I thought I’d try these two dresses from Anthro since they both appealed to me — long, loose and hopefully not too dressy for summer daytime wear.

I have mixed feelings about one, and alteration questions about both.

1. I think this is pretty flattering on. It’s dressier than I anticipated because of the beading and metallic embellishments but it does appeal to my boho-lite side. Is the length ok? I would wear with flat sandals.

My larger question is whether this can successfully be altered to fit a little better under the arm and at the bust. It’s snug enough and structured enough that I can actually get away without s bra with it (!) but I do want to close up that gaping bit. Sewists, is that doable?

2. This striped dress is so breezy and appealing to me, but I almost feel like it overwhelms me. It’s a lot of stripes. I like it much better with the sleeve narrowed and shortened (pic 8 shows it narrowed, 9-10 show it narrowed and shortened). I also need to close up that wrap top — I have it pinned here, but even then it’s a pretty deep neck. There is not much room in the bust so I can’t wrap it any tighter to close the neckline more (I have noticed Tracy Reese is usually cut for someone with less bustline than I have). I also wonder if it isn’t a little too long? I actually liked it more in the mirror than I do in photos, but I’m feeling very critical these days (of the clothes and of myself), so I thought I’d seek other opinions.

It’s really hard to find summer casual dresses that show a little edge or a little different personality. I’m not sure the second one has enough of that for me. What do you see in these?