A while back, you may recall this lovely 1950s dress that, according to the measurements, should fit me perfectly. Thanks to an errant zipper and perhaps not being wiggly enough (flexibility was never my strong point), actually getting the dress on was a physical impossibility:
I listed it on Etsy in the hope that someone more lithe or zipper-skilled could make it work. Soon after, Melissa (who has her own Etsy shop selling adorable hand-knit berets) bought it and promised me pictures of the dress being worn. At first, we thought the zipper might need moving, but after donning some foundation garments (and completing a semester at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wiggle-ry), Melissa performed a feat of unbelievable vintage magic: she conquered the dress no one could wear!
The Dress FORMERLY Known as The Dress No One Can Wear!
Even if Melissa and I are the same size, sometimes straight-forward measurements aren’t enough. Different body fat levels/distribution, bone structure, and even posture can affect how a garment works on different bodies. Undergarments are also very important, since they alter the fit of a garment even on the same body (for example, a modern foam bra vs a seamed bra vs no bra). And for those particularly tricky garments, a bit of hocus-pocus helps, too!
The Pragmatic Costumer 