Everlane ryan tank dress | I’m wearing a medium (purchased with credits earned from Everlane)
Mephisto Helen sandals
MM6 perforated fabric tote | purchased with credits from Forzieri
Well. I got this Everlane tank dress much faster than I thought I would (it came on Friday) given their recent shift to FedEx. Truth be told, I wasn’t 100% convinced I needed to keep this dress when I first put it on, but the more I wore it around and looked in the mirror, the more I liked it. The length was good on me, I don’t mind the drop waist (and I can actually wear it at my natural waist also), and I love the neckline. And, I like the gray as an alternative to my all black dress collection.
But, I wore it Saturday for pizza (I know…) and of course, I got a spot of sauce on the front. I washed it in cold water and hung it to dry (as per the instructions), and when I put it on yesterday to snap some photos, I noticed it had shrunk. Not a HUGE amount, really, but enough to change the way it looks on me. Before, it was more drapey and less clingy, and just a teeny bit longer. All of which convinced me I should keep the dress. But now, it just looks like it doesn’t fit right.
I was so disappointed. And I emailed Everlane’s customer service last night with my issue. They wrote me back early this morning and had issued me a credit, explaining that the rayon will shrink and that I should order up if I want to replace it. Ok. Thanks, but I wish I’d know that before?
As usual, I’m impressed with Everlane’s customer service, and always speedy reply, but I get frustrated with their quality issues. Both the long dresses are “Ryan” style, so you’d assume they’re the same fabrication as the ryan tanks. I have four ryan tanks, and I know that if I accidentally dry them, they’ll shrink, but I haven’t noticed significant shrinkage with just water. The rayon on the dresses is heavier than the tanks, and I even think the rayon on the long sleeve dress is different than the rayon on the tank dress. All of which is sort of understandable, I know they tweaked their fabrication after their second run of ryan tees/tanks had major quality issues, and they continue to try and make improvements, but if they know that the rayon will shrink even if it’s not dried, I wish they’d made a note of it on the description of the items.
Now, I think if I want to keep my long sleeve ryan dress exactly as it is, I will dry clean it. Incidentally, I also dry clean my Eileen Fisher harem pants, which are also supposed to be machine washable, because my previous pair DID shrink in length with just water (they replaced them at no charge also).
Anyway, I did actually really like this dress; it was different, bra-friendly, and nice & drapey. I feel like the material on this dress (maybe it’s just the gray?) is lighter than the long sleeve dress – less heavy – but opaque enough that I wouldn’t wear a slip underneath. And if you’re concerned about the drop waist, I wouldn’t be, especially after it shrinks – now, it’s much easier to get to sit at my natural waist!
I’m not 100% sure I’ll re-order the dress in a large; I’m a little soured on it, frankly, but I also think that even if it DOES shrink, the armholes will be more open than I’d like.
Ugh. I still continue to be a big Everlane fan though; I’ve had a number of hits that have been well worth the misses…and I have great respect for the company and what they’re doing.
Did anyone order this dress? What did you think of it?
Already posted my comments on both the Everlane dresses on your last post, but have to admit I wasn’t a fan of either for me. This dress looks WAY better on you than it did on me though–maybe due to my lack of booty 😉
I wasn’t thrilled with the fabric of either dress, and like I said before, they were just “meh” on me so back they go.
Really, the only thing I’ve liked from Everlane has been the white sleeveless shirtdress. I liked the original t-shirts I bought, but I really only wear them for bed / lounging–they’re too opaque for me, which is weird to say, because I’m always complaining about things being too sheer.
ha, well, as you can see, i have no lack of booty… 😉
i like the fabric of the gray one better than the black one. which is weird, because they should be the same. but they’re really not.
i LOVE the petra tote, the shoes, the u-neck tees, the cashmere and the ryan tanks. in other words, their more “basic” things. i think it’s when they start getting all “fashion-y” that they run into problems? anyway, i’ll always have to try their new stuff…because i’m a fangirl, but i can see it starting to get a little tiring…
Silly question, did you iron it? I find this typical of a rayon blend and get that little bit of length back when I press it.
(inside out so it doesn’t get shiny.)
I think it looks great on you and would be a great staple to have on hand.
Have a great morning,
E
This was exactly my problem with the Ryan tees. All of mine shrunk with water (super noticeable on me because my torso is long) and I couldn’t size up because the armholes were gigantic.
But I basically have to wear a large in all of their shirts for length but can’t do any of the sleeveless because of armhole sizing. It’s super frustrating with their sweaters since they become much wider in the torso than the mediums but sometimes don’t gain significant length (looking at you crew neck cashmere),. I feel very frumpy in them. I also get folding at the armpit because it’s obviously too big.
Still love the basic tshirts though. And I can handle the silk sleeveless with cami. But otherwise, my love affair with Everlane is mostly visual these days.
I like the dress .. it looks easy to throw on and go 🙂
Monica.
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Thanks for the review on this dress. I really liked the looks of it on the website and it looks great on you. I don’t know if I can deal with something that finicky though.
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Hmmmm … This looks nice on you in the pix. The gray is very flattering.
Strange that my Ryan tanks shrunk just from hand washing quickly in very cold water with Laundress delicates wash. The shrinking was mostly in the length (which I did not want) with little change in the width/armholes (which I did want). I have thought about replacing them in the “upgraded” fabric, but I won’t bother now after hearing about your dress.
I’m still very tempted by Everlane and all their new releases and yummy color palettes, but I’m no longer looking with rose-tinted glasses.
P.S. I have a couple of drapey 100% rayon tees that I bought from Loft last year, which also shrunk after cold-water hand-washing. So it’s definitely a characteristic of that particular fabric. I wonder if it can be prewashed/preshrunk at the factory?
not a silly question, but no, i didn’t iron it, and can’t, because i don’t own one. i know….shocker. i prefer to wear my clothes au natural LOL -no, i’d really like a steamer, but haven’t got around to purchasing one, and because i wear mostly cotton/casual, i don’t really NEED one.
thank you though, i will keep it and just wear it around, and i think it does look okay on me, just not like i wanted it to. or like it did when i FIRST wore it!
I too have experienced the shrinking problem w/my Ryan short sleeve and long sleeve shirts. Funny, the gray long sleeve arms shrank after washing in cold water but the black shirt showed no shrinking at all. Very odd.
I like this dress on you, Grechen. I’m a total sucker for long and flowy dresses and this one looks pretty cool.
Over the weekend, after reading your review on the long sleeve Ryan dress, I so wanted to buy it but then have been dilly-dallying b/c I couldn’t figure out what my 2nd item should be in order to get that free shipping! I hate having to purchase 2 items to get free shipping and yet I hate paying for shipping. I’m thinking I may get their short sleeve sweatshirt tunic. I don’t know…to many decisions! 🙂
yes, i’ve noticed that each item is different with everlane. one of my white ryan tanks did shrink a little in length, but the other one did not. and i didn’t notice ANY shrinkage on the tee or the long sleeve…
yeah, i do that too. with the second item – i always like the u-neck tee though, and it’s $15, so if i don’t have a second item already, i will order that one. until now, i’ve already got all the three “colors” i’ll wear!!
That’s a bummer about the dress. In my experience rayon always shrinks when washed in cold water, which is why I usually avoid it now. My everlane Ryan tank was defective (and they issued a credit immediately) but it also shrank and pilled significantly in that one cold water wash and air dry. I have a Karen Kane dress that is rayon and I haven’t washed it yet, but it does say on the label that it will shrink up to 5% if washed. I just don’t trust rayon and to be frank none of my everlane purchases have been satisfactory either due to it just not fitting me or due to quality issues for ones I kept. My husband’s cotton polo puckered at the seams after a cold water wash (like it shrunk at the edges of the collar, sleeves, and hem so it is very annoying I have to stretch it out and flatten out all edges after a wash. The uneck tee and cotton tank both wrinkle horribly and get rolled up at the edges and none of my other tshirts cheaper or more expensive have this annoying issue.
Yes! I’ve often wondered the same thing about rayon, Christine M. Why DONT they pre-shrink? Or does that change the quality of the fabrics, thereby, they’d rather have the customer do it?
But isn’t that a pretty big quality issue for Everlane? Each item shouldn’t be of different quality, especially if it’s made of the same fabric, but just a different color. I’m going to be direct here and ask you, would you ever tolerate that from James Perse? (It just seems that Everlane gets cut a lot of slack because of “good business practices”…but I’m not sure how good they are when a product results in so many returns!)
The dress looks really cute on you, but I figured you had probably gotten it hemmed! It is a tad short to my eye. I think it fits you well, but the top looks a little twisted out of shape (like the fabric got a little off-kilter after washing and it twists to your left. Could that be?) That would be a deal breaker for me…it costs too much money to have defects.
way to put me on the spot 🙂
i was just thinking of that actually. i have never had such issues with james perse, splendid, vince, etc., etc., – but i’ve also not bought a lot of rayon outside of everlane. maybe years ago, but that’s it. anyway, yes, i’m giving everlane a pass, definitely, because of what they’re trying to do. but it’s enough already, i think.
i thought that rayon and viscose were the same thing, actually – and they are: http://thedreamstress.com/2014/01/terminology-rayon-viscose-acetate/ – but i have some viscose from JP that has not had any issues at all, no shrinkage, or anything. but really, i have not had ANY quality issues with anything JP…my viscose pieces are thinner, with a tighter weave, and much nicer…
Sorry!!! I didn’t mean to make it sound accusing (But on second thought, it sounds a hell of a lot like my mother’s voice!). But I was thinking of how you taught me to demand quality from my clothes, which is something I always shrugged off as not that important to me as long as I got a “great deal.” Great deals come with a cost sometimes, and I realize that now.
I thought viscose and rayon were the same, too, with viscose being the “higher end” fiber.
ha! no, not accusing at all. absolutely i’m glad you asked that question though, because it made me think. i mean, all we can do really is hold brands accountable for when they make mistakes, which i did. and continue to do with everlane, actually. whenever i have a quality issue, or when I feel like something doesn’t measure up, i let them know. i’m not trying to say i am anyone special or anything – we should all do that – and they always take care of it for me, and seem to make quality adjustments accordingly.
to their credit, though, they are feeling this out still, and mistakes are par for the course. i just know now that i won’t buy rayon anymore. and continue to be selective with what i buy from everlane.
How disappointing! This dress is on my wish list, but I might have to reconsider. I’m fairly tall, so shrinking in length would not be a good thing. On top of being unsure of the drop waist, this might not be the dress for me.
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I like the dress on you but for me dry cleaning anything is a deal breaker. Not only can I not deal with the cost but the environmental side of it (chemicals on my body and in the environment) freaks me out. Plus all the nasty plastic they always wrap around your clothes. I can understand once in a while doing it but not regularly. I even hand washed my own wedding dress and it came out beautifully. As for Everlane, it is really hit or miss for me with them. My favorite items from them are the older boatneck sweatshirt (cropped and great for shorter gals) my U-neck tees, which I love, and the anorak, which I have in stone. I also like the V-necks on me, and I have a very soft wool blush-colored infinity scarf that I really like. Oh, and their backpack is great. Things I did not like so much were the cotton tanks (really weird shape, they bell out at the bottom in such a weird way and there is just too much fabric down there), cashmere sweater (looked shapeless and frumpy on me). The long sleeve linen tee and the cap sleeve chambray dress were also sent back…I do like the short sleeve chambray button down a lot (cropped so great for shorter people). And I have a linen short sleeve tee that I like. I like the drapey ness off the Ryan tanks and they do shrink a little for me (I wash in machine in a garment bag on delicate) but not enough to make any difference. Wanna say again that I LOVE the anorak though. Great to layer too.
agree on dry cleaning – i do everything at home in my dryer with dryel, or woolite – and pretty infrequently. sometimes just a little febreeze sprayed on a garment will freshen it up too…it doesn’t need a full run in the dryer.
I just ordered the Ryan shirtdress. I may send back based on comments above. I however, love, love the cap sleeve shirtdress I just received in the dark gray. Lots of compliments and wore with gray leggings (my knees don’t look the best). I also love all the silk shirts – they are all keepers.
Anyone try the long pants yet?