News » Fit

• Moving on up!

  Published Jun 12 2020 in Canadian Designer, Cherry Velvet, Cherry Velvet Dresses, Customer Appreciation, Fit, inspiration, Made In Canada, Made in Vancouver, sizing, Staff, staff updates, Vancouver-designed, what's new

  We have some big news....!
  

  
  
  After many years in Vancouver, we are moving our operations to New Westminster. We close our doors in East Vancouver, at the end of June. We will definitely miss the bright and creative atmosphere of this neighbourhood; it was always so inspiring to be surrounded by local artists. 
  
  We've made so many memories in this studio. One of the first notable ones is our #stunningatanysize shoot which we made right before we moved into our fresh new space.
  
  
  
  Since then, we've done so many photoshoots and events, What a pleasure it's been to be here. <3
  
  
  Cherry Velvet's "Pucker Up Party" Valentine's Day Event, 2016
  
  
  Our Men's Shirt Launch, 2017
  
   “What about Studio Shops and Personal Shop Appointments?”
  
  For the time being, it will not be possible to shop in person. However, we will be holding Pop-up Shops and doing events when it becomes safer to do so.  The best way to find out what's happening with us is to sign up for our Newsletter  (Not to mention 15% off, if it's your first online order.) 
  
  Getting Your Best Fit Online

  During this time of transition, we encourage you to shop online. We are always happy to help with fit and answer your questions.

  "The very best way I can accurately help you with fit is to email your measurements. It is just as important to me as it is to you to ensure your dresses fit!" ~ Diane

  Please also be sure to check out each style's specific fit guide (found on each product page).
  
  Don't have a tape measure? Click here for our printable, handy dandy solution!
  
  So that's our big announcement! :) We're so excited about the future ahead, and we always appreciate your continued support. 

  As always...more new dresses coming soon!

  
  XOXO 
  
  Diane Kennedy & The Cherry Velvet Team

• New Style, New Dress Fit!

  Published Apr 17 2020 in Cherry Velvet, Diane Kennedy, Dresses, fit, plus size, shift dress, women's

  Did you know Cherry Velvet has a sister brand, Diane Kennedy? Our designer Diane originally designed each line for a specific customer, but we're starting to see a bit of overlap, a meeting of two worlds so to speak. You may have noticed the Diane Kennedy brand coats and capes on the Cherry Velvet shop in the past few months, and there will be more crossover items to come.

  

  No matter the label, Diane designs classic, timeless styles that fit and flatter many body shapes and sizes.

  Let us introduce you to the Waterfront dress. You'll notice a Diane Kennedy label and hangtag on these dresses, but other than that, there will not be any difference in the fabric or quality. Just like Cherry Velvet, all of Diane Kennedy's garments are consciously created and ethically produced in beautiful Vancouver, BC in women's regular and plus sizes.

  

  With a slightly extended shoulder and a tailored fit around the armhole, it fits very similar to our Olivia dress through the upper body. It fits with room in the waistline (not too tight); while still coming in at the waist, it is more reminiscent of a looser shift style dress. It also has a higher, softened V neckline for coverage; a longer, mid calf length and quite generous inseam pockets. The looser fit and longer length are the most noticeable differences between a Cherry Velvet dress and this new DK style.

  From left to right: Enjoy the paisley-like filigrees of "Regency", abstract teal brushstrokes in "Ocean", tropical leaves in "Palm", and vintage storybooks in "Fables".

  

  We have more new dresses are coming throughout the season as usual. Diane is working in the office every day, shipping orders to make sure you can all get your hands on your dresses asap. Our business continues pretty much as usual, except for the social distancing keeping all our staff apart.

  Thank-you so much for your orders. We are incredibly grateful for your support! 

  If you have any questions, please feel free to reach us by email at info@cherryvelvetdresses.com!

  Stay safe,

  XOX Cherry Velvet

• Best Tips for a Perfect Fit

  Published Aug 15 2019 in Cherry Velvet Dresses, dress size, Fit, Measurements, perfect fit, sizing

  

  We've come up with our best tips for getting the fit of your online dress purchase right the first time. More than anything we want you to be thrilled with your Cherry Velvet dresses! Not only do we want you to LOVE the style, print, and colour, most of all we want you to love the FIT!  Because whether you're a new customer or a tried and true Cherry Velvet girl, your complete experience is truly important to us!

  “I truly feel like I’ve done my job well when a curvy girl finds THE dress, and her face lights up when she sees how perfectly it fits and how beautiful she looks” Diane Kennedy, designer.

  Best Tips: 

  1. Please measure yourself!! We can't stress this enough! Our sizes and fit are different than many other brands. Our sizing is very accurate to both regular (missy) size and plus sizes but that is a very subjective statement. What it means to us and to you is often not the same thing. Measurements don't lie though. Please don't guess! Measurements are the best chance for getting the fit right. Really!
  2. Please read the fit notes for the style you are buying. We've have been working on a revamp of this area on new styles and really hope that you, our customers will read them. While most of our dresses fit consistently there are a few rogues out there...Angelina is one or any style with stretch (spandex) We've been adding size charts to new styles as they come in.
  3. Please measure yourself and compare those numbers to the size chart. If you've never measured yourself before, don't worry it's easy! Here's our How to Measure Chart or you can watch this short, informative video.
  4. If you are unsure of your size PLEASE measure and then e-mail your measurements to us so we can help you. We are sweet little mature plus size ladies, we don't judge, we are here to help you. Our ONLY goal is to help you get the best fit. period. no judgement. ever.

  We want to help you!

  Email us here: cherryvelvetplus@gmail (dot) com

  XOX Diane and Barb

  P.S. Of course if you're local to our Vancouver studio, we're also happy to help you get your perfect fit in person. More info here

• Refitting A Classic: The Doris

  Published Jul 03 2019 in Canadian Designer, Cherry Velvet Dresses, Fit, Made in Vancouver, Slow Fashion

  With our pattern maker away on maternity leave - our designer, Diane, found herself back in the sewing room - For the first time in years!

  

  Diane has always been very hands-on when it comes to all facets of our dresses' production. As a seasoned fashion designer, she closely manages the pattern making and fittings, as well as monitoring production at our local factories.
  
  

  Diane's background in sewing started at very early age. Fun fact - She made all her own clothes during her high school years and often sewed for other people.  In grade 9, her sewing teacher actually paid her to sew for her! With style constantly on her mind and proven "clientele" at such a young age, she knew she found her calling and has been designing ever since.

  And so, years later, with our Doris dress going into production once more, Diane wanted to make an adjustment to the pattern to improve fit. After all, even a classic can use an edit once and awhile. 

  

  The shoulder straps, while designed to go over a bra, were fitting too wide on somebody with a narrower shoulder. Diane administered a fit correction to the pattern and took the opportunity to sew herself a new dress in our Spinderella print, so she could test out the correction.

  After this most recent session at the sewing machine, Diane was so delighted to remember how much she loved to sew - even after so many years! It's true; you never forget your first love ❤️

  "It's such a wonderfully satisfying feeling to be able to design, make the pattern and complete a dress from start to finish". - Diane Kennedy 
  
  Diane's style of designing dresses has always been this kind of old-fashioned, "use all the best ingredients" approach. From the 100% cotton prints she carefully chooses to the YYK zippers that are a well-known industry standard, Diane's passion can be seen in her commitment to her designs.
  
  Cherry Velvet's mission statement has always been to create a line of classic garments with exceptional fit and we hope this behind-the-scenes peek at our designer's process has helped illustrate her devotion for design!

  XOX Cherry Velvet

• How To Get Your Dress in Your Size

  Published Apr 10 2019 in boutique, Cherry Velvet, Cherry Velvet Dresses, cotton, dress size, Dresses, Fashion, Fit, Limited Edition, Made In Canada, sizing

  Are you sometimes frustrated when you can't find your dress size? If so, we're here to explain how and why that might be and what you can do about it!

  

  Maybe this is a good time to state that we are a smaller, boutique-sized company. While our active online presence may give the impression of a larger business, we are actually a team of just five individuals! If we manufactured our dresses overseas like a lot of larger companies, we probably wouldn't be having this conversation. This is not something that will ever happen with us, as we are proud to be a Canadian company that manufactures our dresses in Canada. This is something that means so much to us as well as the knowledge that no one will ever be exploited while making our dresses. The good news is because we are small we can be more fluid and make small changes that we feel our customers want. 

  While we do our very best to offer the widest selection of dresses possible, it all comes down to the ratio of sizes. You may or may not know that most companies cut their production of clothing in a ratio. The majority of units will be cut in the most popular sizes (middle sizes) and the smaller and larger sizes will receive fewer units. This is common practice in the clothing industry and it's also how retail stores order clothing for their stores, too. 

  As a small online retailer with a local shop, we can't make masses of dresses in each print we offer. We usually make 12-40 dresses per each unique print and those units get divided up over the sizes we carry. That's not a lot of dresses per size as we make 8 different sizes! Unfortunately, some sizes can sell out quickly.

  FYI, we're bringing the classic Chrissy Dress back and it'll be available in all sizes at our Studio shop and online soon in these new prints:

  

  To avoid any disappointment, please consider ordering your size early. As we see an increased demand in different sizes, we'll add more units in those sizes. We truly care about you, our amazing customers and do our best to respond to all your requests. We're always listening!

  We love to hear all of your ideas, feedback, and comments!

  If you are in the Vancouver area this Friday and Saturday we would love to see you at our Studio Shop!

  Join us this Fri, Apr 12, 2pm-7pm and Sat, Apr 13, 11am-5pm 
  @ 1635 Powell St. Vancouver, BC (Free parking is available)

   

  

• Smaller bust? We have dresses to fit YOU!

  Published Oct 12 2018 in Chrissy, Fit, Measurements, Paige, Roxy

  A question that we get asked a lot is what style of Cherry Velvet dress will fit me if I am smaller to medium-sized (B or C cup) in the bust. We've written this blog post to help you find your best fit and address this very question.

  One of the best examples of this is our Chrissy dress (more Chrissy dresses will come in Spring 2019 too)

  

  Paige is a style that's also more accommodating of a smaller bust line.

  

  Or the Roxy

  

  Other choices are Shelly, Lana, Veronica and new Elizabeth (coming very soon!)

  

  We try our best to accommodate all sizes and shapes but it's not always possible to fit everybody. However, we're always happy to help you get a great fitting dress in an honest and friendly way. And the best way to do that is by taking your measurements with a proper tape measure and then emailing us:

  Bust: Fullest part of your bust (this is NOT your bra size)

  Underbust: Right where the bra goes around your chest under your bust.

  Waist: Smallest part of your torso

  Hips: Widest part of your lower body (this could be your stomach or the top of your thighs)

  Height: Just in case you didn't know :)...the distance from the soles of your feet to the top of your head.

  We've created this short instructional video to show you how easy it is to get your measurements.

  That's it! If you have any questions about fit, we are always here help. Just so you know we are plus size ladies ourselves and there is no judgment here ever!

  XOX Cherry Velvet