Fitting room fun with Madmen style

Review of Banana Republic's Spring 2012 Mad Men collection & sprinkles of J Crew

If you follow me on instagram you know I previewed this fit review post.

I'm obsessed with this pink color but unfortunately not with the cut and fit of this dress. 

Despite the petite sizing, this dress swallows me, making it more prom dress than work attire. Aside from the taffeta, the bow and princess shape (that hides cleavage making it good as business cocktail attire) does not a 'Betty' make on me.
               
Like last time (here) I think this dress is more fit for a bride's maid. Some alterations (like making the straps thinner or dropping the neck lower) could make this dress a great date night dress. The cost of alterations would be worth it for this 100% silk dress that is fully lined and reasonably priced at $150.

Here I am pulling at the extra material

If you liked the similar one from the last capsule collection but found it too big, this one (here) may be worth the try. The fit is smaller than last time (see here) but the length is still much longer than intended.
      
A better fit from this limited collection:

This dress can be also worn without the included sash belt. I am sorry that I was too excited about the polka dots to snap a picture without the belt. This stone wash color serves as a great canvas for silk scarves (as I've shown here, here, and here). The length of this dress is also much better than the one above.

These pants are a little on the absurdly tight side, especially to pull off as work attire for my body shape. I could have tried the 2P but I do not care for the length of these and they reminded me of the J Crew ones that I found more comfortable. If the fit were right, the color could be styled to be appropriate for some work environments. The key is to make this your only statement piece by pairing them with neutral tops and blazers: think creams, grays, and whites. Although a dark blue may be a tempting color blocking contrast, you likely need to keep that for your weekend looks. -If you are in the legal field, such a stark contrast draws too much (unprofessional) attention.

The flamingo pose

Pink "majesty" cigarette pants (here)

Size reference: 0P

     

Compare with JCrew:

 J Crew café capri (here)

Size reference 00 (instead of petite to keep this length)

J Crew minnie pant (here)  

Size reference: 00
Shoes: J Crew Valentina pumps (here)

Do you plan on wearing spring trends to work?

I hope this review is helpful to you. For you ladies who are on the thinner side, I suggest checking out Banana Republic's cigarette pants. I found the fit tighter than the usual equivalent size at BR. I heard that the collection is only being sold online and in stores until March 20th and although I find it hard to believe that they will pull unsold items from the shelves instead of leaving them to be sold, this likely means that once a size is sold out it will be hard to locate them again.

Personally, I took to the colors and fit at J Crew more. I am also interested in similar Ann Taylor ones (here and here).

By the way, you get 25% off of Banana Republic online through March 5th with purchase of $100+ with code BRMARCH25. 

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