Fitting Room Review: Anthropologie

I'm getting really good at this trying things on, but not buying anything stuff. For some reason I always feel bad when I go into a store and take up the salespeople's time but don't spend any money. This is one of the reasons why I never ask a salesperson for a different size - eek direct contact! I might as well hand them my wallet and tell them to ring me up right then and there! I'd much prefer slinking out of the fitting room myself and either getting the right size or coming back to the store another day for the right size!

I worked in retail so I'm not quite sure why it bothers me so much - as long as people didn't yell at me and hung their clothes back up when they left the fitting room, they could pretty much do whatever they wanted and I didn't care.

I'm working on my issues.

See, Husband, Anthropologie is helping me! It's like therapy!

I'm a total dress fiend myself - I find them so easy to wear on my figure. This is in stark contrast to all pants and most skirts which have to be altered to accomodate my enormous hips and tiny waist. A dress? Throw it on and we occasionally have perfection. There are tons of pretty dresses at Anthropologie right now and I wanted to try them all some on.

Cockadoodle Dress, size 12

Roxy reviewed this dress here. I'm always interested to see dresses on different body types so I grabbed it for comparison purposes. First impressions? It's called the Cockadoodle dress for a reason - the print on this baby is roosters or chickens or some other type of foul. A bit too precious for me to get away with at work (or frankly even on the weekends now that I'm older than 22), but I perservered on. For you, readers! For you!

The dress has buttons down the front, but a side zip. The zipper ends about an inch from the top of the dress and there is a thick band of ribbon keeping the dress closed which I found really awkward. There is a lining underneath that is tacked down around the interior of the dress. I found getting into this dress a bit of a chore and once it was on, I wasn't terribly impressed.  The neckline is interested (but would require a strapless bra) and the band around the waist is in a nice place, but there's a bit too much poof for me around the hips only to taper back in right at the bottom of the dress.

This style could be totally cute on someone with less curves, but even if that was me, I'm not sure I could get past the print. Next...

Dandelion Wish Dress, size 10

I saw this dress last week when doing my guest post for Roxy's blog, but for some reason didn't grab it. I remedied that error this time. This dress is so pretty in person - the photo doesn't really do it justice. It has a smocked back so the cut is really forgiving, but the material is silk so it's super soft and luxurious.

You can't really tell in the photo, but this dress is short. As in really short. I'm 5'8" and I currently have a bruise on my leg about 6 inches above my knee. I could see the entire bruise in the mirror while I was standing in this dress. I didn't even bother trying to sit. I also have a hard time with banding around the waist as thick as it is on this dress - typically I like an empire waist as much as the next girl, but this thickness makes my hips poof out as if I was packed into a sausage casing and my lower half was trying to bust out. Perhaps that's a little dramatic. The dress itself is really lovely though - I wish it had worked on me.


Rushing Ruffles Dress, size Medium

Ohmygosh - swoon! I had read some early reviews of this dress and the general concensus seemed to be that while it is very nice, it is also very pricey for jersey knit ($188). I'd never pay full price for this, but it's on my wish list and the second this baby gets within $20 of $100, I'm pulling the trigger.

This dress is why I like dresses. It is so soft and comfortable and feminine and forgiving. I love it. My biggest complaint is the color - it's a really dark navy but basically reads as black. I wish it came in something slightly lighter and more springy (like pink! *dies*). The rouching across the waist is slimming and the ruffle detail is pretty but subtle. I grabbed the Medium (thinking if I fit my chest, the dress would flow away nicely on the bottom). To buy, I'd probably give the Large a try just for comparison purposes.

This was the highlight of the day and it will be mine, oh yes, it will be mine.

Pretty Landscape Dress (not online), size 12

My last dress of the day was this one which I can't find online and I also took a really rotten tag photo of - so if anybody knows the name of this dress, please let me know!

The cut of this dress I liked a lot - it had the same empire band that the Dandelion Wish Dress does, but it is the right thickness for me. The length was also much more modest. This material was also a nice silk and felt really comfortable on. The downside? Ugh - the pattern. Not that I don't like and appreciate the pattern because I do! But it just seems so cutesy and young! I'm pushing 30 - I can't be traipsing around town in dresses with a landscape complete with foot bridge and babbling brook on them! I certainly can't wear this to work.

If this dress came in a more subtle print (perhaps polka dots, my new favorite), I'd definitely be pining for it, but as is I can definitely live without it.

I tried on some tops and cardigans too that I'll try to post later in the week. I'm also hoping to hit up Ann Taylor and find some Contour pants to review along with my Banana Republic purchase yesterday (which I paid $14 for after getting 25% off and using my $30 in style cards!) Talk about a shopping success!