Dresses can be both exquisite and affordable, but if they don’t fit well, they wouldn’t look as lovely as they did when the impeccably figured mannequin wore them.

You can have them altered, but spending for the alteration is like paying back the savings you made when you bought that inexpensive piece of clothing—plus, you’d have to wait for at least a few days to get your dress back while praying to high heavens that the modista wasn’t inspired by Frankenstein while sewing your dress.

This had been my dilemma for over two weeks—finding a dress for a family event pronto, while taking into careful consideration my budget (I don’t buy dresses, so I wasn’t too keen on spending a lot on one). Little did I know that more than budget, there was a bigger hurdle in unearthing that perfect dress: finding one that fits.

Believe me, I went to all the popular women’s boutiques any Filipino woman would suggest off the top of their heads just to find “the one.” Think, ransacking an entire Megamall of clothes shops just to stumble upon that one elusive piece of clothing. At first, it was a matter of “Oh, that dress looks cute! I’ll try that on”—I was more focused on whatever looked nice on display.

But dress after dress, I got more frustrated because they just didn’t fit! With my small frame, the cutest clothes looked like a disheveled basahan on me (goodness, what could be worse than a rag on a clothesline—the day after a tropical storm?). Even if some of the dresses came in XS or were marketed for the petite woman, they just didn’t complement my body type. What little curves I had were obscured by a lack of a cinched waist, a bodice that’s too loose, and arm holes that go halfway down my torso, among other niggles. I wanted to resort to the pre-teens’ section. But I was so displeased I ended up having a haircut.

The following week, I went to Shangri-La Mall. I knew I’d probably end up spending more there, but I thought maybe I’d find something from Zara or Debenhams under P2,000 since they were on sale. Wrong. Alas, the size dilemma snuck up on me again. Then I saw Unarosa’s signage. Remembering that it was recently featured here, I decided to see if their pieces look as good as their photos when viewed up close.

The moment I stepped into their shop in the fifth level, it was like love at first sight. Just glancing at their merchandise, I knew I’d find “the one” in their store. As it turned out, I found more than one. I tried on many pieces and most of them fit my body to a tee—this thanks to their accommodating staff that knew which clothes to recommend given my body type. And even if I’m more of a T-shirt kind of girl, aside from the dress, I also ended up buying a blouse that I could wear on a night-out—even if I don’t go out on gimmicks. Ah, the perils of being surrounded by nice clothes!

But if you’re worried that my finding a dress in Unarosa means that their clothes cater to the petite market, banish the thought because when I was trying on some of their pieces, a pregnant woman was also racking her brain for which clothes to buy in the other dressing room. Unarosa has a large selection of pieces to choose from as though the variety was really meant to allow women of different body types—as well as personalities—to find something that they’ll not just like, but would complement their bodies, too.

Visit Unarosa’s website. Unarosa is also located at 50th Avenue at Robinsons Galleria, 2/F Shoppesville Greenhills, and Tiendesitas. Its Shangri-La branch also has an ongoing sale:

This entry was posted on Wednesday, July 16th, 2008 at 9:00 am and is filed under Fashion for Women. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.