Beach Dress or Tunic: How to Buy at a Good Price
Dress, tunic or sundress: where to start
Beachwear is bought for a specific situation: walking from the beach to a café, covering your shoulders from the sun, or simply having a light piece in your suitcase. The style depends on that. A tunic is usually loose and shorter, a maxi dress covers your legs to the ankles, a shirt dress works in town too, and a crocheted piece is more decorative and hardly protects against wind.
The fabric matters as much as the style. Linen and cotton breathe and do not cling to the body, viscose is soft and drapes well but can shrink after washing. Chiffon is light and dries fast, but it is see-through, so you need a swimsuit in a matching tone under it.
How it works in BlaBlaPrice
Instead of browsing dozens of shops, you create a request once: the style, size, colour, city. Clothing sellers reply with offers in the chat, with photos, the price and delivery terms, and BlaBlaPrice shows the best one first. Sellers see their place among the others and improve their terms, so the price often comes out better. Your phone number is hidden, and the service is free for the buyer. Details are on the “How it works” page.
What to put in your request
- Style — tunic, maxi, sundress, shirt dress or crocheted.
- Material — linen, cotton, viscose, chiffon; you can say right away that synthetics will not do.
- Length — maxi, midi, knee length or a number of centimetres from the shoulder.
- Size — letter size, or even better your bust and hip measurements: beachwear is often loose, and shops' size charts differ.
- Colour and print — for example, white or without a bright pattern.
- Brand, if you are looking for a specific one.
- Condition — new with tags or second-hand in good condition.
- Budget, if you want to name one.
Example: “I am looking for a new white linen maxi tunic, size M, with side slits. Delivery to Toronto, budget up to $25.”
How to compare offers
Compare only like with like: the fabric composition, length and size. Ask for photos on a model or on a hanger in daylight, because white and light colours in filtered photos are misleading. Ask whether there is a size chart, whether you can return the piece if it does not fit, and who pays for sending it back. For second-hand, ask about fading, wear and smell.
Common mistakes
People take a “universal size” without looking at the length: on a tall girl the tunic turns out half as long as expected. They do not ask about the composition and get viscose with a large share of synthetics. They buy thin white chiffon with no lining and then look for something to wear under it.
To go with the dress, choose a sarong or cover-up or look at swimsuits so the colours match. More ideas are in the “Women's underwear and swimwear” section.
