Reviews, reviews, let’s get to the reviews! But first an important message I’ll be running for the next few days on top of my posts:
If you have been affected by the Anthroholic Personal Shopping services issue (meaning if you were issued refund that “bounced”, waited several months before getting your item/refund, did not get a full refund because Anthroholic kept the finder fees, or are still waiting for items/refund) you should contact the Illinois Attorney General – Consumer Protection Division and FILE a complaint. Doing so will allow the IL AG to aggressively pursue legal action against her, the outcome of which could include not just restitution to her victims but her permanent ban from online solicitations and profitability. The link to the IL AG’s downloadable complaint form is: http://illinoisattorneygeneral.gov/consumers/filecomplaint.html.
These shots are from August — my apologies it’s taken me this long to run these reviews. In that time Greenwood’s Traced & Tabbed Buttondown (now $20) came home with me at full price, was cut once and now sits pretty at $20. Yet I don’t regret buying it at full price at all! The blue motif version I tried on has tiny little polka dots all over a chambray-style color with a contrast fabric inside the neckline and two tabs halfway up the sleeves. Beautiful details! The pocket is kind of interesting too — it’s like the usual triangle fold-down was left up with a button holding it in place. Cut from a thick cotton, this top is warm. Perfect for chilly fall days.
I started with a size 8, one size up from normal. But I quickly switched to my usual size 6. The arms on this top are cut slim so if you’re thicker there this top may not work for you. For me it meant a limit on how high I could cuff the shirt. I love the length and the boyfriend style cut. It’s loose without being baggy. While I was at the Chelsea Market Anthropologie one of the personal shoppers showed me many layering options for the top, which helped convince me to take it home. A couple of those options are below. The pants are the Pilcro Stet Slims ($98), which I reviewed in this post.
One cool thing about the Traced & Tabbed Buttondown is that it works as a shirt, a top layer (think: light blazer) or a bottom layer. I tried it with light sweaters on under it and sweaters on over it. I tried tops not peeking through and tops peeking through from underneath. Lots of options here! If you can find the top now that it’s on 2nd cut I highly recommend it. It was worth it at $90 and more than worth it at $20. The pants here are the Elevenses High Waist Trousers ($118), which were reviewed here.
Another layering option I was shown put the Dots Within Blouse ($118) underneath the buttondown. I immediately loved the combo — maybe not with pink pants though — and admired this pretty silk blouse on its own merits. A beautiful kelly green is populated with blue dots framed in gold dots. A necktie that isn’t quite the pussy bows you’ll see everywhere this fall gives the top a more modern feel. I love the slightly billowy sleeves which end at a thin cuff.
So why not five stars? The length. My usual size 6 fit fine but was short in both the sleeves and overall length. Up to an 8 I went for a better fit. Judging by the product reviews online I’m not the only one who had this issue. This was my only quibble though. Tucked into a skirt, worn with pants, or even under a tank dress, this top is a beauty. Like the buttondown it came home with me immediately.
A new brand makes its debut at Anthropologie with the Lotte Blouse ($68), a piece that reminds me of Deletta or Ric Rac in style. One nice thing is the material — instead of rayon or poly this is cotton! What a nice change to see more organic materials in use. This top has elbow-length sleeves with a touch of pouf near the sleeve’s elastic end. Likewise a bubble hem makes this easy to blouse out over a skirt. I’ll be honest — I’m not really into the pattern here but I like this as a layering piece.
Sizewise my usual medium fit well. The rounded collar seems dangerous to me and I feared it would slide outward and reveal my bra straps over the course of the day. The color of the print will look nice with many popular colors for fall — rust, dark brown, navy. So there are options for this shirt. But I wasn’t in love with this top. Back to the rack.
Landing somewhere between a long top and a tunic, the Wild Bouquet Blouse ($128) has lots of interesting design elements. There’s a boatneck with a slight cowl, a bold floral print and a sleek viscose material. The sleeves which look princess-y online are more sleek in real life.
I was advised to stick with my true size 6 which worked out well. I have heard that this top has wonky size runs — a friend of mine who is a 12 found a 10 that was cut to be bigger than the 12 she held it up against. I didn’t have this issue but I only tried two tops. I’d be wary of ordering the top online. It’s very easy to belt this top to define your waist. I like the longer style of this top very much. I can’t quite pull the trigger at full price so it’s wishlisted for sale.
Call me crazy but I really like the Two Rivers Tee ($68). It’s 70s through and through — a short batwing top with ruching front and center. Love the grey base color and the adorable floral print in navy. Don’t quite understand why some items get different product names for same shape and different color yet the red motif and blue motif version of this top look nothing like each other.
I stuck to my usual size medium in this shirt. I’m bummed it’s not quite as long as the model shot makes it look. I tried on a large to see if that helped but it did not. So I’ll stick with the medium. This top looks great with a high-waisted pencil skirts or high-waisted trousers. Just a belt to polish off the look. I was tempted a few times to buy the top at full price but I think now I’ll just wait for sale. Which will hopefully be soon. How about Tuesday, Anthro? (Nudge, nudge.)
Want a little more than the basic blouse? Give the Building Blocks Top ($68) a shot. It has a blouson hem and a tie neck which are camouflaged by an intense block pattern. I got a bit of a headache looking at it too closely. From the product shot I figured this top would be a little bit boxy and a little bit loose. On me however this top conformed to my curves nicely.
A medium fit me fine though I noticed in the stack of tops that many seemed cut wrong — smalls cut bigger than mediums by larges cut smaller than smalls. So again your experience may vary if you order this top from the website. I finally found a medium that looked medium to me. My main complaint is that this pattern and my chest were not getting along at all. You know those old 80s stereograms, where circles would be drawn on top of blocks to make it look 3D? I felt that was what was happening over my bust. Not exactly the most flattering look. It sent this top right back to the rack.
Many more reviews to come!
