Banana Republic Fitting Room Reviews: July

Dear Readers,

The other day, I realized that most (well, probably all) of my reviews are for clothing from Anthropologie.  While this is one of my favorite stores, it is not the only store where I shop.  There are other fine retailers who I frequent quite often: Banana Republic being one of those places.  Over the years I've found that their sale items are priced much lower in stores than online (as a general rule of thumb).

Earlier this month I received a few emails about a sale at Banana Republic that enticed me enough to stop by my local BR store.  Here are a few of the items I tried on.

Silk Ikat Pencil Skirt in Blue, available here

I tried this skirt on in a 6, my usual size, but I found that the skirt had an odd fit.  Upon trying on the size 8, I was relieved when I found out that it was a pencil skirt. While the skirt was silky and beautifully colored, I decided to pass on the skirt because it had no lining.  Even though the skirt was made out of silk, it was a very thin silk that (in my opinion) needed some sort of lining.

Jersey Ballerina-esque Dress in Pale Blue

This dress reminded me a lot of Degas' paintings and sculptures of ballerinas- maybe a modern interpretation? I tried this dress on in a small and found it to be an excellent fit but I decided to pass on it because I couldn't think of a place where I could wear it. It was too formal for average-every-day-wear and the jersey fabric was too casual to wear to wedding or party. Very fun. . . but a bit too whimsical for me!

Silk Floral Knotted Dress in Green Combo available here

When I first spotted this dress in an email from BR, I decided that it was something I had to try on.  Upon trying it on, I discovered that it was, indeed, a lovely dress of verdant hues but that the draping was slightly off.  From the front it was fine (as you can see in the photo) but from the side the fabric awkwardly centered in the middle of my chest.  No thanks BR!

Pink Print Silk Dress

When I looked at this dress it looked like it ran big, so I grabbed a 4 for the fitting room and found that it, in fact, did not run large.  The fabric's print was delicious and it seemed to liven up an otherwise ordinary  dress style.  I recommend this dress for those of you who want to beat the summer heat while also dressing like professionals. Good job BR!


Thanks for reading!