Reviews: Rinzu Robe, Moulinette Soeurs party dress, Lacemaker Skirt

The Rockefeller Center Anthropologie keeps tricking me. When you go downstairs there’s a mix of clothing, accessories and loungewear. They keep picking a loungewear item that looks like a clothing item to feature on one of the dressforms. Usually it’s belted or accessorized to look like an outfit. Then the process goes like this: I pick up said item, try it on and think to myself “this doesn’t quite feel like a real dress.” I search the site for the item, can’t find it and then about two weeks later finally realize it’s in the lounge section. That’s exactly what happened with the Rinzu Robe ($78) by Anne Pinkerton.

It was mostly the cut that threw me off in this case — I thought the super closed neckline and extra fabric in the skirt were odd. Now I realize it’s because this is a robe, not a dress. Truth be told I’d wear this out anyway and given the online reviews so would others. All you need is a slip underneath and maybe a belt on top.

I tried on my true size medium and it was perfect. The cap sleeves didn’t bother me too much; they didn’t make my upper arms look great but they weren’t overly widening them either. This dress sits easy and loose but since the silk is thin come colder days you will need to layer underneath and over to stay warm. For people who feel that Anthropologie’s dress price points are too high this is a great way to make an entry-level purchase.

This Moulinette Souers’ Windowpane Dress ($188). The Soho staff told me this dress was drawing a lot of interest. It’s made of something synthetic and is translucent (it is lined). The dress itself is beautiful with golden sketches of petals set against a snowy white backdrop. The peplum in the back is a thoughtful throwback touch and I love it.

I tried on my true size 6. It was very weird though, the dress fit fine but the lining was very tight on me, specifically around my thighs. The lining pulling caused the dress to pull too so if I was going to buy this dress I’d size up to an 8. I was not happy with the sash — it was too short in my opinion. It needed another couple of inches so that I could bow it correctly.

As lovely as I think this dress is I will not be buying it because of the back. There is no way to wear a bra with this dress. I think even my corset-style body shaping bras with low backs would show through the bottom of the large back opening. I can’t knock Moulinette Souers for this. They went for a specific shape and I think it’s very pretty. Not every dress is going to work on everyone and such is the case with this dress. If you can go braless, I think this dress would be a beautiful party frock. For me it is sadly a pass.

Odille has been bowling me over with some gorgeous items this fall. This line consistently delivers multiple hits each season, I love it! For the Lacemaker Skirt ($148) Odille puts a modern spin on the lace overlay.

My guy took one look at the product shot and said “doily.” I am willing to pretend I didn’t hear that but it doesn’t matter because this skirt was a no-go for me. It fits very close to the body and in both my true size 8 (photos above) and one size up in a 10 I found there was too much hugging and puckering of the underlayer to ever work this one out.

The golden mustard color of the underlay is divine and I really like the lace. But it made me look bumpy and globby and that will never do. Worth a shot if you’re straight shaped but probably a tough sell on curves.

Update: This post was edited on 11/26 to add the name of the Moulinette Soeurs dress.