When it comes to bust-friendly clothing I always struggle to find something that fits both my bodytype and budget, and I tell you, we’re not even talking about style and fashion aspects yet. I am very picky about what I wear – it has to fit nicely over my bust and waist and the waist must be at the right height to look the most flattering. Recently, I have been leaning towards a more vintage-kinda style as it usually tends to flatter my figure – and the most important thing, I feel smashing in those old-Hollywood style dresses.

When I was UK last time, ie. August, I popped into a Collectif store in London Holborn area. I was exhausted with blisters on my feet for walking miles in the London heat, wearing nothing more breathable than my dark leather Doc Martens. I was probably the funniest thing those sales assistants had seen in weeks as I stumbled through the Collectif door with my Docs in my hand, barefooted and carrying a suitcase. Not the kind of graceful pinup goddess they must have shopping in their store all the time, huh? Well, I couldn’t give a flying fuck about my appearance at that point so I just tossed my luggage at the till and started browsing their very convenient flash sale.

To my happiness, I was lucky enough to get my hands on of their Phyllis dresses, even though I first had the classic Dolores Doll in mind. The Phyllis was a lovely cream colour with a rose-shade applique adorning the shoulder and with the £17,50 price tag, I just couldn’t resist it.



I snatched up the Ivory Phyllis in size 10/ Small and since then, it has definitely become one of my wardrobe staples. It’s such a classic shape – a 1940’s style a-line dress with a swift-like top part and classic colourways to choose from. As the summer has now come to its end, I decided to buy another Phyllis to accommodate my autumn wardrobe. This one shown in the pics is the Navy colourway and I think it’s actually a great option for those who don’t look that good in black (including almost everyone actually). The navy blue flatters my fair skin and doesn’t wipe the colour off my face like black does and still manages to look elegant and appropriate for both day and night.

I would say the size UK 10 fits me pretty spot on, even though I wouldn’t wear that size with every single Collectif dress. I tried several other pieces of clothing while visiting their shop but found some of the materials and cuts making the dresses too small for me in size 10. To be honest, I’m trying to lose a bit of weight at the moment (which seems to be impossible as I was just hit by a terrible flu) as I want drop down to the size 8-10 territory again and not slip any further. But as it goes, the Phyllis is a rather stretchy fabric and can accommodate some size fluctuation, in my opinion. The top part is nice and stretchy but wouldn’t allow a bigger bust than mine, as it doesn’t fit perfectly even now with my 30GG’s. The neckline requires a rather low-cut bra (def not this Lepel “Iris” which I wear in the pics) so I have been wearing it mostly with t-shirt plunges such as my Kris Line “Marilou Deco” or my unpadded balconette Gossard “Phoebe”.



The waist sits perfectly on my 30″ waist, even though the size chart points me towards the size 12. I would say that this is because of the fabric and I do prefer a rather tight fit on my waist. Also, I don’t want to buy too baggy dresses as they don’t flatter my figure, especially if my weight shifts downwards. The bottom part of the dress looks super nice and rather flowy, but not too much as it doesn’t lift up in a windy weather. The length of the hem is flattering too – I love that it hits me just below the knee. This means it will maintain the vintage look but doesn’t look too long on me – I do not want to make my legs look shorter!

I am so sorry I didn’t get to take any better pics, I still have my camera stand attaching-thingy missing so hopefully I will find it at some point. Also, it appears to be that my bf is horrible at taking pics so what can I say, NO CAN DO. Hope you enjoyed this review though and I hope to be reviewing more stuff from Collectif in the future. If you have any comments or tips about Collectif’s sizes or fit, do drop a comment below! I am planning to order some other dress styles in the future and would love the advice. Also, if you fancy a Phyllis dress of your own, it’s on sale online in the Collectif store here. There are a fair amount of sizes left in colours Navy, Ivory and Black so you have a very good chance still to get this dress for the best price!