Big Dress Energy

Big Dress Energy


It is funny how we come to define ourselves and our tastes a certain way and as a consequence, stop even trying anything different. There are people who don’t do colour and people who don’t wear trousers and people who refuse to put on heels. Or flats. And I get it, it’s the celebrated ‘personal style’ we are all supposed to exhibit and it makes sense to have broad rules, so we don’t need to dress from scratch every single day, to go through the full process of defining ourselves through style over and over. It is exhausting and unnecessary.

Why I keep encouraging people – possibly to an unreasonable extent – to try new, different things is that getting too stuck is no fun either. If you wear jeans and blazers because you adore them, fantastic. If you wear them because you tell yourself that you’re a jeans and blazer kind of a girl – well, that may be. But maybe you are also something else.

For years, I was suspicious of big dresses. I loved dressing up, but I thought I was all about long sinuous gowns, elegant and slinky and simple of cut. Frankly, I thought those poufy and ruffly creations were rather vulgar and didn’t even consider trying them on. Until I found this dress and never looked back.

I was ahead of the curve with my sudden affection for the ‘haystacks’ (as they are called in Estonian): in recent seasons, big, seriously voluminous dresses have been everywhere. I remember when Molly Goddard first came out with her subversively feminine tulle creations, long before the world-famous Villanelle dress. This spring, Tomo Kuizumi completely stole the show at the New York Fashion Week. Valentino has been doing amazing versions of BDs for a while, Marc Jacobs has got in on it and Giambattista Valli suddenly looks fresh and interesting, not boringly princessy. Rihanna and Lady Gaga both have had a role to play in this shift and master classes in BDE were recently delivered by Billy Porter and Gemma Chan at the Oscars.

To me, these big dresses no longer seem twee, they seem almost radical. The attitude has changed, it’s less about being pretty and more about being unapologetic, about taking up space, about being impossible to ignore. The dresses are still beautiful, in a way that is undeniable, almost like a force of nature: masses of gorgeous fabrics in gorgeous, unexpected colours. They are feminine, but often in an exaggerated way, reminding me of the hyperfemininity of drag queens. Feathers, ruffles, pinks are all very much part of the BDE* lexicon, as are inflated shapes and bold, even weird colour combinations.

What people who don’t wear these dresses often don’t realise is that there is a freedom to them that those elegant columns I tend(ed) to prefer lack. You can move, take long strides, have pockets, kick your shoes off. Your figure is not on a merciless display in the way it is, say, in a satin slip dress. I love seeing bigger women in big dresses, like Melissa McCarthy in Marc Jacobs. Michelle Obama in THOSE boots and the yellow dress rocked the same vibe, even if the dress wasn’t literally that big.

I’m wearing two dresses by Riina Põldroos in these pictures. Both are about volume, colour and boldness rather than traditional sexiness or minimal elegance. I find them extremely easy to wear, considering these are ginormous dresses in bright colours that make quite a statement. The yellow ensemble is technically a two-piece, consisting of a corset and skirt – you can wear them separately in a more casual way.

*Big Dress Energy is a play on Big Dick Energy. It’s OK to google.

Clothes by Riina Põldroos (the yellow is mine, the blue borrowed for the shoot), makeup by Grete Madisson, hair by Natallia at Helen Heinroos Hair, images by Krõõt Tarkmeel.

14 Comments

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  1. 1
    Miina

    Big dress with pockets? I could totally do this! Especially because I’m a big lady and there will be therefore more of that gorgeous fabric.

    • 2
      Ykkinna

      Both of these have pockets and fortunately, I see more and more gowns having them. And it’s just a fact of life that it’s much easier to have pockets with a dress like this, as opposed to something very fitted.

      And exactly my point on size and fabric!!

  2. 3
    Saara

    I’ve been following you for years now, but hardly ever leave comments. However, I think I need to change that, as your way of expressing yourself is absolutely fantastic. Your ability to make people (or at lease me) understand what you want to say is truly extraordinary. Thank you for that 🙂

    • 4
      Ykkinna

      It is very kind of you to say so and I really appreciate you taking the time to comment. Your support is also very well timed, as I was worried that I’m not making my point clearly or emphatically enough. I’m therefore particularly glad to hear that my message did come across!

    • 6
      Ykkinna

      Thank you! I knew it was for me as soon as I saw it on the hanger before the show. Also goes to show we shouldn’t have those preconceived notions about what colours suit us…

  3. 7
    tyxie

    Ball gown with pockets? Omg, lovely! I wish I would have an event requiring something like this, but a) I don’t and b) I am extremely short, which means it is difficult to find and properly wear something floor-length.
    That said, today is the first day for me to wear white jeans. I am practical person, so this is just to try things that I normally wouldn’t (got them cheap and cut off about 10cm). So today I have meeting with my boss (whom I haven’t seen for nearly 4 months) and I haven’t spilled tea or food on myself, yess 😀

    • 8
      Ykkinna

      I hope the first day in white jeans went well🙂 I was very suspicious of white jeans for ages, but bought a pair 2-3 years ago and have worn them to death.

      Being short does definitely add to the challenge of wearing long, voluminous silhouettes. What I have noticed (I have several short and stylish friends) is that it helps when you keep the shape very sharp. Fitted on top and then more volume below, but with clean lines. But it obviously depends on specific people, their body shape and boldness level🙂

  4. 9
    Tracy

    I love the pictures and I love the words even more. “Bold” is a great word to describe the two gowns. Also, I think they’re the type of clothes that require a woman to be at least over 18 to pull off.

    • 10
      Ykkinna

      Thank you! Bold is good🙂 While I’m not sure it’s (just) the age, confidence and experience definitely help with dresses like this.

  5. 11
    Marju

    This yellow dress is amazing on you, and inspired me to wear my own yellow dress (not so glamorous thou) today for over two years. I also got several compliments, there is something about this color that really lifts the mood and glams up the life. Thank you for inspiring blog!

    • 12
      Ykkinna

      Thank you for the lovely words and well done for wearing that dress! Colour really does wonderful things for our mood, that is one reason I’m such an advocate.

  6. 13
    cristina

    Ykkinna…wow! In the second photo with the yellow dress you look like a Hitchcock woman, a la Eva Marie Saint. I love that hairdo and really everything of the. post and the Venice series. Thanks for sharing! As Saara wrote before the way of expressing yourself is absolutely fantastic. I am thinking those days that maybe *I* am also something more…

    • 14
      Ykkinna

      Thank you for this wonderful (and too flattering) comparison! And all the kind words. It has been one of my persnal favourite shoots, too, and I ADORED the hair. Also, I need to remember to post about Venice while it’s still fresh in my mind. (Of course you are more.)

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