I’ve been talking about this top for awhile on Twitter, so this review is way past due. Much as I liked the Curated Tee (now $30) the stripes weren’t quite working for me (and neither was the solid version). This new version? Perfect. It’s Little Yellow Button Muted Lavender Top ($58) which I tried on in my usual size medium.
The medium fit well. The material is the same cotton/modal mix as the Curated Tee and this top has the same three buttons leading to each shoulder. I adore the length. I wore this over a pencil skirt to work last week and it drew lots of compliments. It’s the pattern that makes this top work for me.
High necklines can be a little prim so I usually avoid them. And it’s hard to balance them against a larger chest. With this top it worked. The sleeves are long enough and the ruching detail strikes the right balance against the boat neckline. It’s perfect for pairing with a long necklace, like the Sun Seeker Necklace ($38) which is suddenly back in stores after a months-long absence. (You can see it in this post on the first dress form.) I obviously bought this top home with me. Look for it in my next OOTD set.
I love long layering tanks. Wear them over leggings with a cardigan on top and it’s instant outfit. Left of Center’s First Light Tank ($88) had an intriguing pattern that reeled me in. I grabbed my usual size medium to try on. And it was huge on me! I tipped myself back for the second shot so you could see how much extra material there was. I don’t think a small would work either — I’d head straight for the x-small in this one. The top is meant to be loose and flowy but the medium was too much.
One thing I loved about this top is that it’s made in Italy. Not as nice as being made in the USA but highly preferable to China. The front pattern is a silk panel which leaves this top as dry clean only. I love the idea of this top and on sale I could make the x-small work. Wishlisted!
The warm blue color of Odille’s Hasbrouck Button-Up ($88) called to me from the rack. I grabbed an 8 (one size up from normal) to try on. I did this because often Odille’s button-downs will pull in my usual size, though in this case the 8 was looser than I’d like. I’d buy this in my normal size 6.
This shirt has a menswear feel to it with two large front pockets and a straight construction. Odille usually tailors its blouses expertly so I was surprised that there are no nips or darts on this one to add those feminine touches I like. Still, the product page suggests wearing this top over skinnies or under a cardigan and I can’t disagree with either suggestion. To lighten the heaviness up I’d wear a lacy camisole underneath and a delicate necklace. Wishlisted!
Saivana has sequins down. Every one of their tops at Anthro seems to have them! I’m not complaining though, especially when the result is as nice as the Stucco Sequin Tank ($128). This top looked great paired with the Marston Sweater Skirt ($98, review here) and the Pick A Bunch Cardi ($128, review here). I wouldn’t pair it with the wrinkly wrinkled skirt normally but for a fitting room shot it was helpful for showing the shirt tucked in.
The tank has a henleyesque front button set and is a racerback. The sequins are visible but not so sparkly or bright as to be annoying. There are also lots of fabric and embroidery squiggles that were already fuzzing on some of the shirts. Be sure to inspect yours closely. My one annoyance? In the back, the top portion of the shoulders is sheer. Of course. Because this wouldn’t be an Anthro top unless it was sheer. Grumble. Wishlisted, but waiting for sale.
The skirt is the Circle The Globe Skirt (now $40, review here) by the way. And I still think it was a wrinkled mess in-store.
The Marching Annuals Blouse ($98) from Odille just appeared online yesterday, but I’d tried it on almost a week ago now. The site says this top is by Fei but it’s wrong. The blouse’s name was very confusing to me at first because this top looked like a reptile print to me. But now I see that if you look closely it’s actually lines of bulbs and flowers marching up and down this top. Interesting.
I love everything above the hips on this blouse. I sized up to an 8 because the buttons in the 6 were pulling. The photos above are the 8. I love the nipped waist and the large fluttery sleeves. But the length was off on this top. I have this problem a lot with Odille’s blouses — it’s just too short. So the hip proportions are off and as a result the top makes me look wide. Not really the look I’m going for. Materialwise the silk feels fantastic so if this one had been long enough it would have been a winner. Instead it was back to the rack.
This top looks excellent under the Rushcliffe Cardigan ($148), which I will have a review of this weekend.
Admittedly, trying the Perennial Plot Shirt ($58) from Deletta over a skirt probably wasn’t the best idea but I had no pants available to me at the time. I am normally a small in Deletta but this top looked form-fitting so I grabbed my true size medium instead. That was the right call as the medium fit comfortably.
The site calls this color pink but I felt it had more buttery brown undertones than pink ones. This top has clusters of flowers at the neckline and at one side of the waist. The result is supposed to be very flattering but because of my hips it wasn’t quite working. My shoulders and my hips are equal width but the length of this top was making my hips look much bigger. If I wore a sleek cardigan over this top it would balance everything much better, so it still has potential to me. Besides, I’m loathe to complain about a tunic. I’d rather have a top be too long than too short.
Deletta made this top from slubby cotton that is heavily heathered. If you wear a dark color underneath it will show through as the Made To Measure Skirt ($138, review here) did on me. I liked this shirt enough to wishlist it.
The same cannot be said for Deletta’s Hidden Valley Top ($58) which I tried in my usual size small. Holy fit issues Batman. The thicker straps and Grecian style were promising to me but the execution is way off here. There was so much extra fabric below my chest, and the lining wasn’t long enough to lay below the entire top. The mesh overlay meets v-style in the back but it wasn’t sitting right so I looked dumpy from both the front and the back. I have no idea what happened here but something was lost in translation. Back to the rack.
I kept missing the Mirror, Mirror Tank ($58) in-store but finally last week I found Little Yellow Button’s cute top. I chose my usual size medium to try. I love the mirror pattern and the ruffled tuxedo front is a great touch. I also like the side tabs, which made my silhouette view look great. It keeps the back from floating away from the body, streamlining the look.
Still, I wasn’t swooning the way I’d expected. From the front the view wasn’t as slimming as I’d hoped. I can see how this top would well as a layering piece. But at this point I have many layering pieces in my closet. It’s summer tops I’m still running low on. This one doesn’t quite fit the bill. Wishlisted for further consideration at sale time.
Ce n’est pas mon cœur upon the Wee Hours Blouse ($88) from Odille, but it sure looks like it. I thought this top looked like of three things: the outfit a classical musician wears on-stage, the catering uniform at an upscale hotel or the top an ironic rocker wears for a gig. I love it. I had high hopes for this top.
I sized up to an 8 which fit fine. But once again the length was off. I need another two inches here to make the waist sit at my actual waist and so the flutter bottom isn’t floating above my hips oddly. The cap sleeves also felt small to me — it looks like I shrank this top in the wash! Not cool. The delicate touches are there; I love the lace neckline and trim on the sleeves. The tuxedo striped front is great. It is sheer from the side for some odd reason but I could look past that with a black bra and a cami. Really the length is the only thing keeping me from truly loving this shirt. You’re breaking my heart Anthro.
It took me several tries before I could actually take fitting room photos of We Love Vera’s Puckered Hydrangea Blouse ($78). Why? Because it’s sheer! At this time of year if I am wearing a cami it’s white, and a white cami showed through this top ridiculously. I finally remembered to bring along a black one so I could snap photos. Sheer sucks. The top patterned ruffle is tri-tiered while the rest of the appliques are single layered. The cotton-silk mix is airy for this seasonally transitional top.
This blouse ran small so I had to size up two sizes from normal to a 10. In We Love Vera I’m usually an 8 in blouses so it was one more size up in the brand. The name of this blouse comes from puckers along the torso which pull each side to accent your shape. If I were less curvy I’d love that effect! But on me it was constricting. And while the 10 was just making it over my chest the neckline was huge. This top just isn’t going to work for me. I like the pattern a lot but can’t wear it. Pass.
