Reformation surplus cotton blend dress | sustainably made in the US, sold out
James Perse exclusive Birkenstock Arizona sandals
Admonish curved leather tote | made in the US, mine is black/gray with black hardware
If I were so inclined, I think I could wear this Reformation dress all summer. It could be THE ONE. Maybe this and one James Perse tank dress, and I’d be set for summer dresses. But of course, you know me, I know me, and we all know that I’m not satisfied wearing only one type of silhouette or style for an extended period of time. But that is the BEAUTY of this dress: when I want drapey and oversized, I leave off the belt, and when I want refined and “flattering”, belted it is. AND it’s like a combo short/long dress because of the side slits – breezy enough to feel short without being SHORT, which I love love love. I’m sorry it’s no longer available to buy (I got it on sale several weeks ago, my original review is here).
I’ve worn this dress probably 4 times in the last seven days. Most of the time, I prefer it un-belted, actually, because I like the way it falls, and frankly, it’s been ridiculously hot here, and the less touching my body, the better. But I really do love the way it looks/feels belted too – just a bit more put together and less like I just threw something on. Which, incidentally, isn’t a look I mind generally, but you know, sometimes you just need a little something holding you in.
I did close up the side slits about 6 inches, and that has made all the difference; they were much too revealing as-is. Originally I planned to take it to my tailor but decided to take a stab at it myself – how hard could it be? I do, interestingly enough, know how to sew, having grown up doing all sorts of needlework, but prefer to let professionals deal with my expensive clothes lately. Anyway, my handiwork turned out well, I think, and has made the dress much more wearable for me.
And just to add a bit to my original review I discovered that it is marked SP, which I assume is a size small petite, instead of the medium I ordered. Not that it’s a problem, the size I have is plenty big on me, but I’m sorry if I inadvertently misled anyone to buy the wrong size based on the fit on me. I also haven’t washed it yet, but it does say dry-clean only, and in this case, I’ll probably toss it in the dryer with some dryell instead of try and hand-wash it or wash it in the machine on delicate. I do not want one single thing to change on this dress, and I’ve found the best way to assure that is to dry clean it and/or generally “wash” it less.
I am so pleased with this dress, and with Reformation over all. They use primarily surplus/deadstock fabrics for their designs, and on every product page, they list the water and carbon dioxide impact of EACH garment. For example, I have my eye on this coat (I know…color!! but I love it…) and if you click on the globe icon, you’ll see that it takes 48 gallons of water less than the industry standard to produce. My Reformation wish list keeps getting longer and longer…
Happy Monday, here’s to a wonderful week ahead!!
Such a great review. Hopefully this will inspire Reformation to reissue the dress.
thanks susan. the dress might actually be a “regular” summer dress, but i don’t have enough experience with reformation to know that. guess we’ll have to wait and see 🙂
Excellent!! I’m so glad sewing the sides worked for you! FWIW I have washed mine a couple of times (air dried on the rack) and it seems to be holding up well. It is a great travel dress – folds up small and come out with no wrinkles. Like you, I like it with Birks, and I also have casual nude sandals that work well. Thanks for all you do,
thanks so much for your input – i will try washing it. you haven’t noticed it shrinking in the length at all that way? i really couldn’t handle it if it lost any length LOL
I know how you feel. When something works THAT WELL in my wardrobe and it’s not easily replaceable it’s worth being careful. I washed in cold water and didn’t notice any shrinking. If you wanted to be double sure you could always measure the length and width of the waist tie, and wash it and then re-measure.
I went back to your original post and Oh, yes .. I would have closed up the slits a bit too ( modest gal that I am ) .. lol.
Monica.
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THAT IS BRILLIANT.
That is a GREAT dress. Totally up my alley.
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That dress works so well, in every way. And you did a great job of sewing up the sides…makes it downright respectable! 😉
I love the coat you have your eye on…great color!
Stylish but simple. I like it! Great blog, thanks for sharing! My blog is similar to yours. I’ll be following!