Dear Anthropologie, please bring these items back!

The Fanned Flames Blouse, the #1 item on my hunt list right now
Looking for a size 8 or 10

There has been much talk in the community recently about how Anthropologie could get an instant sales boost by re-releasing some coveted past pieces. So today this post is dedicated to some Anthropologie items we’d love to see reissued. I’ll start with my list and then please share yours in the comments! If you need help on how to add a photo to your comment, here’s the FAQ.

(NOTE: THIS POST IS PHOTO-HEAVY AND MAY TAKE LONGER TO LOAD.)


Some of the items on my list are pieces I already own and some are pieces I missed out on. Though I had no problem making this list, I admit to being split on whether I really want Anthropologie to recreate them or not. For a few of these items they’re dear to my heart in part because they were so hard to get, and it would feel a little weird to suddenly see them ubiquitous on Anthropologie racks again. Then again, it would be so cool to own the pieces I missed out on the first time, especially the ones I couldn’t afford when they originally came out. My one request would be that if Anthropologie did start re-releasing items that they stayed true to the first run. No swapping silk for poly. No design changes. No adjustments to the fit. Just a straight up re-run.

The key here is to remember the reasons why we miss these items: attention to detail, good cuts, flattering fit, and special design elements that are uniquely Anthropologie. These are the things sorely lacking in the current items. What’s interesting is that some of these pieces didn’t tempt me at all when they first came out but my style has changed to make me wish I’d noticed them back then.

Let’s start my list with tops. Back in 2008 my budget didn’t stretch far enough to afford Leifsdottir’s Fanned Flames Blouse and I’m still hunting for my size to this day. I love the buttons up the side and the detailed fan which starts on the back neckline and cascades down the front. The rolled neckline is beautiful. Likewise, the Libretto Blouse (shown below the Fanned Flame Blouse’s product shots) is another beautiful blue blouse I couldn’t afford at the time. The defined waistline and simple print make this a superb work top.

Fanned Flames Blouse
Libretto Blouse

Cape of Sapphires Coat & Shorter Days Hoodie

Anthropologie’s coats are always dreamy, and looking through some past catalogues reminded me of ones I’d longed for back in the day. Isn’t this catalogue shot above beautiful? I love the layering of a thick cable knit under the bold pattern wool topper. I would wear both of these items in a heartbeat. I miss the days when the catalogues used to inspire outfits like this.

Shorter Days Hoodie


Cape of Sapphires Coat
The Ruffled Plumes Jacket

I get emails at least once a month about Elevenses’s Ruffed Plumes Jacket, mostly wondering if I’m sitting on some secret stockpile of the coat. Nope. I don’t own it, though I do own Tano’s Lichen Bag pictured with the coat. This feather print has appeared on a few Anthropologie items and is a perfect choice here. With pretty tiered ruffles at the neckline and softly tailored fit, it’s no wonder this jacket is such a hot item (or that Amanda Seyfried’s character wore this jacket in Chloe. I have no doubt that a new run would sell out instantly. (Though hopefully not to opportunistic resellers…perhaps a limit on items per customer would help stem that tide.)

Ruffled Plumes Jacket

Another jacket that I get asked about a lot is the Floe and Current Coat. How many aqua winter coats does one see? Not nearly enough in my opinion! I paid through the nose for this one on eBay…and the size 8 I got turned out to be a little too small on me. So I’ve bid on a few auctions for a size 10 but been outbid every time. Hopefully I’ll get lucky sometime. What’s really sad is that this jacket got all the way down to $50 on sale (!!!) in early 2009 but at the time I just wasn’t interested. Kicking myself? Yeah, I am now.

I NO LONGER OWN THE FLOE AND CURRENT COAT. PLEASE DO NOT CONTACT ME ABOUT SELLING IT, I NO LONGER HAVE IT. THANKS!

The details on this coat are jaw-dropping. From a butterfly-adorned interior lining to a 70s inspired outer-ruffle (take note Anthropologie: this is how you tie 70s into a modern design as you used to know!) and whimsical brass closures. Would love to see this one again.

Floe and Current Coat

Neatnik Peacoat

I miss ruffles. No one wants to do a good ruffle anymore it seems because 2008 was pretty much the Year Of the Ruffle and retailers quickly tired of that trend. Well, I am not tired of ruffles!! And I would happily show my love of ruffles to the world if I could just find a Neatnik Peacoat. They just don’t make coats like this anymore, with the tender small ruffle around the back before curving around the front at a feathered 90-degree angle. I love the three-buttoned cuffs and the size of the collar. I swoon for this jacket even now.

Layered Minidress
Yes, that’s right, more ruffles. Every winter from about 2003 through 2008, Anthropologie would release some kind of layered sweaterdress. Usually the underlayer was lace with some sort of beautiful neckline, with a long wooly piece on top. My favorite is the Layered Minidress which is from 2007 if memory serves. It doesn’t look like much in the product shot below but I recall loving it when I tried it on in-store. Financial constraints kept this from coming home with me at the time and then Anthropologie abandoned the design. I think it would be a huge hit in a comeback. Product shot below, followed by some more dresses I’d love to own.
Layered Minidress
Andvari Dress (on the left model)
Andvari Dress
Savoy Flora Dress
Savoy Flora Dress
Eyelet Silk Dress, #2 on my hunt list right now
Look at the incredible details on this dress!! Look at the fit! The length!
Incredible design, wish there were dresses like this now…
Star Grass Dress, #3 on my hunt list right now
The front on this one is a little sheer but again the detailwork is what sets this dress apart.
I would wear this dress today, tomorrow, forever!
The Scalloped Dots Skirt, which will be in my tumblr OOTD today

Skirts are on the upswing at Anthropologie, though the sudden mini-mini invasion has me bummed. It used to be pretty easy to find a knee-length, a-line skirt at Anthropologie that you knew would flatter. No longer.

The Scalloped Dots Skirt isn’t quite knee-length but what a huge community hit this was! Do a Google image search for it and you’ll get tons of outfit inspiration. I managed to get super lucky, grabbing a popback of this one for $20 or so. I’ve been happily surprised by how versatile this skirt is and have several old-school OOTD shots with it on EA. I get two or three queries about this one in a six-month period. It’s cute, it’s on-trend right now. What more could you want?

Scalloped Dots Skirt
(note: not as a-line as it looks)
Kittatinny Sweater Skirt
It is: a-line, knee-length, warm, adorable and #4 on my hunt list
Kittatinny Sweater Skirt
Ingonish Skirt
Hey, remember when Anthropologie used to make lovely skirts like this?
Winding Ruffle Boots

And finally, one Anthro item I’m lucky to own (thanks to a community member no less!) is a pair of boots. I have a line of people waiting to buy mine if I ever decide to sell. And the price for these on eBay climbed to an ungodly sum.

These aren’t your ordinary leather boots. With a dressage ruffle on both the top and winding up one side, these boots are compliment magnets. I just adore mine, though I wish they’d come in extended calf. Just like I wish any of Anthro’s boot styles came in extended calf. THINK ABOUT IT, Anthro. I’m eternally grateful to Molly Darling for offering me a pair she’d done a charge/send for but no longer needed. Nearly two years on I’m still loving these boots! I almost wish it was colder so I could wear them now. And I wish Anthropologie would re-issue these for everyone else hunting for them.

Winding Ruffle Boots

That’s my list of items I’d want Anthropologie to re-release. What’s on your wish list?

If you’re hunting for these items yourself, I humbly suggest trying the Trade Market (here and the Facebook edition). When using eBay, make sure you verify that the items listed are authentic Anthropologie as knock-offs become more prevalent. Recently I’ve had some success negotiating prices with eBay sellers on older items. I think as the brand loses some of its hype-sheen sellers are more willing to come down in price to get a piece out of their inventory. My personal threshold is retail price; I’m not willing to pay above what an item originally retailed for. Anything higher is price gouging to me.

Previously:
Catharsis: The Winding Road of Anthropologie
What Does Anthropologie Mean to You?

Do tell: What are your favorite Anthropologie items?

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