Fitting Room Reviews: Anthropologie

The Akebia dress by Moulinette Souers was so darling in person and because it recently hit the sale rack, I decided to try it on. They only had a few left at my local store in Mt. Lebanon so I grabbed a 6 instead of my usual Moulinette Souers size (an 8). I thought the print colors were really lovely in person and it would make a great spring or summer picnic outfit. The tiers add dimension without being overwhelming. I think this dress is a decent value (at the sale price). But I ultimately passed. While the 6 fit, I think the 8 would have felt better.

The Collected Calico dress by Maeve reminded me (in print but not in dress silhouette) quite a bit of a Marc by Marc Jacobs collection from a few seasons ago. I tried a size 10 because the sizes were picked through from the discounted price. The 10 was very big on top, even though I am fairly bosomy. I passed. I steer clear of spaghetti strapped dresses anyway so I expected not to love it.

The Fragmented Pipevine dress also by Maeve was kind of odd. I tried on another 10 but it was way too big instead of mostly too big like the above. I hadn't expected the elastic panels on the side. It is on sale but I wasn't crazy about this one.

I loved the Arribada Current Dress (aka the Turtle Dress) by Moulinette Souers on Rosa from Love at First Shop and since it went on sale, I was thrilled to try it on myself. They didn't have my usual 8 so I grabbed a 6 and found it to be too large on top (you can see the fabric drooping, which led to too much cleavage). I didn't ask for a four because I thought the fit would be off on the bottom in a size that small. Sad because the turtle print is adorable and the color is so vibrant!

The Blurred Boundaries dress by Tabitha was among the only full priced items I tried on at Anthropologie that day. I meant to try on a lot of full price stuff so that I would know my sizes once things hit the sales, but I scooped up so many sale things that I didn't have the energy to bother grabbing much more. This dress stood out to me with its abstract painterly print so I grabbed it on the way. Now if the Turtle dress had too much cleavage, then this one was doubly risqué for a modest but busty lady. Maybe it was my bra but I felt very vavavoom in it. And my lifestyle is rarely vavavoom so I probably won't grab this once it hits the sales. It is pretty expensive at retail so even the sale price will likely be high. This is a size 6 and I would say it ran TTS but quite fitted in the waist (so size up based on that). The fabric's print was gorgeous but I would fear it could snag very easily.

More reviews including the one item I did buy, plus my Outfit of That Day, later.

OOTD and Fitting Room Reviews: Target

Zac Posen for Target studded dress (buy the top here)
I finally made it to Target last weekend and they had a few Zac Posen items left. The above grommet trimmed dress was one of them. They had it in medium and XL so I brought with me into the fitting room one of each. Once I got there, I realized the XL's zipper was broken so I could only try on the medium which is above. It ran short and small. It fit but awkwardly, and the length was a bad scene on me. The fabric and construction seemed ok for Target but not worth the higher "GO" collection prices. After all, a zipper on the one dress was already wrecked. I passed. They sadly did not have the brocade bow dress which I wanted to try on because of my endless love for this regular Zac Posen number:

 It is just as well because I wasn't crazy about the Target version's print.

I wore to Target:

Levis denim jacket (similar here)
American Apparel heathered deep v in black
Anna Sui for Anthropologie skirt (similar here, here, and here)
Burberry flats (similar here)
Jenny Yuen Gatsby bag (similar here)

I also have some reviews from Anthropologie but will post those tomorrow.

Engagement photos and outtakes

Last night I learned that two dear friends of mine got engaged! And the great news corresponded nicely to remind me to share a few of the photos my very talented friend Missy took of Chris and me. We are likely going to use one of them as a postcard for a save the date purpose. But these are a few of the pictures (including some of the more funny outtakes).

Chris proposed to me in Friendship Park, in the snow on December 5th, 2008. It was freezing cold and we were walking the dog, coming back from the post office. He had made a silly suggestion I dress up to make it a fancy walk, remembering years earlier that I had told him I remember occasions by outfits. I remember wearing an orange velvet dress by James Coviello for Anthropologie (years ago) and a See by Chloe coat. Sadly I don't have any photos of it.

Speck looks so funny in this one! Anyway, this is the bench where he proposed. So I really wanted a few photos taken there. I made the banner out of vintage cards I bought in college when I worked at a small mom and pop pharmacy that never threw anything away. The numbers are our wedding date. The woman in the background is one we often see in the park. She was grinning at us quite a bit according to Missy.

Chris is not used to having his picture taken so when we tried to do the corny "couple spontaneously looks lovingly at one another" series, so often a part of engagement photos, Chris instead looked... hungry or anxious. But as you can see in the above, Speck and I are very adept at looking lovingly at one another.

We hadn't anticipated how difficult it would be to take something that felt so indulgent and silly, seriously. So we laughed a lot. And although our moms probably wouldn't like using this as a save the date postcard photo, I really love it.

We also tried standing at the beginning. But these are some of the most awkward of the bunch but they do show our outfits.  My first idea of including the date was to use a chalkboard, since we are both academics and aspiring professors who teach at the university level.

I am wearing:
A Tibi dress that Anthropologie called the Hudson and Houston shirtdress
Marc by Marc Jacobs shoes
A vintage necklace
My antique engagement ring from the 1940s
Prada eyeglasses

Chris is wearing:
A cotton suit by Rag and Bone
A Diesel dress shirt
A vintage silk tie from Pierre Cardin
Norman Childs eyeglasses

Thank you so much to Missy, our close friend who took the photos of us!