Anthropologie: Kerchief Dress Review

This is Anthropologie's Kerchief Dress (style #933100), which retails for $168. It is by Edme and Esyllte, and is alpha-sized. It is available in this one color, green motif. Anthropologie describes the dress as such:

An ethnic pattern and easy shape mimic the style of a free-flowing scarf. By Edme & Esyllte.

• Removable sash
• Pullover styling
• Silk; acetate lining
• Dry clean
• 36.5"L
• Imported

I tried this dress on in a size small. I found that it fit true-to-size, and was a very comfortable fit. I think it was a little bit loose/blousy on the top, but it fit very comfortably around the waist. The armholes were a fairly generous cut, so I would size this dress based on your bust measurement. I would say that if you are on the smaller end of your dress size range, you can try sizing down.

Both the silk outer and acetate lining are very light and soft. The overall dress is nice and smooth, and a very cool fabric for warm weather. The fabric moves and flows nicely, but it is not particularly drapey. The skirt is sort-of A-line, but leading towards a straighter profile, with a very generous cut, which gives you some room to play with in the bottom.

There is a very pretty sash that matches the purple in the pattern. The online pictures have this sash tying in the back, but I tied it to the side, and I think it looked okay. The neckline starts as a square neck, with the wide straps, and then goes into a modest-to-deep V-neck. I am not the biggest fan of these sort of "hybrid" necklines, and would have liked this better as a squareneck, I think. This dress also has on-seam pockets, which I really like, and they are at a pretty comfortable angle.

As for the pattern, I think it is just okay. I am not the biggest fan of it, although I do love the rich shade of purple that is used throughout the dress. I think I would have liked it better paired with a cooler shade of green. I also don't get the big pattern right smack in the front (and back) of the dress. This is the third or fourth pattern I've seen/reviewed this season that seems to be drawing attention to your bottom half, and I'm not really a fan of that. This is really a function of the way the fabric was cut to the pattern, but it still kind of bugs me. I think I would be more into it if the placement or distribution were a bit different.

I left this dress behind, mainly because of the price, and also because I wasn't just totally loving this one. While I love sashes and purple and dresses, I just knew I would never wear this.

What do you think? Do you like this dress? Have you seen it or tried it on? Do you own it?