This post could also be known as “the post in which Roxy rushed from lower Manhattan to 16th St/5th Ave at 7:15 PM before Anthropologie closed at 8 PM to see if the Drifting By Dress ($168) was out yet for Kim and made it but couldn’t help trying on a few things too and by the way no the dress is not out yet but oh well at least I got yummy Whole Foods dinner out of the deal.” But that would be too long to fit easily in the title area.
This first review is for a good friend from college — papers&packages. She has got to be one of the best paper designers I have ever seen. Her company, {lavish} design studios creates fun parchments like calendars, cards, wedding invitations, etc. and every time I see a new design on her blog I’m just floored. She’s a pretty cool gal too. If you live in the Seattle area {lavish} is going to be mentioned in this month’s Seattle Magazine. Check out her stuff!
The dress requested is the Hello, Good Day Dress ($118). Once again I landed in the nice, big & bright dressing room so I took advantage with a full shot. I want this room everytime! The dress is a combination of jersey on top over a voile bottom. That leaves me a little concerned that this little yellow button frock will stretch over time. The skirt has a pouf in just the right place to hide my hips and thighs and make me look much leaner and straighter. I just guessed wrong on sizing — I grabbed my true size medium which was too big. I’d size down to a small to buy this. The scoopneck is just a bit lower than I’d like but overall I was quite pleased with this dress. It’s on sale at Soho (marked down by just $10 at the moment) so I’m hopeful it will hit the regular sale section sometime soon.
The dress I love the most in the March catalogue has to be McGinn’s Cooling Magma Dress ($258). Continuing my impractical affinity for all things strapless I stopped in my tracks upon spotting this one at the store. The print kind of reminds me of Christian Siriano’s Spring 2010 collection. I sized all the way up to a 10, unsure of how the cut would work over my bust. Good news — there was plenty of spare room in the 10 both around my hips and my bust. So I’d probably be fine sizing up just one size to an 8. This dress even has pockets!
The front pleat style is annoying for me as a curvy chick. They’re meant to create curves on straighter shapes but if you already have them, well, it’s unnecessary. I don’t think they detract too much. This dress is pretty fancy but I want to wear it aott (all of the time). Starting…now!
Hooray for bold prints! This mod black and white skirt is We Love Vera’s Chalk And Charcoal Skirt ($88). The waistline is elastic which I applaud. It’s also adorned with cute white buttons. I grabbed my normal size 8 and thanks to the flexible waistband it fit. This skirt is very full so I’d recommend staying with your true size or maybe even sizing down one if your waist has enough room to breathe.
This dress has what looks like 2 seams in the front and back where the black and white-based fabrics meet but incredibly there are actually side seams too! We Love Vera missed a huge opportunity. I was angry to see that the side seams didn’t match up. On a bold print piece like this that’s unforgivable. What a wasted opportunity. It immediately knocks the skirt down from being a high-end piece. Blargh. I’ve wishlisted it anyway but won’t pay full price.
I realized I had not run my review of Deletta’s Secured Corsage Tee ($58) even though the Landing Field Skirt ($118, review here) got the treatment last week. Apologies for that! Especially since it’s such a fun little top, albeit a sheer one. Frowny face, Anthro! I am making it at your decision not to go with opaque fabrics. It’s getting ridiculous at this point.
I grabbed my normal size small which fit great. The corsage is a bit silly I admit. I like it anyway. Though green is my color I found I liked the ivory version better because the corsage looks more like flowers. The sleeves are OK — somewhere between capped and tank. Wishlisted for sale time. Hometown Queen tried this top on for today’s post as well…synergy.
Hi Roxy,You look *fabulous* in the Hello Good Day dress! Thanks for the reviews!
I think both the Hello Good Day and Magna Dress look fab on you. I'm glad those of us with hips have a few more options at Anthro.sugarandspiceandnice.blogspot.com
Tahnk you so much for trying on the Hello Good Day dress. It has been on my want list since it showed up online. I wanted to see it on someone before I took the plunge! So if it is $10 off there is that usually a sign it will hit the next sale group?jinii.boren@gmail.com
Sarah C — thank you! I love it, I admit it. JenLynn – Amen sister. Hips make it happen, that's all I'm saying. We just need dresses to accommodate them.Jinii – I used to think the $10 markdown was a good indicator but lately not as much. I'm not sure when this dress became available — that would give me a better frame of reference. From the reviews it looks new so I'd say it's not likely to be on sale for at least another month.
I had purchased the Chalk and Charcoal skirt but ended up returning it. It just felt too full and maybe too young on me. Plus, where it sat on my waist made it seem short—and the fullness only accentuated this. I felt exposed. Now that I think about it, the seams did not match up on the skirt I had, either. But, it was not as egregious as the one you tried on. I agree that for an expensive skirt the seams should line up—it's one of the first things I notice on men's shirts and usually on skirts. Thanks for reminding me of this! I have been off on my game.Hey Roxy, quick question re: the Landing Field skirt: Since it's from the January catalog, do you think it has a decent shot at sale next week?Also, thanks for the review of the State Fair dress yesterday. I love it! It's on its way to me. I kept watching inventory online and it shrank by 50% in my size over the course of a week. I grabbed it while I could. It looks great on you!
Morning Jacquelyn! Oh, I love that you got the State Fair Dress and I'm sure it's going to look fantastic on you. 🙂 I'm going to guess that the Landing Field Skirt will not be on sale on Tuesday because it is flying off the shelves here in NYC. But I'll put it on my sale dance list anyway!
Ahh the Cooling Magma dress is lovely – caught my eye on the website a couple of days ago. But, I really, REALLY like the Hello Good Day Dress on you! It is extremely flattering on you, and the skirt portion is super cute.Any chance you could try and review on the new Acting Out Skirt if you spot it in store??
Aw, thank you Lauren! I blush. I will look for that skirt next time I'm in-store, which should be tomorrow.
The Cooling Magma dress has a gorgeous print, but $258 for polyester fabric? They have to be kidding.
Thanks Roxy! And totally just being honest about the dress – contradictory to popular belief, the stripes in this dress are really slimming on you :).Anon @ 9:58 – Ack, polyester??? Well, I understand that sentiment about polyester, because I typically say the same thing. However, I do have to say that I purchased the Midnight Wanderer dress on sale last month for $70. It was originally $288 and it is polyester, but the weight of the polyester + the cut make it one of the most flattering dresses I have EVER worn. And the makeup of the fabric makes it an easy dress to care for. Not sure I would have splurged the original $288 for it, though. But the print on the Cooling Magma dress really looks like something special.
Anon @ 9:58 – excellent point, I hadn't even looked at the fabric content. Bummer. To Lauren's point, I'm gonna wait for sale.
Jacquelyn- how do you monitor online inventory? I didn't know you could do that, only when things went out of stock.Thanks!
Roxy – thanks again for running to the 5th Ave store for me -you're such a sweetie!!I know if anyone can track down that dress for me, it's you :-)By the way, I love the Hello Good Day Dress on you!!
Love all the dresses you've been reviewing lately! I haven't been in to an Anthro for quite a while and apparently reeeaaallly need to get in there! I like the secured corsage tee too – I'd definitely wear that. Thanks for the reviews, Roxy, I so appreciate your blog.
Anonymous @ 10:28 – you can't track inventory strictly, but you can see if there's at least 9 of an item in stock. To do this, on the product page adjust the quantity to 9 and then try adding to your bag. Just remember to remove them!! Kim – Sure thing, I hope you find the dress one way or another!Sweet Tea in Seattle – A while without an Anthro visit? Hahahaa, what's that like? 😉
Re: inventory tracking. Roxy, I've always been able to add up to 99 of an item to my bag, then it automatically adjusts to the actual number in stock. When one orore is sold you get a notice in your bag that says Out of Stock. Then go to the item and hit "update" next to the quantity and it will adjust the the new number in stock. I keep things in my bag like this so I can see when quantity is getting low and order accordingly. Does anyone else do this?
Oooh, I forgot to clarify that my method is to add one of the item to my bag then go to my bag like I am checking out and adjust the quantity up to 99. Then it will automatically adjust to how many are actually in stock. Hope this makes sense.
thank you so much for reviewing the dress! i think it is absolutely adorable and seems long enough to fit a tall gal like me.thanks for mentioning lavish too! you are the best.happy weekend love,jen wheat
Too bad about the Chalk and Charcoal Skirt. I had some high hopes for it. However, the Secured Corsage Tee has taken the skirt's spot on one of my wishlists.
Ooh the Hello Good Day dress is a lovely on you! I fell in love with the Cooling Magma Dress as well & totally thought of the fierce Mr. Christian Siriano when I saw it! I like the pastel color palette of this dress more though, still have no idea where I would wear it 🙁 The pattern sort of reminds me of kindergarten when we would melt wax crayons in heated pans and coat pieces of paper. Anyone know what I'm talking about? Re:TrackingIf you play around with the quantity of an item you can track inventory on most any online store, it's just super easy on the Anthro site (I do it the same way as Jacquelyn). I feel sorta iffy when I do it though, is it considered abuse of the site?
Hi! Regarding the Cooling Magma Dress:I picked this dress for all my bridesmaid (scattered all over the country). They all bought and love, but now one of them has lost weight and Im not sure if "alterations" would suffice. Do you still have the size 10? Would you be willing to sell? If not…have any idea where I could find it?Thanks!tuckerelle@gmail.com