[outfit: elizabeth suzann harper tunic, old elizabeth suzann twill clyde pants, *SAS suntimer sandals, *Dagne Dover midi tote]
I spent this weekend attending and presenting at a psychiatry conference here in New York. On Saturday, I was just an attendee and decided to wear something casual and wore this linen tunic with these clyde pants from ES.
The pockets came in handy for all the random things you accumulate at a conference. There are so many institutions and companies present that want to promote their stuff or hire you. You can easily rack up a lot of “swag”/freebies in the process, but other than one tube of free chapstick and a couple pamphlets, I was able to avoid accumulating a ton of stuff.
In other news, the blue slate dress arrived, and sadly it did not work out. My fears were justified about the drape not being the same for my body type, as you can see here.
The way it drapes is awkward on me and I feel sort of like the statue of liberty in this. Plus, the threads were loose where the dress knots up at the waist. It was already falling apart right out of the bag. I returned it immediately. Need Supply includes a return sticker in the package, so the return was quick and easy. Here’s the same dress on the model for comparison.
Of the other two dresses, I liked the red column dress a little more, but it is now sold out. And I don’t know how I feel about the black one anymore.
After the conference was over on Saturday, I headed over to the Microsoft store in Manhattan to pick up the laptop. The whole process was quick and easy. Customer service was great.
The Surface laptop is better designed than the Macbooks in my opinion in almost every way; they have better sound, and a taller screen size. The Surface keyboard isn’t as good as the Thinkpad keyboard which is unrivaled in its key travel depth, but in every other way, the Surface is better. If you’re in the market for a laptop, I’d suggest going for the Surface. Now when I open my laptop, the computer’s facial recognition scans my face and signs in lightning fast. It’s pretty cool.
There was an Eileen Fisher store 1 block away from the Microsoft store, so I decided to go in to try on some dresses. There were only 2 formal dresses in the entire store. I really loved this dress here.
But the pricetag (around $400) was too steep for something I wouldn’t be wearing often. Trying it on was helpful though because now I can use the sizing info to help me look for a similar dress online secondhand. I tried on this belted dress too. The belt felt a bit awkward and it looked a bit too frumpy for my taste.
Unfortunately there were no winners here. The dress hunt continues…
Dr. it girl 
Oh no, that’s so disappointing about the fit and quality of the NS dress. The colour also seems a bit off, and not in a good way?
My last workplace was introducing the new generation of Surfaces just as I came in, so I was the first on my (tech-related) team to get one. Within five minutes on my first day, the entire team had crowded around my desk, literally stroking it.
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The color is more green, less blue in real life. It’s not as nice as the photo for sure. My initial impression was that the Surface was “too nice” but now I’m over that and feel pretty satisfied with it. Funny that your coworkers were stroking it. The BF spent more time with my laptop than I have so far. Tech people love it.
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ahh I actually really like you in that last reddish dress. I think it’s very pretty. Too bad about the NS one though. I feel like some of their brands are definitely lower quality and can be disappointing.
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The reddish one looks better from the front but the side profile of that dress is actually too puffy. Agree about NS, I’m glad I gave it a try but maybe the sub 100 dollar range is total junk.
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Bummer about the dress! It’s always disappointing when something doesn’t live up to the photos.
I’m trying to get my closet to a place where I’m prepared for most situations and no longer feel the need to rush out and buy a new item, but it’s tough! I found a dress secondhand over the weekend to wear to a friend’s upcoming wedding in Mexico. It’s not perfect, or really my style, but I think it will feel right at home at the destination. I plan to make a few easy alterations (and not wearing the “arm” portion of the cold-shoulder style – not at all flattering on me), and if I don’t wear it in the future I can always Posh it. Speaking of which, have you tried sifting through Poshmark?
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I’m not there yet with my wardrobe too. It’s still a work in progress. I have looked at PM and have bought a lot of stuff from the site in the past. There were a couple of dresses I wanted, but the sellers were not answering my questions and I always see that as a red flag.
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I agree that the last red dress is so pretty! I think your waist gets a little lost in the top EF dress. Could you size down one in the red? I also recommend Poshmark for familiar brands and sizing, or trendy items that are starting to saturate (if they non-trendy, workhorse items for you). For example, I have been able to score some great deals on Frye, Birkenstock, Everlane, and TOMS shoes there.
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My waist getting lost might be a good thing lol. I think a petite size for the brown/red dress would be better.. because the length makes me want to gather it more at the waist. It looks OK/nice but I wasn’t in love with it and for the price, I need to be in love with it. I use PM all the time. Nearly all my secondhand is from there or the realreal. I have been able to score great deals on brands that I already trust too.
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Too bad about the dress! I’ve been in the market for a special occasion dress for a while, and it’s a really difficult item to shop for. (Admittedly, I haven’t looked very hard, just a lot of online window shopping and nixing everything because I don’t think much of it is likely to work on me. I ordered just one item to try on, and it was a total fail.) At this point, I think I’ve given up on buying a new special occasion dress. We don’t have any weddings to attend in the near future anyway, so there’s no actual need anymore.
Good to know that the Surface is much better! I hope it’ll be a long time before I need to think about my next computer, but it’s seeming likely that a Mac will not be a good value at that time.
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Yes, the ever elusive special occasion dress. Gots ta be special but not too special. Hard to find one with all the right specs. I don’t own a single dress that fits right now. I’m hoping the one I get will serve me for years to come. We’ll see. I think apple is facing lots of pressure about their keyboard. There’s a petition going around about it. Maybe by the time you’re due for a laptop they will offer different keyboards.
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I always feel torn about buying new clothes to attend weddings, and last year I chose to tap on my sister’s clothing rental subscription for wedding guest/party outfits, and it actually worked out well.
But I am part of a wedding party in Oct that has (if you can believe this) a colour scheme, so I’m hunting for something to buy too. I actually found options in COS – classic and versatile enough to not solely be occasion-wear, so I might go with it.
My older sister got a silk-linen trouser suit custom made in Bangkok – such a fabulous idea but a little out of my budget though it looks so good and timeless, and it was great value for money because they did such a great job. She did have to source the fabric herself though – she found it in India, when she was there for work.
I think the pale gold EF looks great, for what it’s worth. Good luck with the hunt!
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I didn’t think to look at Cos, but generally I do like that the fit of their clothing is pretty forgiving. I might try that if things get desperate. We have a COS store in NYC that I can pop into at the last minute. When I went to India, I picked out fabric and had a dress made for me. It was pretty neat but I did a terrible job picking out the proper fabric and didn’t end up wearing it, haha. It’s cool how people approach these things in other countries. Makes more sense actually.
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