Dogs & Prairie dresses

2011 had started rough for my family and it seems it's determined not to let up yet. I've spent the last week wading through intense uncertainty my job. Everything has been, to say the least, unpleasant. On the bright side, it is amazing how much troubled times are soothed by coming home to a cute puppy.

Boyfriend and I took my new family dog, Ben, out for a walk at a nearby park this beautiful Sunday afternoon. He's a rescue who is part Black Lab and, we think, Border Collie. We couldn't have asked for a sweeter dog.

Dogs & Prairie Dresses;
Dress: Anthropologie Plains & Prairies dress
Top: Miss Selfridge pink and cream polka dot shirt
Shoes: Anthropologie Winding Ruffle boots
Bag: Coach Madison Sabrina in pale pink
Accessories: Urban Outfitters leather waist belt
Urban Outfitters metal hairband
Forever 21 pink songbird necklace
Betsey Johnson floral sunglasses

The Plains & Prairies dress was not something I initially coveted when I saw in last year. I found it alone in the sale room a bit after it was marked down and tried it on for fun. I was amazed and delighted at how well it fit me. The one complaint I had was that the top was a bit immodest on me. The adjustable straps help, but overall this was an item meant to be layered with a shirt. I barely ever wear the dress without this polka dot top under it.
The dress lightly lined and a bit long, making it perfect for spring. I love adding sleeves to make my dresses a bit more spring seasonal - the perfect thing to throw on without a cardigan for breezy, dog-walking days.

50s frocks for spring

If you're shaped at all like me, the current 70s trend that retailers like Anthropologie are embracing for spring doesn't do a thing for you. Sure, it's beautiful in theory, but put those looks on my wide, short, curvy self and it's a non-starter. Thankfully, one of my favourite UK high street chains, Monsoon, has some ultra feminine frocks to thrill me for spring. They're embracing the 50s housewife silhouette, which is a look near and dear to my heart. I hope for those similarly unsuited for the 70s boho look, this list provides a little eye candy for the season.

I'm currently hoping to indulge in some of these beautiful things;

Rosie Dress, £85

Posey Prom Dress, £65

Dot Spot Cardigan, £48

Hazel Peeptoe Shoes, £55

Juniper White Leather Bag, £65

Fusion Peony Dress, £65

Mint Ruched Sleeve Cardigan, £38

Meadow Dress, £95
(Oh how I love thee!)

Mia Dress, £180
(If not for the unfortunate price tag, this would already be mine!)

Spring Opener

Well here we are at the end of March and I'm still without a properly functioning camera. It's time for me to get low-fi and creative around here.

I've never had a more appropriate spring day at work. Signs of the season were everywhere, brightening an otherwise humdrum day at the office.

baseball season, blooming into view

weather clear and beautiful enough for a silk, floral frock...
(Anthropologie "Tuileries Dress")

...and bright pink heels

(Seychelles "Woodpecker")

the cashier ringing up my lunch stopping to tell me, "your bangs are perfect."

(Urban Outfitters metal hairband)

a coworker (and friend) bringing me a beautiful, seasonal treat
(桜抹茶 cherry blossom green tea)

Thank you to all my followers for sticking with me through the silence. I hope you're out enjoying spring!

MIA, camera woes

Welp, my trust little pink camera has decided to get fussy on me the past week. I was hoping to be able to update with new reviews and OOTDs but without it, I am useless. Hopefully it's something simple or I can borrow a replacement camera for a while. Until then, I'm going to be missing in action.

Stay pretty, lovely ladies!

Reviews; Picked Plaid Skirt (with petite comparison), Back Porch Blouse

Here's another entry in my experiment with Anthropologie petites. Sorry for the extended delay! I had have the petite sized clothing shipped to me (obviously, as I've yet to ever see it in stores) and the package took nearly 2 weeks to get to my door. Sometimes Anthro is lightning fast, but I guess this order drew the short straw.

For this petite review, I took on the Picked Plaid Skirt ($98). This was one of my favourite items from the March new arrivals and I couldn't wait to try it.

I decided to stick with ordering my true size 10 for these review sets just for simplicity. I'm almost always a 10 at Anthropologie. Here I've got the regular size on the left, petite on the right.

This skirt has some negative reviews on the website, and trying on the regular size, I see why. The length combined with the fullness of the circle and the mixed pattern print is way too much. Sitting about an inch below my knee, the regular dips into frumpy for me. There's a lot of extra fabric at my wasit so it looks oversized which is never comfortable.

The petite however, hits all my buttons. There's less fabric around my midsection, giving far less of a pooch outward. When put above my knee, the full skirt turns adorable. I really love the crazy print of this, which is just folksy and sweet enough to keep things casual. The petite is a keeper for me and recommended for those unhappy with the length of the standard size.

In my mind, I paired this skirt with the Back Porch Blouse (also $98).

In theory, I love this top. It looks beautifully constructed and the sleeves are adorable. Maybe I just needed a size 8 instead, but this top was not doing anything for my figure. I was swimming in extra fabric everywhere but the very bottom snap at the start of my hips. That was so tight, it popped open. For that reason alone, I don't think I could size down. If you have narrow hips (or a flatter stomach), you're probably alright to size down, but this goes back to the store for me.

That's all for now. Thanks for bearing with me and the delay. I received a lot of positive emails and comments about showing off Anthro's petites, so I'm happy to say I'll have more petite reviews of two dresses later in the week!

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!

The Woman In White

I love a good mystery and they are best in the cold weather. The preface of this edition told me that the "The Woman In White" was the first sensationalist mystery novel written. I had never read it before and I am so glad to have found it now. Marian Halcombe is fast becoming one of my favourite fictional characters. Quotes from her or concerning her actions have caused me on more than one occasion to laugh out loud on the train even during the deathly quiet morning commute. She is witty, Victorian perfection.

"Men! They are the enemies of our innocence and our peace -- they drag us away from our parents' love and our sisters' friendship -- they take us body and soul to themselves, and fasten our helpless lives to theirs as they chain up a dog to his kennel. And what does the best of them give us in return?"

"When a sensible woman has a serious question put to her, and evades it by a flippant answer, it is a sure sign, in ninety-nine cases out of a hundred, that she has something to conceal."


The Woman In White;
Cardigan: Anthropologie Fresh Perspective cardi
Accessories: Silver birdcage necklace (gift)
Urban Outfitters leaf hairband
Dress: Free People Medallion Lace Dress
Tights: We Love Colors solid mocha tights
Dress: Anthropologie Winding Ruffle boots
Bag: Karmaloop pink lace shoulder bag

"Women can resist a man's love, a man's fame, a man's personal appearance, and a man's money; but they cannot resist a man's tongue, when he knows how to talk with them."

Oh, I could quote her all day...