Side note: this post is going to come off like I'm being hyper critical of my looks. I promise, I'm not internalizing any of my own criticism. I'm merely observing the proportions and commenting on them, not getting down on myself.
If you're not familiar with this pattern yet, it has sort of a swing top look to it, but in a knit. There is a swooping hem and it requires a fabric with good drape. This particular one is made from cotton jersey, so not the best match since it doesn't drape as well as rayon knit or ITY (like my first two, here and here). But setting fabric aside, I don't think the overall triangle shape works for me. I feel like my hips look wider than they are, and my boobs look lower than I'd like.
At first, I thought it was an issue with the neckline. As drafted, it's higher than I usually wear, which seemed to contribute to my less-than-perky boob look. I realized after making the dolman version that it has a lower neckline. For this bird version, I copied the lower neckline over and thought it would fix everything.
It's just not working for me. The tops are insanely comfortable. I want to like them. But from certain angles, I look like I'm wearing a tent. The drape falls straight down from my breasts in a weird way I don't think is flattering.
Secondly, the wide sweep of a hem at my hips kind of requires a skinny pant to balance the figure. Don't believe me? Look at how squat I look when this is paired with shorts.
It's a tank top. I want to wear it with shorts. Yes, this is Indiana and our weather is crazy. There are situations where a tank top and jeans are appropriate. But for such a fun, floaty top, I want to wear it when it's 90 degrees and I just need some air flow. With shorts. I LOVE the dolman version of the Santa Fe and have no complaints about it at all. Somehow, having the sleeves to balance my top half just makes more sense for me.
Is there something I'm missing here? I'm sure it's not all as bad as I'm making it out to be, but I simply don't feel confident with the way I look in the tank tops. These will be fine for around the house this summer, but that's about it.
Update July 2017: This post contains affiliate links. Text of the original post remains the same!