Sunday, February 27, 2011

Review; Tuileries Dress, with an experiment in petite

One of my favourite, if not my very favourite, Anthropologie items is the Sugar & Cream dress. I was given it for my birthday last year and the dress couldn't be better suited for my excessively girly tastes. The dress is made even more perfect by the fact that it is supremely flattering. It's flattering that is in every way but one - it's way too long. The unfortunate truth is that this is not an uncommon occurrence for my Anthropologie dresses and skirts. I never thought of myself as a "petite" girl at all. My height seemed average, even tall compared to a lot of my friends, but the truth is I'm 5'5" at best. I've decided to let my credit card hate me and order some of Anthropologie's new arrivals in both the standard and petite sizing to see the difference between the two and determine if the petites are better suited for me.


Here is the beautiful Tuileries Dress ($158) in all it's floral glory. I love this even more in person and it is very true to the product shot. In this set of photos, I'm wearing the petite on the left and the standard size on the right. In both cases, I'm wearing my true size 10, both of which are perfect fits for me. Any size smaller would be impossible to zip but any bigger would be ridiculously baggy, especially in the shoulders (see below).

My first thought is what a difference some inches make off the hem! The dress definitely goes from cute to frumpy on me when I don the standard size. An above the knee frock Anthropologie feels like a new frontier! The one benefit the standard size is over the petite is the waist is much closer to my actual waistline, so perhaps I have a long torso.


In these photos (petite on top, standard below), you can see another huge difference in the petite versus standard sizing. The straps are way too long with the standard 10. I would want to size down in the standard dress, but bust probably wouldn't allow it.


Last shot, showing again how baggy the rest of the top is in the standard 10. Once again I can't really size down given my bust size but the petite solves most of my problem with a closer fit.

See this dress again on Tien of adiaphane, Molly of Anthromollogies, and Bonnie of Small Town Fashionista. If you've also rocked this dress, leave me a comment or drop me an email (found in my profile) and I'll be glad to link back to your review.

If it wasn't obvious, the petite is my clear winner. I do wish Anthropologie carried a full range of petite sizing in stores so I didn't have to order and return, but I'm glad they offer them at all. I am excited to try a few more items on to see if their difference is just as dramatic!

9 comments:

  1. The dress is ADORABLE on you in the petite. I am about your height so I will definitely be giving some thought to trying petite size dresses in the future. :)

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  2. Alissa, this dress is so lovely on you and I'm glad you were able to order both versions to see the difference IRL. This dress has been haunting me ever since it popped up around the blogs and online...I am so so wanting to just order it full-price instead of wait for a sale, the print is just so lovely!

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  3. i feel the same way about the long length of their dresses! i see so many reviews where people say "this dress/ skirt is too short," when i don't understand how that can possibly be the case. petite sizing would probably be a better way to go... thanks for putting that out there :)

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  4. Loraine - Fantastic! I'd never thought to try the petites before but in this first case, it was perfect.

    Dea - Thanks! I wouldn't wait too long, this dress is worth the FP if you can swing it!

    Chanilly - I can't say I've ever had the "too short" problem at Anthropologie either! What a difference a couple of inches makes eh? If your next fancy at Anthro comes in petite, definitely give it a try.

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  5. Thanks so much for the petite reviews! You look fabulous. :) I wish they carried petite sizes in stores.

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  6. I am so glad I found this review!! I bought this dress in my usual size 4 and when it arrived I felt like it was too big. So I drove an hour to my "local" store to try on the 2 thinking the dress ran big. The 2 was too tight in the bust and ribcage, but the straps, hips, and length were a lot better. I kept the 4 so I could breathe. :) I was thinking I'd get it tailored in the straps (because at least that's a cheap fix) but I'm still not entirely happy with the extra fabric around the hip and the longer length. I think it would cost a lot to alter those though because of the pockets and lining. I think you've solved my problem. I don't think I'm a petite (even though I'm 5'3" I have long legs) but maybe in this dress I am. Hmmm... I think I'm off to place a new order. Thanks for this review!!

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  7. Patti B & Anon - You're so welcome! I will be doing more petite reviews next week! I'm not sure how well the petite versions will fit across designs and items, so it's worth finding out.

    I totally don't think of myself as "petite" either, Anon, but long straps, baggy hips, and matronly hem lines are a pattern for Anthro dresses on me so perhaps so! I highly recommend ordering the petite version of this dress in your situation.

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  8. Alissa-- I was the Anon post above and I wanted to come back and thank you again for this review. I did order the petite and it solved all of my fit problems with the dress. It fits absolutely perfectly now and I'm actually extra happy because I like the pattern placement better on the petite dress vs. the regular. If I hadn't happened upon your review I might have lost out on this dress (that I love, love, love) because of fit issues. I'll look forward to your future reviews on regular vs. petites. :) Thanks again! ~Jenn

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  9. Ahh, I love this dress. The fact that it does come in petite sizes is a clear sign of the quality of the brand. I much more readily spend money on the dresses with clear superior construction and fabric. IT looks fabulous on you. I'm so glad you love it!

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