Adrien: Play Clothes. ON Review. Dresses That Will Never Die.

Every summer I need play clothes. Just simple, cute and washable options for super hot days and running around on weekends. I have a few pairs of shorts and will wear them if I have to but I really prefer simple light dresses. Last week I went to Old Navy (my favorite place for disposable summer wear) and tried on a few bits just for you:

The Broomstick Gauze Cabana Dress looked cute in the dressing room:

...and not so cute when I got it home. It sort of puffs out around the stomach area which...no. Plus it requires some kind of fancy skinny strap bra-action that I don't own. Too high maintenance for an "easy" summer dress. Back it goes.

I was having a hard time with the Envelope-Neck Jersey Dress:

On the one hand I love me some stripes and I'm sad I missed it in black and white. On the other hand it's really freaking short. This is the medium and if I raise my arms you might get to see my underwear. Marianne pointed out that it would make a nice summer bathing suit cover type thing and I think she's right. For $10 it's probably worth keeping.

The Floral-Print Voile Skirt was sort of cute but for some reason the waist was stretched out and wouldn't stay in a flattering place. I kind of like it though, especially with the Beaded Rib-Knit Tank:

I didn't buy either of these.

I was interested in the Embroidered Keyhole Tops for throwing on with jeans or shorts:

Two words: Holy. Huge. They were just way too voluminous and I like a voluminous top. Wow.

This next dress doesn't appear to be on the website. I wasn't too impressed with it when I tried it on but now, looking at the photo, I'm wondering if maybe it wouldn't be a good replacement for the Dresses That Will Never Die*. I might have to go back and revisit this one:

*DTWND: I bought three comfy cotton jersey dresses (same dress, different colors) four-ish years ago from AE and have worn the living crap out of them to the point that it's kind of a joke. THEY WON'T DIE. They just keep on keeping on. I think I might have a million photos of me in one of these three dresses. I really think it's time to retire them even though they're perfectly good. On a whim, I paged through my iPhone photo album to see if I'm wearing one in any of last summer's photos. First picture (no lie):

And here I am wearing it in Knoxville in 2006:

And here at a party in 2007:

Seriously, they will not die.