Ann Taylor dresses

Aquamarine

Wondering what the collective experience here is re: Ann Taylor dresses. I have a couple of events coming up this summer and have been looking online at some of the AT dresses. However, I know there has been grumbling on the forum recently about the decline in quality of AT items. Also, is there a specific body type that works best with AT? There is no convenient AT store near me so before I trek to one or order something online, I'd love to hear your thoughts.

10 years ago

General

11 replies

Latest reply was from Laura (rhubarbgirl)

Aubergine

Veteran

I have a few AT dresses in a nicer knit fabric with a little bit of stretch. The quality seems fine as far as I can tell and I've been happy with them. I feel like AT usually has dresses in a few different cuts that work for different shapes, so, if I were ordering online, I'd focus on shapes that usually work for myself.

10 years ago

Makrame

Veteran

I just tried this dress on in the store. I liked the length - it is hard to find dresses that don't end above the knee and the fit was flattering. I disliked the fact that it is polyester and still needs to be dry-cleaned - for $139 I would expect better quality fibers or at least a machine-washable dress.

There were quite a few interesting dresses there.

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10 years ago

doubleh

Veteran

They have been hit or miss with me lately. Unfortunately, it's probably a " try it on to see" situation. Head's up though that their return policy is a bit stricter than other stores, so you'll want to be sure to make returns quickly.

10 years ago

Joy

Veteran

AT dresses are not designed for those of us with small cupcakes. I have tried very hard to get some to work in the past because of great color, fabric, enough length. Without cleavage, alterations were a waste of money.

10 years ago

Von

Veteran

I have quite a few dresses from AT - I, on the other hand have large cupcakes (LOLOL Joy!!) and they are one of the few retailers that I go to specifically to find dresses.

I always wait for the clearance, and always try on. Their ponte dresses have a nice feel to them, but beware of the unlined ponte (sometimes they scrimp and they don't line dresses!!). I probably have 5-6 AT dresses.

10 years ago

Disha

Active Member

I love AT dresses! I am an hourglass, with ahem large cupcakes and bootycakes..I guess? Their stuff fit me well.
They do have very frequent sales, so if you time it right, you can get the dresses at a decent price.
Quality wise - most of them have worked out very well, except for this very cute dress that shrunk after I washed it, now it just looks weird.

10 years ago

Thistle

Veteran

I have a couple of AT dresses. Quality, as others have said, is hit or miss. I am not thrilled with dry clean polyester, but the drape and hang of the dresses is nice. However, as Joy noted, I have, errr, large cupcakes

40% off sales are run of the mill at AT these days. Before you make the trek, I would wait for them to run one. Especially as they are not good about price matching.

Another option for dresses I really like is Ralph Lauren. Reasonably conservative cut, longer, many with sleeves. They are close to AT's full price dresses butI don't see many sales on them in my neck of the woods. Still, if AT doesn't work for you, that might be an option.

10 years ago

KikiG

Veteran

Cupcake club, as well. I have lumps and bumps, and every single knit dress I have ever tried on at AT was not skimming, it was clingy. A good case of the item fitting, but not flattering. I have a couple of woven dresses from there that work well, however. For casual summer dresses (add a cardigan for work) I have had good luck at Soma.

10 years ago

citygirldc

(website)

Veteran

AT is hit or miss for me, but their petite sizes fit my like a glove.

10 years ago

Aquamarine

Veteran

Thanks everyone. You have convinced me I should try to get to a store rather than take a chance and order online. Too bad...everything looks so good on their website.

10 years ago

Laura (rhubarbgirl)

(website)

Veteran

I've never had any of the major problems with quality with AT that others have reported, so I'm still pretty much a fan. Dresses usually fit me well; my personal issue is sometimes being too long torso-Ed for them. They often carry items on their website that I can't find in the local stores, and have a pretty generous return policy, so I order online from them fairly frequently expecting to send some stuff back.

10 years ago

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