nicky was not a fan of the midi length kaftan! She felt it was too long and felt like it was wearing her. However, she did like the elastic technique for the piece as it creates the asymmetrical look she tends to gravitate to!

Jumpsuit

 Nicky was not a fan of the jumpsuit style. Although she thought the fabrics were beautiful, she did not like the length of the piece. The legs of the jumpsuit comes down to a peak to create a palazzo pant look however this cut was too long for Nicky. The bottom of the piece really throws her off as the peak brings her down with the shortest part being quite high, ultimately making her look and feel shorter and more grounded. This was also why she was not a fan of the stripped jumpsuit as the pattern brought your eye down and the length was not flattering with her height.  

Maxi Dress

 The maxi dress is on of Nicky's favourite styles. She loves how much wear she is able to get out of each dress as she wore them all throughout her pregnancy, before, and after, saving her from having to buy a completely new wardrobe. Nicky also loved the versatility with the piece!  She liked the shape created with the border when the maxi dress was turned to the side. This styling of the dress was perfect for Nicky's height as the longest parts at the bottom were now to the side with the shorter sides to the front eliminating any fears of tripping!

Not pictured here is her trying on one of the more embroidered dresses that we carry. We have recently found that heavily embroidered pieces are often shorter and, with this one, Nicky found it was quite tight in the breast. The one she tried is one of the pieces we had from the last shipment where they ran a bit small as our team tried to most efficiently use the fabric of the sari, which resulted in a tighter width at the top of the piece. She later tried on the final maxi dress, the brown and green one, which is made to be more size-inclusive as we try new ways of creating our maxi dress to avoid the tight width at the top

Boxy Babydoll Dress

 Nicky liked the fabrics of the babydoll dress but the style wasn't for her as she felt like it was wearing her. She liked the top part of the dress but found that the bottom sat at an awkward spot. Nicky preferred dresses made from a stiffer silk because there was more shape to the dress making it look less overwhelming with fabric. She also really liked that the sheer pieces highlighted her natural figure that was lost with the other baby doll dresses she tried. 

Self Pocket Dress

 Nicky has tried this style before, and even has a few at home, but this is the first time she tried on a sheer version. With the help of Nicky's hubby over live, we picked out the pink dress which ended up going home with her as they were both in love with it! The pink was her favourite look because of the colour and print. We found that moving patterns and abstract bright looks reflected her style more as she does not often wear darker tones. Once we realized the cut worked well for Nicky, we focused on fabric. The pink dress Nicky loved has a pattern that moves across the dress while the other fabrics created walls of colour that needed something added to make it pop. It is through playing dress up like this that we can really figure out your style and what to look for!

One-Shoulder Dress

Nicky loved the one shoulder dress as an evening dress! She loved the embroidered fabric, though she found it a little scratchy (but she said it was worth it). She really liked the drape and style of the piece so we focused on finding the perfect fabric! The black one shoulder dress ended up being a show stopper, and Nicky loved the piece even more with our sheer top underneath to give a more balanced look. 

Casbah Pant and Huxley tank in Bamboo

The Casbah pant was a style that Nicky wasn't initially going to try as she does not typically lean towards linen because she finds the creasing affects the drape of the piece when wearing it. Although she liked the wide leg style of the pant, Nicky was not a big fan of them on herself. The Casbah pant typically lands at the ankle however, with Nicky's height, she found she had to wear them to rest below her natural waist line ultimately losing the shape they create as they look more like full pants rather than the shorter pant style the Casbah is supposed to be. Based on Nicky's height, we talked about how the other style Bryn Walker pant we have coming in, the Renzo Pant, would be a better fit for Nicky because it has ruching along the side to control length, eliminating the extra fabric at the bottom that we see with the large Casbah Pant pocket. Although the pants were not a favourite, Nicky loved the Huxley bamboo! She thought it was very comfortable, an amazing bamboo piece, and thought fit perfectly!

Orange Village Hi Lo Tank

A very comfortable top, Nicky loved this piece!