This product claims to keep your dress from blowing in the wind—does it work?
Will 'dress weights' save your dress disasters?
Credit:
Instagram @wendyydarling_ / DressStrong
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Have you ever been walking down the street in a cute dress, then a big gust of wind rudely whips your skirt up, and you suddenly turn into Marilyn Monroe circa 1954? We’ve all been there. It’s embarrassing and inconvenient, especially when you have your hands full. I’ve definitely spent a good portion of my days walking around awkwardly with my hands grasping the bottom of my skirt, holding it down with all my might. Because I know the second I let my grip relax, the devil breeze will snatch it up.
And I don’t know about you but I usually don't like to flash my underwear (or my Bandelettes) to everyone on the street. But up until now, there was nothing to do about this problem except to wear floor-length dresses or pray to the wind gods.
A life-saving invention for dress-wearers
Dress Weights are smaller and lighter with their magnet-shaped size.
In comes the legendary DressWeights. I recently found out about them through a Buzzfeed listicle and fell in love instantly. These little weights have an adhesive back that you stick on the inside hem of your dress to weigh it down, so the wind is no longer a factor. Why didn’t I think of that? They sounded too good to be true—so I had to test them out and make sure that they actually worked.
I ordered a package of DressWeights by DressStrong and Dress Downs by Garment Weight since they're the two types currently out there. The DressWeights—which are only available on their website—are the ones I initially saw on Buzzfeed and looked really tiny and cute. Dress Downs, on the other hand, are available on Amazon and have been featured in tons of publications. I figured I’d try them both out to see which one worked better for my day-to-day, dress-wearing needs.
Day 1: Testing the DressWeights
Dress Weights are smaller and lighter with their magnet-shaped size.
The DressWeights came in the mail first so I tried them out immediately. They looked and felt like little magnets with a sticky, adhesive backing. The weight was super easy to apply to the hem of my dress and stayed put all day. Each $15 package contains four reusable weights and DressStrong recommends to "wear all four DressWeights, two in the front horizontally along the interior hem of your dress just at your thighs and two in the back similarly placed.”
But personally, I didn’t find it very economical to use all of them on just one dress. Even though the weights are reusable, the company states that "when DressWeights are stored properly between wears (or dress to dress) in the plastic storage component it came in, they’re reusable on average half a dozen times.” So putting all four weights on every dress you wear means you’re only able to use them about six times before they stop being sticky.
Because that seemed pretty wasteful, I first tested the weights with just one on the front hem of my dress to see if that would be enough to hold it down. Throughout the day, I noticed it kept hitting my leg when I walked but eventually I got used to it—it kind of felt like someone left the security tag on my dress. When I went out onto the streets, I did feel more secure even with just one weight.
The 0.5 ounce weight held my dress down but I quickly realized that it didn’t do much for big wind gusts. So I bumped it up to two weights in the front of my dress on either side and felt much more secure. When asked if two would be enough, DressStrong said “Wearing only one or two wouldn’t ensure full coverage but depending on the wind speed and fabric of the dress, two may suffice.” The two weights in the front definitely held their own better against wind but still weren’t a match for the big gusts you get walking between tall buildings in a city.
Day 2: Testing the Dress Downs
The application process is super easy — just peel, stick, and strut away!
When I tried the Dress Downs, which come in a pack of four for just $12, it was a very similar experience. These are definitely a lot more popular, as they have been featured on Cosmopolitan, E! News, Buzzfeed, The Today Show, and more. For placement, the company says to "wear them on the inside vertical seam for optimal discreetness.” They’re similar to DressWeights in that they can only be reused five to seven times depending on the fabric. Garment Weight states that “more cotton fabrics tend to leave residue, meaning less use. While more sheer fabrics like polyester make for a clean release when removed.”
Although these weigh slightly more than the DressWeights at 0.8 oz, they honestly felt so much lighter and I didn’t notice them hitting my leg as much. Maybe it’s because the weight was more evenly distributed because the Dress Downs were a lot longer than the DressWeights. For these, I also only wore one weight at first followed by two weights in the front of each dress (even though they suggest using four, because we all know we ain’t got that type of money).
The one thing that bothered me about the Dress Downs was that if I had the weight on the horizontal hem, the bottom of my dress would flip up when I walked, revealing the weight! There was no way to stop this—I tried moving the weight up a few inches so it wasn’t at the hem but then it just looked like a weird, small bulge. The vertical hem was fine but I found it didn’t necessarily work as well against the wind. Since I didn’t really feel the weight of the Dress Downs, I personally didn’t feel super secure with my dress.
How did the DressWeights and the Dress Downs compare?
Here you can see the DressDowns (left) and Dress Weights on the same rayon dress.
First, I decided to test how visible the weights were by asking my coworkers. I wore a stretchy, cotton dress to the office and put one weight on each side of the dress. I then told my coworkers I was only wearing one dress weight and asked which side it was on. Every single person agreed that the lengthy Dress Down was a lot more noticeable and weighed down my cotton dress (which I haven’t been able to un-stretch since). No one could tell that the magnet-sized DressWeight was even there.
And in terms of durability, I accidentally ran both through the wash and to my surprise, they both stayed stuck to the dress afterwards. I wore the dress the next day and the DressWeight fell off within hours of wearing it (forever lost to the depths of the subway). But the Dress Down is still holding strong—for now.
However, both of them come with their issues. The Dress Downs are longer-lasting but are more obvious (and may flip up when you walk). The DressWeights, on the other hand, are smaller and more discreet but are also more annoying to walk with and may fall off faster.
Conclusion: Are dress weights worth it?
We went down to the windy subway stairwell and tested to see just how well the weights worked.
Honestly, maybe. Neither one of the brands I tested completely cured the common problem of wind gusts blowing up your dress—especially when I tried using a fan to purposefully blow my dress up, recreating my own Marilyn moment. But every single person I told immediately said, “I NEED THEM” and they became a great talking point in any conversation. A.k.a the weights are definitely good if you want to be the trendy, cool friend.
If you’re okay with using all four weights per package on each dress and can commit to the fact that after six wears, you’ll need to buy another package, then using dress weights regularly can work for you. But if you’re money-conscious like me, maybe pass on this.
Get a 4-pack of DressWeights for $15 on their website
Get a 4-pack of Dress Downs for $15 on Amazon or $12 on their website
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