My mission to try on eleventy-billion things easily centers around dresses, which Anthropologie excels at. Come spring and summer especially Anthro never fails to release at least 10 dresses that I want to buy. Over the past few weekends I’ve tried on a bunch in order to decide which ones to get. In other words, this is a long post!
The Slice of Lime Dress ($178, above) has summer party written all over it. This Corey Lynn Calter number sort of resembles a ballerina costume, no? When I began to try it on the first thing I noticed was that the sash in real life was very sad in comparison to the sash on the product page. Much thinner and unable to reproduce the fabulous bow of the website. Anthro is constantly guilty of this! If there is one place that deserves a wealth of fabric it is the sash of a party dress. Once on this dress had a real 50s sock hop to feel to it that I loved. This dress was true to size in a 6 for me. The top is pretty fitted to the point where I felt a bit like I was wearing a corset. But it wasn’t so constricting that I couldn’t breathe or move. The skirt is not overly poofy or itchy. I should note that the skirt hits a few inches above the knee. I really like this dress.
one.September’s Mixed Media Dress ($158) was featured in the June catalogue and I couldn’t wait to see it real life. I’m not sure what I was expecting but I was disappointed in real life. The top of the dress is jersey; I think I was expecting something a bit more structured like cotton. When I put the dress on (true size 6) it did not look good on me. The jersey top was droopy and pulling down a bit. And the black waistband hit midway up my ribcage, much too high. I see now the model shot is the same way but on her it looks fine. On me not so much. The skirt is a gorgeous silk but the top made it feel cheap. Not quite what I was hoping for.
The Terasina Dress ($118) by Maeve comes in a spicy orange (above) or as a little black dress. My commented that I looked like a gingerbread girl in this dress but I prefer to think of it as a cupcake dress. It has just the right amount of ruffles for confectionary sweetness. And what a flattering shape it creates on! I love how the dress naturally cinches at the waist. You could easily throw a belt on over this for a day look. The keyhole is maybe a little bit bigger than I’d like but it’s not overly revealing. The only wrinkle was that I found myself in between sizes to fit the top correctly. I would most likely buy an 8 (one size up) and get it tailored.
I was pretty convinced the Swirled Rosette Dress ($188) wouldn’t work on me when I saw it. The dress has a black elastic band behind the huge rosette. The band is cut pretty low so a typical strapless bra wouldn’t work. You’d need one of the ones that buckles very low in back. I tried on the dress and loved it! I wasn’t expecting it to be nearly as adorable as it was. For a night out or a party one step down from black tie this is it. All you need. Done. I had to size up to an 8 for the best fit. I found the 6 cut into my back a bit. One nice unexpected touch was that the dress has pockets! I am not in love with the hem, which has a ruffly trim to it. Otherwise this was just exquisite.
Give me a meadow to run in and the Bungalow Gables Dress ($138) to wear and call me one happy camper. How can you not love this frock? I have the yellow pictured because it’s so summerific but I tried on the grey in-store and would probably go that way if I buy this. The medium was the right size for me. The silk feels great and I like how the shoulder has an extra row of ruffles without cutting a nasty line through the shoulder. The skirt poofs out a bit at the waist but not overly so. As with the Terasina Dress the keyhole reveals just a bit of cleavage.
I had the Edges & Angles Dress ($148) pegged as a Plenty by Tracey Reese dress but it’s actually Moulinette Soeurs. I love how much visual interest there is…the lines and angles really appeal to my mathematical side. I tried on my true size 6 and the dress fit fine. A couple of things I didn’t like: the black stripes are slightly see-through; and the strip of fabric running across the front of the dress was not sewn into the waist, it was sewn over it (at least on the one I tried on). I would worry about the strip coming loose. I found that this dress didn’t quite flare enough to escape my thighs — there was a bit of saddle bagness showing through the shape of the dress. I was pretty neutral on this one overall. Maybe a size 8 would be better.
More dresses coming tonight!
Love the first dress! I've noticed that a lot of clothing at Anthropologie looks completely different in person than it does online. I'm so glad there is a store by me now!!