Seeking opinion on something....

[moonshadow]

Okay....

So while modeling one of my dresses for the girls today, I decided that one of them I would wear with a shirt on underneath. Now I have already decided which look I like the best, my daughter prefers one look, and my wife seems to favor the other.

I'm not going to tell who likes what yet because I don't want to corrupt the survey here....

Now I've already basically made up my mind on how I'm going to wear this.... but I just thought I'd get some opinions here...

Do you like the dress with the t-shirt underneath, or without?

BTW: We're not concerned about the color of the shirt.... only whether there is a shirt or not.

Submitted for your opinions:



OR

[melsav]

To me they both look fine. It depends on the weather

[skirtyscot]

I'm going ignore what you said about ignoring the colour, because it is important to the overall effect.

Shape-wise, I think the dress is fine. The sleevelessness and neckline are both good. But it's too white for you, or perhaps I should say you are too pale for it. You need a suntan, or a contrasting shirt. So the pic with the shirt gets my vote, but it wouldn't if you were to wear a pale T.

[r.m.anderson]

A dark contrasting shirt under a white dress - NO - I can detect the shirt all the way down to the hem line.
With perhaps a pale pastel or white shirt it might be passable.
The striking whiteness of your skin is in contrast to the dress being white is a major fault*.
* This is not your first communion is it by chance ?
And the final note - while men can and do wear dresses it is an awkward in the image portrayed here.
I just having a problem seeing past that point but that is being critical me and you did want an opinion !
Hell I could play Donald Trump - but not that nasty and that critical ! LOL !

[JeffB1959]

I'm somewhat ambivalent when it comes to layering, that said, I prefer the second pic which looks nice and simplistic. And yeah, I'd wear a dress like that (without the shirt) anyday!

[Big and Bashful]

Normally I have thought that dresses on men just look wrong because of our different shapes, you have found one which looks like it fits, looks rights and looks good on you, Excellent!
I like the look with the shirt sleeves but the shirt does show underneath, which doesn't help. However either way it looks pretty damn good.

[crfriend]

The layered look in the first shot is a good one; however, unfortunately the dress is too sheer to make it work properly without the dark shirt printing through the light dress. If the dress was heavier (more opaque) that'd work, but not the way it is. Sadly.

The second shot looks so delightfully natural that it's an outright winner. I think even I might wear something like that in the summer if I could find one.

[pelmut]

The photograph with the shirt has a bit too much of the 'schoolgirl' look about it. With a less contrasting shirt or even a slightly different facial expression, the effect might be different.

[bobmoore]

I would do something about the obvious provision for breasts, and drop the waist down to better serve the male form. And as others have pointed out, the shirt color doesn't suit you.

[moonshadow]

Thanks for you all's opinions (to many to quote)

It seems the overall consensus is the shirtless look is favored, but among those reasons it is due to the contrast of the shirt and how it bleeds through the dress. With a proper shirt, it almost looks as though the opinions would be 50/50.

Now as for me? I had favored the shirt look, however I will admit to wearing rose colored glasses in regards to the bleed through. I can see it now that I'm really looking. That being said, perhaps a lighter pastel colored shirt would suffice. Not a white shirt, just something very light colored.

I think the reason I favor the shirt is due to my farmers tan. The wearing of the shirt rather "feathered" the look of the dress. My shoulders and lower neck are VERY pale, yet my upper neck and my arms from half way down the shoulder down is darker. It's somewhat of an awkward look. In my own view, the wearing of the shirt was in essence the "lesser of two evils".

Then again, the only way to eliminate a farmers tan is to get out there and wear sleeveless garments. As a pale man, tans are always going to look awkward on me. At some point there will be a tan line, it's just a question of where. I could actually go around topless for a summer and probably achieve a nice tan all over my upper body, but then my legs from the knee up will be just as white, even from the knee down probably wouldn't be as dark, so regardless of how you slice it... I'd look weird. One could go to a tanning salon, but that's not really my thing. What I wear on the outside is fine to experiment with (skirts and dresses), but I have always drawn the line with body modifications, unless such modification was done in the natural course of my life. That's why even now I have no desire to have any piercings, tattoo's, or even die my hair. My naked body may not be a 10, but I've always strived to just be happy with it for what it is, and not do things to it that can't be easily undone, such as artificial tanning.

Anyway, at some point in the near future, I'll try the look with a light colored shirt, see if I can tone down the bleed through a bit. I think with that modification, the look would be suitable.

But I'll agree, as I told Kilted John on my flickr, the dress was probably meant to be worn shirtless.

Also, as a side note, some of the reviewers on Woman Within (women reviewers obviously) complained that the dress was too see through, and returned it. So it seems to be a somewhat difficult dress to master, even for women. But I really think it's pretty and want to find some way to make it work.

BTW Update: My wife now informs me that she also preferred the shirtless look. So I stood alone last night!

[Gordon]

Personally I don't care for it (since you asked). The waist is too high for a male garment and the white doesn't work for you.

[Kilted_John]

Another thing that might be making it more awkward looking is the fact that the tie seems to be pulling the waistline upward a little in the center front. I'd pull that down a little. That should also help smooth out the bust area of the bodice. On the sheerness aspect, a full slip will help, provided it's in a similar color.

WRT the farmer's tan, that's part of the reason why I've gone a bit farther and am wearing strapless garments from time to time. Yes, it means that between the tops of the knees and my lower chest, I'll be pale, unless I visit a CO beach or find a secluded spot on our property to tan properly, but it'll be better than pale everywhere except for my neck, face, lower arms, etc. But, I'll lose the farmer's tan.

-J

[moonshadow]

Personally I don't care for it (since you asked). The waist is too high for a male garment and the white doesn't work for you.

Constructive criticism is the best kind. Better to try ideas here under this somewhat more forgiving audience than making a real a$s out of myself out in the field.

Considering the closeout deal on Woman Within, I'm left to believe this was not a very popular dress even for women. As good of an intention as one has when they wear it, even on women, it does have somewhat of a "see through" nature about it. If you were a very tan woman (and a lot of women are) you'd be able to see everything, including the contrast of the underwear (on women) against tanned skin. I don't see a lot of women that wear garments like that very often.

Regarding the bodice, there's really not much I can do about that with my present sewing skills. At least it doesn't seem to be a dress for "large busted" women. The only real solution at this juncture would be to just wear a shirt over it. But it seems like I'm missing the whole point of wearing a dress then. I can understand the dress is more than a little "feminine". But then again, I've been embracing that side of me lately. At any rate it's not something I'd expect those who who lean more towards the "Braveheart" look to wear.

[Couya]

Let's be frank, for once. I don't like the dress. It has nothing to do with the-shirt or the tan. To me, it just looks a shapeless throwout that you found and put on to wear for a pantomime. The length I find quite unflattering, neither long nor short, and would not be any better on the average woman. If we want to wear non-conventional clothing (and why not?), I think we should choose things that look stylish, that can be admired, something that serves a purpose, and was carefully chosen, not just the first thing you laid your hands on -- or even something you had been sleeping in.

The transparency of the cloth caused comments about the t-shirt showing through. I think, out in the world, people would more likely be looking at the lower half to see what was visible down there !

Martin

[Kilty]

Personally I don't care for it (since you asked). The waist is too high for a male garment and the white doesn't work for you.

+1

Looks too feminine, a shift dress or knee length pencil dress would look more flattering, in a darker colour. Any dress where there isn't obvious spaces for boobs to go would look better. That dress looks quite revealing, I would definitely wear a slip with that as you can see through it... of course that's just my opinion, and what I would prefer