Last year, I learned the word ‘peplum,’ which is that flared/pleated ‘skirt’ around the waist. As a dress, it is usually finished off with a straight body-hugging skirt. It can also be a blouse, paired with trousers or a straight skirt. Though I’d never heard of the word ‘peplum’ before, I first saw it in Thumbelina (Beetle Ball scene).
In 2012, peplum became the hottest trend (actually, apparently it had already made its comeback in 2011), as exemplified by these photos of Crown Princess Mary of Denmark and Pippa Middleton in the same Project D printed peplum dress.
It even looks like Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge may have looked to her late mother-in-law, Diana, Princess of Wales, for inspiration when she sported a peplum outfit during one of the Diamond Jubilee engagements in 2012!
It’s always fun to see some peplum on TV, like this lovely dress Cat from CW’s Beauty and the Beast will be wearing in E14!
While it may appear that peplums suit only one body type, ShawnTe Pierce points out in her article ‘Figure-flattering peplums for your body type‘ that there are different kinds of peplums:
- standard gathered: ‘little to no waist definition…narrow or slim in the hip/derriere’
- flared: pear-shapes, inverted-triangle shapes
- pleated: all body types
- asymmetrical: all body types / narrow hips
- cutout: narrow hips / hourglass
I think my body type is more of a pear shape, which I’d inherited from my grandma. Though I am grateful for my body, most of the time, I hate that my top half looks too skinny. 
Anyways, here are my 2 new peplum dresses, one of which is more flared and the other is more gathered.
This is my [new] work outfit from JACOB for today (1 Feb):
I feel like the dress size could have been smaller. I might have to tailor it to fit me more. The waist is a bit baggy.
This was my Work With Me Dress in Deep Red from Modcloth ($49.99 US):
I love this dress but the sleeves are a bit funny. The pointiness reminds me of something from the future!
Related articles
- Trend: Peplum (shiconthecheap.com)
- Pretty in Peplum (betweenfriendsblog.com)
- How to wear a peplum (guardian.co.uk)
- Tricky Trend-The Peplum (threegirlsinaheadscarf.wordpress.com)
- The Peplum Craze (allstuffrandom.wordpress.com)
The Lady and the Rose 
Love this post!
Thank you! 😀
They’re both really chic! I hope they stay in style long enough for me to wear one somewhere…like an interview! That modcloth one’s got a great price tag too.
I think they’ll last for a while yet. You have to check out the other colours for Modcloth’s Work With Me. I think the black is quite chic but I didn’t want a wardrobe of LBDs (can be a tad depressing, so I decided to add colour!).
I love peplum and it reminds me so much of the 80s. However, the latest styles seem much more classic than that.
They’re one good thing from the 80’s! I’m so glad I was born towards the end of the 80’s. :p I read in one of the related articles that peplums started in the 40’s. Glad fashion has a cycle. 🙂
Lovely post! I remember watching Thumbelina constantly when I was a kid with my sister. Never realised the fashions they incorporated into her design until now.
I loved Thumbelina! I watched it again last year! 😀 I’m so glad you’ve seen and enjoyed it too. I noticed her main outfit was supposed to be historical looking (Regency with modern, despite the fact the cartoon takes place in Medieval France?) but her red outfit & wedding gown are 80-90’s!