Summertime Blues: Anthropologie Lapis Lazuli Shirtdress

The past couple of days have been incredibly hot in LA, but today was absolutely perfect. 80 degrees and the sun is shining. The weather was made even better by the fact that a new dress just came home from the tailors!

I got this dress on sale from Anthropologie about a month or so ago, at $49.95 down from $98. I had been on the hunt for a simple summer shirtdress for a few months, but, true to form, I had something a lot less colorful in mind. However, one of my current style goals is to add more color into my quite monotone wardrobe, so I decided to go for it.

Lapis Lazuli Shirtdress, sz 0

Many of the reviews said that since the dress had no seaming at the shoulders, it puffed up kind of strangely and made your shoulders look larger than they are. I figured that if it looked odd on me, I could get it tailored and the price would still be worth it.

Sure enough, when I put it on, whoah man! I looked like a linebacker. I sort of pulled the dress down and held my right arm close for this photo to minimize the extra fabric, but you can still see that the sleeves are a bit puffy, especially at the shoulder.

Puffy shoulders in need of tailoring.

So, I took it to the tailors and originally they thought they could fix it with two tacks at the shoulders. Unfortunately, that just shifted the puffiness back onto my shoulder blades, so a second tailoring job was needed to run a seam all the way down the backs of the shoulders.

New, tailored seam on the right, original seam on the left.

In retrospect I should have probably asked the tailors to use visible stitching, the way it is on the rest of the dress, but now I know for next time.

I love the little peek of striped fabric at the collar.

Dress: Anthropologie Lapis Lazuli Shirtdress, sz 0 (on sale for $49.95) / Belt: Bought in England

Shoes: Target Elliana Wedge Sandals sz 7.5 ($24.99, buy here)
Pug: Not for sale!

Finally, my dress is home and in perfect condition. The alterations cost $20; a bit more than I had hoped/expected, but still worth it for a dress with such a timeless style.

Pockets! And the rest of the zoo comes to play.

And, it has pockets! As someone who's not big into purses, I think every single dress and skirt ever made should have pockets. If I knew how to sew, I would sew pockets into all my dresses and skirts. In fact, that might be a good enough reason for me to learn...