Thursday, March 5, 2015

Adrien: Review: Banana Republic Chambray Shirtdress.

This was originally going to be another "should I keep or return this item" post but once I got a look at the pictures I was pretty confident it wasn't a keeper. I'd had my eye on this Banana Republic chambray dress for a while - it looked like the perfect winter-to-spring transition dress (and it could be) but it's just not meant for me. See if you agree:


It's not a terrible dress, it's just not doing me any favors and makes me look more high waisted than I actually am. I even tried it with a belt instead of the tie and that didn't work either. I'm not sure why the tie is sitting so high, but that's where it ended up after a lot of fussing and this is the kind of dress that should be easy. On a different body type, it totally would be. 


Another negative: it has pockets which I find infuriating. Pockets are great in a dress with a full skirt, but for something like this they just add bulk where you don't want bulk. I love this dress so much in theory! Just not on me. And not so much from the back either: 


All that said, it seemed well-made and the fabric and color is fantastic. I'm not giving up on the idea of an easy denim shirt dress - Boden has one that looks very similar (but has cuter detailing) and I'm tempted to try it out for science. This one at J Jill has that art-teacher-casual-cool look that appeals. There are options!

On to details. I'm wearing it with my vintage LV red satchel (this DKNY version is so good) and Frye boots (similar to the Frye Jane):


This House of Harlow necklace gets me so many compliments and you can just see the edge of my encrusted Giles & Brother bracelet:


What do you think? Is it a bust or am I being too critical? 

(PS. Despite the tag, I should explain that this wasn't my actual outfit of the day! I just wore the dress long enough to take pictures. I'm not that kind of jerk.)

13 comments:

  1. MyHabit has your fav Giles & Bro jewelry on today!! Check it out!

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  2. I'd agree - the waist looks like it is sitting too high. I'd pass on it.

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  3. Gotta agree with Anon, I think the waist is sitting higher than it should be and if you're not sold on it, I'd let it go.

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  4. I hope you are not going to be returning this after you wore it for a day. That's really rude since it can't be resold to another customer!

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    1. Sorry, no! I should have explained - I wore it just for the photo, which I took last weekend.

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  6. I think you look amazing in it. The color looks great with your hair color.!it does seem a bit high waisted (but not in a bad way) and if you're not sold on it, then return it.
    Totally not feeling that J Jill dress at all.

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    1. Aw thanks, it just seemed like more work than it should be. I thought the J Jill had potential, but it would depend on how it was styled, I suppose.

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  7. I like it actually, and was pretty tempted to order until you said it had pockets. Ugh. My hips do not need pockets added to them! I'm always looking for high/empire waisted dresses, finding that they are hard to come by, but they really do flatter my high-hipped self. And the back, I don't feel like it looks the best, too much fussing required with the fabric bunchiness and whatnot. Does that make sense? But from the front, I really do love it.

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    1. The pockets would be easy to have removed (and worth it if you love the dress otherwise) but I just didn't love it that much and I agree, the bunchiness in the back was irritating.

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  8. Pity - it looks amazing except for the slightly-too-high waist. Might be made for a straighter, rectangular figure with less bust. Annoying!

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  9. You have nice, long legs - why hide them in massive boots? I like the dress, but the boots and the bag seem to belong to a different tale. The colour of the dress is great with your own colouring.

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