I had high plans on wearing a special bold striped knit dress when I was in NYC with Patti.
The Story Of The Dress That Wouldn’t Stop Growing
This was a splurge I purchased with my Anthropologie gift certificate hubby gave me for my birthday. It reminds me of Missoni. One of the other two dresses I purchased with the gift certificate you can see here, and another one I’ll be posting about soon were on deep discount (close to 75% off) in the sales section. This dress however was only reduced by 20% at the time which made it decidedly rich for my wallet/gift certificate.
Nevertheless, I convinced myself that it needed to be in my wardrobe.
I was sure that the timeless, flattering cut and bold, colorful, chevron knit would be happy in my closet for many years to come.
I knew the dress was too long but figured I could take it up by hand. In the photo below I’m wearing platform booties prior to taking up the hem a good three inches.
Here is the culprit, The Dress That Wouldn’t Stop Growing
My plan was to wear this to the Camp exhibition at the Met.
When I arrived at Patti’s fab apartment she had kindly cleared some space in her closet for my clothes so I hung up my newly hemmed dress for the following day.
I must have inadvertently fallen down a magic rabbit hole and shrunk that night because when I woke and put on the dress it was touching the floor, even with me wearing a bit of a heel.
Of course it wasn’t me that shrunk, the damn expensive dress grew three inches overnight. Luckily I’d brought along an alternate vintage dress to wear. We had to venture out into torrential rain that day and I’m sure the Anthropologie dress would have been dragging a few feet behind me well before we’d even made it to the subway platform. New York is a great city but you do not want your clothing touching the ground and certainly not any part of the subway station. I could see the headlines now
, “Slave to fashion accidentally dragged and killed when her extra long dress became stuck in the doors as she exited the subway car.”Nope.
The dress was not debuted in New York as I’d hoped.
I wasn’t happy.
Once back home, still determined to wear the dress, I put on some extra high platform heels and wore it out thrifting and to buy groceries. I had a full inch of clearance between the hem of the dress and the floor when I left the house. A couple hours after wearing the piece the hem was kissing the ground! In fact, it had stretched so much that it caught in the grocery cart wheels! ARGH!!! Nothing like dropping most of my birthday gift certificate on what is clearly an ill conceived item of clothing. There is no way that the dress should have been made out of a knit that stretches in leaps and bounds every time it is worn. Word to the wise…this is made of 58% viscose, 33% polamide and 9% cotton. Avoid this mix unless you are making chewing gum.
It was clear, a Missoni this was not.
Of course, by this time I couldn’t take the dress back as it no longer had the tags and I’d taken it up. The dress had stretched out so much the empire waist was creeping down past my natural waist and the flattering v-neck had morphed into an obscene plunging neckline. There is nothing quite like wearing an expensive dress made of Silly Putty.
I had two options, take it up again or risk trying to shrink it.
I chose the latter. The dress simply wasn’t working for me anymore.
Trying to shrink items is a bit like throwing dice, you have no control.
Will it come out the perfect size for your pleasantly plump pug to wear while languidly lounging around the house?
Will it shrink at all?
Who the heck knows?
I soaked the dress and popped it into a hot dryer crossing my fingers it would no longer be a danger to my health.
Well folks…
It worked!
The dress has shrunk enough so I once again have a full three, maybe even four inches of clearance between the hem and the floor.
I will let you know the next time I wear this if it is back to its usual growing tricks. I have a feeling I might be washing and shrinking it after every wear.
Anthropologie, this pretty dress is a big #FAIL.
Have you ever had a similar problem with knitwear?
If so, please share!
Linking up with Visible Monday, Turning Heads Tuesday, Fancy Friday, and Spy Girl
Wow. I’ve heard of clothes shrinking but never growing. Interesting post. I applaud your last-ditch effort and am happy it worked. Techniques like that are wholly unpredictable but desperation drives us to strange places.
I agree…I was desperate!
You look great in it!
Oh wow! I have never heard of this, but I’m so glad washing it did the trick. It’s a gorgeous dress and so you. I’m sorry you didn’t get to wear it in NYC. It’s fabulous and deserves to be seen–but not if it has grown to fit someone 6-foot-7.
– Sherry
http://www.petiteover40.com
oh my!
not nice. i hope it will stay in its new shrunken form – because it suits you so very well!!
we had this with inexpensive cashmir sweaters for hubs – after every washing they grew & grew….. but after the 5. or 6. washing they started to shrunk extremly! nothing changed with the wash procedere….
later i read, that cheap woolens are not manually protected from shrinking – but bathed in silicone! this makes the garment first very slinky, but after a few washes the silicone is out and the wool starts to shrink like hell……
lesson learned – no cheapo chlothing.
xxxx
That is very interesting Beate! I cannot believe they coat it in silicone. That sure seems unhealthy for the environment!
How disappointing for you and such a shame as the dress suits you beautifully. Hope the shrinking has done the trick. You must have different rules in Canada because here the dress would be returnable regardless as it obviously was faulty.
They used to be better with returns at Anthropologie and now they are notoriously difficult.
Funny enough I’ve read the other reviews on this dress online and no one else is making the same complaint. Either they are all very tall and don’t notice it or I was the one that bought a lemon.
mwahaha, those viscose+polamide knits are really tricky, but I’m glad that you could fix this dress, as it’s really stunning!. I love this ‘missonesque’ pattern and fab colors but also the sleeves and the v-neck which is so flattering!
You look particularly gorgeous in it!
besos
Now I’ve learned my lesson about viscose and polamide.
Maybe you should keep the dress folded, rather than hanging it.
I hope Anthropologie notes the problem. Their stuff is awfully pricey for what it is.
The dress is beautiful–well, I love Missoni and it’s clearly in the Missoni spirit. I’m glad you found a solution!
Didn’t Missoni do a special collection with Target a few years ago? I wonder whether you can find any pieces from that.
I haven’t hung it up since NY. I won’t be making that mistake again.
No one else seems to have had the issue when I look at the reviews online which is weird.
We don’t have Target in Canada. It was here a few years back and then left.
I do own a real piece of Missoni I found thrifting, a cardigan that I hope to sell in my Etsy shop. I wanted to wear it once before selling it. I haven’t had it on the blog yet.
Open weave knits tend to do this, especially in linen or cotton or something else slippery. Do you think they used the cross grain? Does it stretch more around your body or lengthwise?
Such drama especially as it is already long. Well done on your fix, but I fear you will be doing it every time you wear it.
Stable fabric is obviously quite a science…or art!
Having said that, it does look lovely on you so I see why you splurged!
xo Jazzy Jack
I think it stretches more lengthwise.
I’m sure you are right, I’ll have to wash it after every wear and shrink it all over again.
This is really unacceptable. You should write a letter of complaint to Anthropologie – you never know what might happen…Fig of Buttercup Rocks introduced Vix, Monica and me to Anthropologie in Spitalfields on our blogger meet up. I was very enamoured of it but the prices!
The dress does look like Missoni and it looks fabulous on you despite the growing and shrinking!
I had a similar experience as a child when we wore woollen swimsuits. When you came out of the water the swimsuit stretched and hung down between your legs to the ankles and the shoulder straps ended at your waist…..embarassing to say the least!
xxx
OMG! on the swimsuit made out of wool! Good grief! LOL
That is some crazy stretching!! What a shame,because it’s beautiful on you. Send Anthro a print out of this blog post. Poorly designed!! Xx
ARRGGHH! How frustrating! The dress looks lovely on you, what a shame it keeps having a growth spurt. I’m glad you were able to salvage it, but you’ll likely have to do that after every couple of wearings. I have a couple of dresses that are made of very stretchy knit and I keep them folded in my cupboard between wearings.
I haven’t hung this again since NY. I learned my lesson.
Even if it’s a real shame about the quality of that otherwise utterly fabulous dress, I still couldn’t help laughing out loud when I read your story, as I kept seeing it all in my mind’s eye! I did actually have a top that wouldn’t stop growing once. It was a vintage knit top, which was close fitting when I bought it but too big for me after I washed it. I never found out if it would have kept growing if I’d kept it, as I sold it at last year’s flea market. If that lady comes back to my stall next Sunday, I’m sure I won’t hear the last of it 😉 xxx
Ha! You’d better have an escape plan ready, just in case.
That is definitely a design fail. I wonder how many of those sold got returned? I’ll bet a lot. Of course knits stretch, but that is ridiculous. It is so pretty too and Missoni-esque. I would write to Anthropologie corporate. Never know, they may try to rectify.
I read other people’s comments online and they were all positive. It’s kind of weird.
Zoe is so cute! Our trading neighbour’s husband brought along their black pug, Samson while he helped her set up, he kept running away and I had to keep catching him – I’ve never cuddled a pug before and loved it!
What a fabulous dress and what a let down regarding the weird stretchiness. I agree with the other commenters, you should forward this blog post to Anthro. If you have to wash it after every wear it’ll not only end up ruining the dress but imagine the harm it will do to the planet leaching all that silicone into the water table. xxx
Never cuddled a pug before? Woman! You haven’t lived ; P
Once you cuddle a pug you’re spoiled for life.
My late mother told me of a dress she wore in the ‘40’s. It was grey crochet with red lining. She got caught in the rain the lining had shrunk. She said the tops of her stockings were visible … the shame 🙂
Ha ha! What a harlot ; P
That’s craziness, Suzanne. I have had sweaters like that (even the ones I knit) and it’s frustrating!!
XOXO
Jodie
Frustrating is the perfect word Jodie!
Enjoy it and then let it go. Perhaps a “taller friend” could fark it up? 🤔
There is no way I’m willing to let this dress go. It was a gift from the hubby, it was too expensive and I still love it. I’ll put up with washing it after every wear.
I just wish I could count on some semblance of quality. It seems like that concept disappeared years ago.
This is a great dress to wear the day after huge feasting. Hahaha! The therapy dress. The self-denial dress. But I’m glad it snapped back into shape after the wash. I sometimes see crocheted or knit dresses on hangers in stores and they are stretching out the shoulders. They need to be folded!! or displayed some other way. Too bad you couldn’t debut it in NY! It’s a really awesome dress.