Anthro Free Shipping Until July 15th

No markdowns today except for the loverly free shipping offer (for US addresses only) until July 15th. I'm excited about this offer because I loath, loath shipping fees. Especially since I've been very spoiled with Lululemon free shipping and overnight delivery. Now that I'm signed up with Hagens of Blaine postal services I can fully take advantage of the free shipping offer from Anthro and since I'm on a bit of a closet overhaul and busily selling off some of my 'slouchy, casual mommy outifts' on ebay I'm enjoying upgrading to more feminine and put together anthro pieces. I'm still really trying to find my style though and see what works for my figure and lifestyle. I'm a stay at home mom so casual and comfortable is still the key..I'm just looking for a more sophisticated interpretation of that. Gosh I hope Anthro Vancouver brings in stylists and personal shoppers (is that a free service in other locations?). I could sure use some help and direction. 

Things that caught my eye today:

Ocean's Horizon Tank $228

I love the look of this top and the blue tie dyed 'ocean' print paired with the feminine detailed straps. If this had been priced like the Heartsease Habotai Blouse I probably would have purchased it today but the price tag of $228 really turned me off. This will have to be significantly marked down for me to consider it and more along the lines of the $60-$80ish range.  If I was going to spend $228 on one single article of clothing I'd probably jump on the Backswept Dress instead for more bang for my buck. I don't mean to poo-poo the pricing on this tank but it's just not what I expect to pay for a small and simpler piece with less seam construction then a full dress. 

Slung Silk Scarf Tank

This was the blouse I tried on the other day that had not yet been uploaded to the website. I really like this top and the sweat yellow floral print with clashing ribbon details on the neckline. I love it but the cut does not work for my figure unless it's belted or tucked in. Wishlisted for markdown. 

Grapevine Tank Waveryly Grey $78

This is a beautiful tank. I love the lace detailing over the royal blue flower print. Wishlisted for markdown. 

Cinchona Cardigan $29.95

I purchased this one today. I really love the feminine floral print combined with the more masculine slouchy boyfriend cardigan fit. I have very few cardigans and would really like to wear more come fall and the price of $29.95 was irresistible. I'm getting the hang of this markdown shopping I think. I <3 you Anthro for doing such amazing markdowns. 

Stretch Tulip Belt $29.95

This was another purchase today that I added to bring my total up to free shipping status. I've been meaning to get a pretty oversized belt for a long time now since I don't have one at all and really like the belted look. This fills a hole in my closet and I hope it gets a lot of use. For $29.95 it's hard to go wrong though.

Heartsease Habotai Blouse

This one was a full price purchase that I may not keep. I've been drawn to it for quite some time and have seen a few images of it and the print is just so beautiful. I love a good watercolor floral print on silk. I ordered it in a 10 since it's silk and not stretchy but I suspect I could have and probably should have gone with the 8. My dress and skirt size is most often size 10 but that's to accommodate my hips. Ah well...free shipping makes this worth a try on in the comfort of my home. 

Gull Wing Dress $89.95

The other day when I tried this dress on in the print I thought to myself how much I would have loved it in the Navy colorway and then I figured it was long gone. I've been having a love affair lately with Navy  so I probably would have gotten this one full price. Today I noticed it online marked down but sadly my size was sold out. It was just not meant to be I guess. 

Lemon Stick Wedges

These beauties arrived this morning and I am totally in love with them. I was a bit confused about what size to order since all of the reviews say size down. My shoe size is most often size 9 but used to be 8.5 and the occasional 9 until I went thru two pregnancies and my feet seem to have spread. My other issue is that my right foot is a half size smaller then my left foot. I ordered the size 9's and then immediately panicked and called customer service and had them change it to an 8.5 which ended up being the right choice. The toe area was slightly snug this morning but the leather is so supple that it will stretch to the correct size in no time at all. My right foot moves slightly up and down in the heel area thanks to my half size difference, but once my foot warms up and the leather warms up my skin seems to grip the leather better and the sliding stops.  The 8.5 was totally the right size for me and these are extremely comfortable wedges. I think you are better off going with your lower size because even if it's snug to start you can have them stretched up half a size but if they are too big they will be unwearable. I also love that the bottom of the shoe is rubber and so there is no slipping and sliding on certain surfaces. Well worth full price and will go beautifully with all of the Navy items in my closet. 

Do We See A Pattern Emerging?

I just got my Lemon Stick Wedges in the mail today, bright and early and ready for our playdate in which wearing these shoes would be considered totally overdressed. But who cares. I like my shoes and I want to wear them in. My love affair with butter yellow shoes started last year with these adorable See Kai Run Mary Janes I got for my then two year old. These shoes have been worn to hell but I'm keeping them for when my one year old can also wear them unless I can find them again brand new. This is the joy of having two daughters. This right here, wearing matching shoes with a three year old that has painted toenails in 'you don't know jaques' by OPI.  I'll write a review of my Lemon Stick Wedges later today but for now I can tell you I am in love with them. 

Fit Reviews: Dresses, a Skirt and Blouse

I'm so sorry about the poor quality photos in this review. I recently got an iphone and haven't used the camera a lot since I got it and so I'll be working on improving my blog pictures for you for next time. I got an unexpected chance to stop in at Anthro today (while the kids napped in the car with the husband) to see if they got in Leaf Filigree Tank (nope!) and to see if they had anything else new in (yup!). I wish I had more time today to explore but alas, I had presciouse time to try on a few dresses. I noticed on my way out that they did have the Sky Stories Dress and a few other things I would have liked to try on. And I ended up added some items on to my Lust List which happens to also be my 'waiting for markdown' list

Oblique Blooms Dress by Zehavale $298

I tried on this Olbique Blooms Dress more for fun then anything else since I don't see myself needing such a fancy dress for any special occasion in the near future and the price is more then I would pay for informal use. I was drawn to it because it was such a pretty, silky yet lightweight lace dress. It had such a soft and unusual feel that I knew even though the color was all wrong for me and I had no intentions of buying it I just needed to try it on.  The fit was pretty horrible on me in the 10.  The bust portion was just way too big on me and would never stay up without straps. I was really surprised for the price of this dress that it didn't include removable straps. Ok I'm just now reading that it did but I didn't see any with this dress.  Their is a pretty floral print in the fabric beneath the lace on the bust and the zipper is heavy duty and matches the champaign gold of the dress. It was a fun dress to try on but there was no love lost that it didn't work out for me. 

Gull Wings Dress Girls From Savoy's $168

This was another dress that I tried on on a lark. I do love this dress, love the print (as well as the other colorways available) and would probably wear this dress on a night out that requires more 'bombshell' less 'sweet'. My only issue with it is that I'm sure my mom had a dress similar in style to this one in the late 70's (which I loved) but that makes this one feel a bit costumey for me. The size 10 fit well and was really comfortable and lightweight. I love the black contrasted edges on this patterned version and I think it really draws your eyes upwards towards your neckline and framing the face. This dress would have to be worn without a bra or with a really clever strapless bra neither of which are options I like. 

Night-And-Day Dress Girls From Savoy's 

This was my favourite dress to try on today and in fact I put it on hold. Is it likely to go on markdown a week after it's store arrival? I loved the simplicity of the bodice and the straps fit well without being too long. The cotton has a lovely weight and softness that lets it drape beautifully. The style really reminds me of vacationing in Spain and I can see myself wearing this to something as casual as a Saturday night at Kino Cafe Flamenco Bar.

Embroidery Pattern Skirt Postella's

This was my other favourite today and I ended up putting this one on hold as well. Although I think since I've got two skirts already I will pass on this one until it is marked down to around the $40 range or less. It's a much lovelier pattern once it's on then it appeared just sitting on the hanger and even how it's photographed. I was initially worried that it was too 'grandma drapery' of a pattern but the gold tones in this skirt were so flattering on and contrasted nicely with the blues and corals of the flowers.  You almost see the colors more then you see the print. The length and fullness of this single layer silk skirt looked perfect with my red flats but would look even prettier with a nice wedge heel for a garden party. I love that so many of Anthro's skirts have pockets in them, even a silk skirt like this one. I probably wouldn't put anything in this pocket since it's silk except maybe a tissue but it's nice to have somewhere to put your hands for that laid back appearance. 

Surge Scarf Tank by Tiny $98

As you can see, I'm quite short and have short stocky legs so a blouse in this shape doesn't flatter me very much. But I loved the flower print in yellow tones so much and the clashing contrast ribbon as well as the lace that I had to try it on anyways. I wonder if this would look better on me sized down from medium or even tucked in. I think it would look so good with white linen shorts and some chunky wedges. I need to try this one on again because I passed on it today but feel sad that it was left behind. I feel like I need to give it another chance. 

And that concludes todays reviews which have made me really realize how much fun it is to try on pretty dresses.  Seriously, trying on dresses today for 10-20 minutes without the kids in the dressing room with me was the highlight of my day. I think the only thing that could have made it better was a) having endless funds that allow me to bring home anything I liked and b) having more time to browse around and try more things on. Anthropologie has to be the funnest place on earth to go shopping. I really hope I get more invites to the private events so that I can bring my sister and best friend with me for some more kid free shopping good times. 

Store Report & A Fit Review

I returned my Tippi Dress today after coming to the realization that she really was just a trophy dress and although I loved that dress dearly and admired it in every other picture I have seen of it, it just did my hips and shape no favours. Why spend that money on a dress from a store that has so many other figure flattering items for me instead? 

With a tear still in my eye I decided I wanted to try on The Gathering Tank as part of my exchange. I'm in need of a neutral dressy tee to wear tucked into my new skirts (Sailboat Skirt and Monarch Skirt) and that I can wear casually as well with my jeans.  I'd glanced at and moved on from this tee before but I've seen a few images of it this week and and it's so flattering to the collar bone area and frames the face so beautifully that I decided I wanted to try it on myself. I found the last medium in store today and all that was left was small and extra small. The Medium fit me well and the white was slightly sheer but in a very lovely way. As long as you wear a nude and pretty bra underneath it wont look too scandalous. The material is textured so it really adds an extra layer of interest to a white tee. It was really very flattering on me without clinging to my tummy and it was much more then just a a basic tee so I grabbed it and decided to check for more colors. Vancouver Anthropologie only had pink in stock in addition to the white so I bit the bullet online (shipping to Blaine was $6.95) and got the Grey which is so lovely. I very rarely do black so greys and navy's are my go too dark neutrals. I was also interested in the Lilac but I have another Lilac top and liked the versatility of grey and white. It's really silly how excited I am about this top but it really is so ridiculously flattering on. 

The Gathering Tank

Nostalgic Asterisks Dress on sale for $79.95

For fun today I decided that since the kids were cooperating I would try on the size 10  Nostalgic Asterisks Dress that finally got marked down at my store. Earlier in the week it was at full price but today there was a big rack of them in several sizes marked to $79. I really liked this dress once it was on, the color was a lot nicer on me then I expected it to be. My main issue was it was a hard dress to zip up with a tiny side zip zipper and varying fabric lumps to go over to get to the top. The bodice is made of ribbed elastic fabric in the back and once the zipper gets to that portion you need to pull the fabric in very close together and zip slowly all the way up. Once on the dress was comfortable but the ribbed elastic material in the back kept giving me a weird lumpy shape where it buckled depending on how I moved. Very pretty dress, I just didn't love it on me. I wasn't too heartbroken though since I had no intention of bringing her home with me. 

Anthropolgie Vancouver Grand Opening Recap

Anna, the author of this lovely blog called simplystylishmom contacted me to share her post about the Vancouver Anthropologie Grand Opening Party and some of her pictures. I love getting to know other local Vancouver Anthropologie bloggers so was so glad to get her email today. Two pictures from her post stood right out for me. First, the display of Odille's Sailboat Skirt on the magazine wall with nautical themed pictures. Every time I've gone into the store since opening day I'm drawn to this corner like a magnet. I'm not quite sure why it never occurred to me to photograph it...maybe I was too busy gawking. There is so much visual interest in Anthropologie stores without being too busy. It's like a fine collectors (not a hoarder) curio cupboard. 

The second image that drew me in was the Kingston Road Dress. I'd seen this dress on opening night but didn't get a chance to try it on since it was not my size. I did touch it and pet it gingerly and decided it was definitely try on worthy if it had been in my size. The fabric was pleasantly soft and textured. I think it looks fantastic on her. 

Check out Anna's blog over here:  simplystylishmom.com

June 2011 Catalogue Lust List

Gathering Breeze Dress

I really love the look of this dress but there are two details that I'm hung up on. I wish it had thin straps and also, the bust portion I wish was not a bustier with visible cups. I hate the bustier look and wish it was just a plain strait across cut. The things I love are the skirt and it's color paired with the Ivory lace bodice.

Sky Stories Dress

This one intrigues me for the colors. Also, how cute is the little skirt the little girl is wearing with contrasted dark green knickers underneath.

Lunar Cycles Top

I tried this top on after admiring it on a SA and although I really liked how it looked on it felt heavy and not soft enough for warm summer months. It sort of felt like a stiff table cloth fabric. I wonder if perhaps after a few washes (but it's dry clean only?) it would relax a bit and become softer. I'm short and have short legs with a long torso so I don't think the length and fullness of this top did me favours but non the less it still looked quite lovely on. I can't remember what size I tried on but I seem to recall it was TTS, meaning no big surprise.  My main hangup was the feel of the fabric.

Leaf Filigree Tank

I mentioned in an earlier post that this top is on my lust list but I wanted to mention for you Vancouverites that I called in to the store and they did not yet have this top in but do expect it in at some point. I'll hold off on ordering online and maybe call in again on Friday. Did you notice the model is wearing the Sailboat Skirt on the reverse darker side (printed side of the fabric) with no visible buttons? I just checked my skirt and you can't reverse it to the other side because of the pockets. I wonder if this one was either specially made for the photo shoot or if it's simply an over saturated picture with the buttons removed to stream line the picture.