Totally Impractical BR dresses

shana

The only items on my list for summer are dresses & accessories so I have been trying on lots of dresses. Of course, I am mostly a stay at home mom so what I really need are easy, casual, wash & wear dresses. The problem - the dresses that I am attracted to and love are totally impractical for my lifestyle - they are dressy and in fabrics like silk (although I do find that these wovens are less clingy & show fewer imperfections than knits) . Here are some from BR that I have recently fell in love with:

http://s374.photobucket.com/al.....20Dresses/

I can probably justify buying one dressier dress to have in hand. Which one should I choose? I am leaning towards # 5 (which I would wear with a cardigan/jacket/shrug since I have no intentions of showing off my "muscular" arms in a cap sleeve dress!). Or should I be practical and keep looking for something similar in a casual cotton or knit?

17 years ago

Dressing

13 replies

Latest reply was from shana

Anonymous

You have found some great dresses! I really like the white dress with the big circles and black cardi on you, but the one you like also looks very nice and may be more practical than a white dry-clean-only dress. It is seasonless, so very versatile.
Whether you get this dress or not, you will still be looking for something similar in cotton or knit to wear every day. I suspect there will be many more summer dresses out in a month or so.

17 years ago

Maya

Veteran

Shana, I have a strong preference for 2 (and 4...they are the same right?). I just like how that full skirt looks on you.

17 years ago

crwilson

Veteran

I like all of them, but like Joy, I prefer the white dress. I've been looking at it too, but I try to stay away from dry clean only items whenever possible. It looks lovely on you though!

17 years ago

BlondeAmbition

Active Member

I really like the white one with the big circles and boots. It looks great with the buttoned cardi. I swear it shaves 10lbs off you! I do not care for the first whitish one, it's too boxy.

17 years ago

Alecia

Veteran

Hmm, great dresses. I too think the white one with the big circles is my favorite, but Joy makes a great point about the lifestyle applicability. That is only something you can really determine. I would caution against getting dresses you find too precious to pull out frequently and then they become wardrobe orphans. That would not be good. (For example, I have lots of opportunity for dressy clothes, but I really try to avoid dry cleaning when I can and I hate handwashing. With the latter, I either don't wear them because of the prospect of cleaning or they languish in the hamper. In either case, they don't get as much use as they might otherwise. So things that are washable are best for me.)

My next favorite dress is number 5.

Keep us posted.

17 years ago

danielleCT

Active Member

I just bought the white circles one, except in pink! Anyway, for you I really like the circles dress as well. Somehow the high contrast of it is really working with your hair and coloring. This will also be an easy one to dress up for dinners out in the summer, and obviously you have a good colder weather look going on. It also looks really great belted with their long cardigan.

17 years ago

Dani

Veteran

Another vote for the white dress with black circles. It looks wonderful on you. The dress you like is very nice as well but doesn't have the impact that the white dress does, imo. Can't wait to see what you decide.

17 years ago

Ariadne

Veteran

Hmm--this is very interesting! My least favourite is #5. I think it looks disproportionate on you because of the cap sleeves. I think if you're going to buy only one dressier dress, it should be one that you can wear on its own without any kind of cover-up if you want to, to maximize versatility.

Like Maya, my favourite is very definitely #2/#4. I love the way the skirt falls and it has just a bit more structure than the other dresses, which makes it look more expensive, sophisticated and clean. I also really like the print. I like the print of the one with the circles too, but I strongly prefer the shape of #2/#4.

17 years ago

Lee Hovey

Active Member

Another vote for the white circle dress! Is it a wrap dress?

I love it with the cardi buttoned and with boots, but I think it would also be great with a dark denim jacket, or shrug with pretty sandals for a summer dinner.

17 years ago

Angie

(website)

Fashion Stylist

Shana! Wow! Well done! I love to see you experiment with dresses.

Hands down my favourite dress is the graphic white print with the big black circles. It’s KILLER with the boots especially. It’s interesting how our opinions have differed. My perception is that #2 and #4 look a little dowdy compared to the one I like best.

17 years ago

shana

Veteran

Thanks everyone for the input! I am very excited to start wearing dresses again! Although I wore some cute dresses when I was pregnant, I didn't wear any last year since I was nursing and it was too inconvenient.

Joy - I definitely want to get several dresses this summer. Some very casual knit ones for the playground etc. Some nicer cotton or some other type of woven that I can wear for slightly dressier occasions and then 1 very dressy one. Unfortunately, all of these would fall into the dressy/dry clean only category - they are all silk or silk blends.

Maya - I also like this silhouette. I'm sort of channeling that 50's vibe & I like that have a fuller skirt gives me my body some balance. The material is very satiny and it is quite beautiful irl. But like Angie has suggested, I am worried that it looks a little dowdy - especially with such a high neckline.

Brianna, hmmm, well I don't feel comfortable showing off my arms which rules out about 99% of the cute dresses out there. It's not just that it looks disproportionate - as an inverted triangle, the shoulder/upper arm/upper back area is exactly where I AM disproportionate. No matter how much weight I lose, my arms stay big and can get quite muscular when I do alot of lifting at the gym. So I am always trying to balance my lower half to make myself look more proportionate. Anyway, I always opt for a jacket, cardi or bolero with my dresses.

LH, nope not a wrap dress. But it does have some strange sort of origami type pleating in the front which is not evident in the pictures. And the sleeves are just awful on me - they end right at the top of the shoulder so it looks kind of like a Star Trek uniform but since I would wear it with a shrug or cardi anyway, it's not much of an issue.

Angie, wow, you used the "K" word - I am so flattered (and shocked). I'm going to keep an eye out for that BR dress. I'm hoping it will go on sale even further.

O.K. embarrassing confession - I am actually not wearing knee high boots in that picture with the black & white dress. I wish my knee high boots were that snug on my scrawny calves! That was the day that I was in Boston (that picture was taken at the BR at the Cambridge Galleria that Shiny & Tanya suggested to me) and I was wearing jeans with ankle boots and knee-high socks!!!

17 years ago

Angie

(website)

Fashion Stylist

Ha! Well you fooled me. I guess a pair of fabulous knee-high boots is on your shopping list :0)

17 years ago

shana

Veteran

Yes, definitely! I have two pairs of knee high boots with heels that I could wear with a dress and both are not quite snug in the calf. I also really need a flat pair that fits the calf - I was interested in the camper spiral but never had a chance to try them on this winter. If not for the job situation, I would have definitely picked up a pair when I was in Germany over the holidays - I found a much better selection of boots overall and found many that were a good fit in the calf.

17 years ago

Category