My husband had to exchange some of his shirts today, so we headed to the Galleria and of course, I had an ulterior motive and wanted to check out Ann Taylor because I had wanted to use my 40% off coupon on these shoes with a bow. When I saw them in person, I just felt the bow was not dramatic enough to spend $155 on, even if they were 40% off. I want to find shoes similar to the Ann Taylor ones but with a larger bow. I am tall and my feet are huge, so sometimes I need something a little more dramatic to make an impact/be noticeable (I was thrilled, for example when the huge purse trend started several years ago, because I can rock a massive travel bag like it’s any old handbag.)
Anywho, you KNOW I didn’t leave Ann Taylor without checking out their new spring collection and sale racks. A few weeks ago, I paid a visit to Ann Taylor and tried on a pretty, simple black dress with bow accents at the shoulders. It was on sale for about 50$ and I thought to myself “this is a cute dress for $50.”) Alas, they didn’t have my size.
Wait, let me re-state that. Ann Taylor sizing is SO incredibly off, that my size was too large on me. Yes, the size 4 dress was too big. They swore they didn’t have a 2 and I checked the racks over and over. Sadly, there was no 2.
Oddly, when I went today, I found that same dress in a 2…and another in a 2P…I wonder where those were a few weeks ago? Considering the $50 dress was actually an additional 40% off today, I felt like it was a message from the shopping gods whispering “you must have this” [to me] as my husband shook his head at the feverish look in my eyes when I realize what an amazing deal I’m about to score.
The dress doesn’t look like much on the hanger, but I promise it is the perfect work dress. So it was $49.88 and I got it 40% off: (by the way, the dress was originally GASP!!! $175. I want to know who would actually pay that much for a simple black work dress that’s not a designer brand…no judgment, but phew, that’s a lot for an Ann Taylor dress. Thank God for sales!)
After I got my hands on this dress, I became even more excited as I focused in on one item so amazing, it took my breath away a little bit (umm…I think I have a problem.)
As with everything in that store, the sizing is crazy and I had to get this gorgeous top in a size XS. Oh but how gorgeous and fluffy it is….and the color…oh the sweet gorgeous color. The collar reminds me of little flower petals…like you could pick them off for days and days saying “he loves me, he loves me not…” sigh. So pretty.
You may not agree…but this blouse is just so stunning. It looks especially incredible on. I just <3>
I am just so confused about the sizing in this store…is it a massive case of vanity sizing? I just can’t imagine I would ever be a size 2 in anything in any other stores. I guess maybe it might be just that one dress since the bottom part is not super fitted or anything. Does anyone else find the sizing off at Ann Taylor? By the way, if you haven’t been yet, their spring collection has lots of pretty stuff.
I also paid a visit to J. Crew and they had a few amazing items…but I’m kind of boycotting them because I hate that they never have specials or any significant sales (in stores). I would be shopping there ever darn weekend if they offered me 40% off of one item for one day only. I always have to wait for things to go on sale there, and even when they do I sometimes think they are too pricey. Especially tissue-thin shirts. They have gorgeous stuff…but sometimes I think the price just completely turns me off.
Finally, we stopped by at LuluLemon so my husband could get his first pair of Lulu’s. Yay! LuluLemon pants are seriously superior to any I have ever worn. I’ve had my black still pants for like 4 years, wash them at least once a week and they still look and fit great. Amazing.
While at Lulu, I remembered a girl in my Pilates class this morning was wearing a gorgeous colored racerback from there, so I made a note to check and see if they still had that color (they switch out colors a lot.) They did, and I got to snag one of the last ones. It’s light a bright indigo purple. Love it!
I actually own this top in 3 other colors and love them because they are so long and comfy. They wash and wear well, and because of the long length, I’m not always having to pull them down. I just lover racerbacks. They are so flattering.
Did you shop any Valentines/Presidents Day sales today? Let me know what you got in the comments below.
xoxo,
Veronika.
Olivea says
The petal top is so beautiful! Can't wait to see it in an OOTD!
MsHark says
OK Ann Taylor sizing is nuts. But, so is Banana Republic, Anthropologie (most of the time), and J. Crew. I am a size 2 in these stores but I am really a true 4 I think, maybe even a 6, who knows (my waist is 27 inches). Each place is so insane with the vanity sizing, I don't know what is real anymore.
J Crew sometimes has good sales in the store, but it might just be on sweaters, or just on denim, stuff like that. I have come across good deals in the stores only by stumbling upon them randomly. But, I agree. J Crew pisses me off in more ways than one. However, I really feel like many times, J Crew items don't fit right anyway so most of the time you aren't missing out. Sometimes I fall in love with their catalog, until you try on the exact same thing and realize they taped and pinned it on the model so much that its a completely different cut/drape/fit in reality! frustrating! Not to mention they have a serious problem with sewing on their buttons.. um, mainly, they aren't very good at it. Ha!
My mom is getting me my first lulu stuff for my birthday in a couple weeks 😉 so excited!
Steph
E Hayes says
I'm 5'2" and sorta petite-ish, but normally don't have a problem wearing regular sized tops since my shoulder are broader… I wear XXS-XS Petite in AT and Loft and they aren't that small… How do girls who are actually smaller than me shop there??
It sucks because I have no faith in ordering Online from their stores…
TheThingAboutDaisies says
Ann Taylor has crazy sizing like Banana Republic does and I can say that the BR sizing was done as vanity sizing (at least that was true 2ish years ago). They thought that it made women feel better about their bodies when they could say that they "went down two sizes"!
I do really like the dress from AT, it looks like it will be a great dress that you can take from day to night if you need to!
Nicole says
For me Express jeans sizing is very off. I bought a pair of size 2's there a month or so ago, when normally I am at least a 4 (but usually 6). However there tops don't seem to run so big, so who knows!
I love that blouse from AT, such a fun spring color!
thelushers says
The AT sizing has been crazy for me lately too! I have been buying things way smaller than I know I actually am.
Anonymous says
Love the Lulu top – I actually bought the same one just this afternoon 🙂 Did your hubby have any success buying his first Lulu item?
Ashley says
I agree that this vanity sizing thing has gotten completely out of hand. I don't have an opinion about AT specifically (because I can't even afford their sale racks lol), but I've noticed it in just about every store I've visited lately from F21 to Old Navy… you name it. Most people consider me thin, but I'm not a stick by any means and lately it seems like even an extra small is way too big for me. It's ridiculous. I wear a size 2 in most pants now, and I definitely shouldn't be a 2! It does make me wonder where smaller petite women shop. If it's hard for me to find things, I can't even imagine how difficult it must be for them.
Natasha says
I cant even wear most Ann Taylor stuff because it is too big. I am way too small for it. I can wear XS-Petite at BR and OP sometimes.
I love LuLu as well!
Anonymous says
IMO Ann Taylor runs big and Forever 21 runs small. Another issue I have with all of these stores is length. It's so hard to find a small size for us taller girls! I swear I sometimes shop in petite maternity clothes because they have extra length!
Anonymous says
Veronika – I love, love, love reading your blog! Thanks for all the time & energy you put into it!
My boyfriend got me the Clarisonic for Valentine's Day!!! Woo hoo!!! How are you liking yours?
[email protected] says
anon- I am loving it! it's like a whole new cleaning experience for your face! remember when you switched from a manual toothbrush to an electric one? that's how it feels to have a clarisonic…like a higher level of cleaning and efficiency.
jessmarietta says
I saw on another fashion blog that Forever 21 recently came out with a fitness line. Have you checked it out yet?
Just thought I'd pass that along 🙂 Love your blog!
jaclyn says
Love that dress and top from AT! I have found their sizes to be way off too … and hey, my size 8 self will never complain about going down a size, but then women like my sisters, who are normally a 0 or 2 and a 4, run into trouble finding stuff that actually fits!
I bought wayyyy too much this weekend but it was nearly all on sale, haul post at my blog … now it's time to give the debit card a rest! 🙂
Rach says
Love all your new items;)
I just found Lulu at my local mall and went a little crazy this weekend! Not really, just 2 tops and 2 pants…but that quickly added up $$$! I told my husband he has to come with me next time and check it out cause I know he'll love it!
I think sizing is just crazy everywhere. Usually, I'm an XS, 0, 25, etc. BUT in Ann Taylor I rarely fit in the clothes cause they're too big on me. Sometimes I can get lucky in the petites but they only have limited styles in those sizes.
Oh…and let me just talk about Lulu sizing…I tried on that purple top you just bought in a 4 and it was too big (but they didn't have a 2). So, ok. I tried on another top with a shelf bra and I needed a 6! I guess maybe because it's more fitted? I dunno…but SO confusing!
Maggie says
YES, Ann Taylor sizing is way off -about 2.5 sizes off. And to add stress to the mix, there will occasionally be the rare item, usually a dress, that actually does run “true to size.” On the AT website I am always seeing comments posted in the review section for the clothing that states things along the lines of, “runs true to size!” Or, “Runs exactly true to size!” Based on these comments, I’ve actually ordered clothes thinking they would “run true to size” only to find out that their “true to size” is more like almost 3 sizes too large. In every single store in the United States, I wear a 6 or an 8…in junior’s mall stores such as American Eagle, Abercrombie or Hollister I’m a large, a 9 or even an 11 or XL in some cases. (That is because these are clothing that are cut and intended for teens.) In J Jill I’m an XS. At Ann Taylor I am a FREAKING 0 IN JEANS!? My Victoria’s Secret Catalog jeans are all size 8. In Old Navy I am a size 4 or 6 (Old Navy runs most true to size of any store I have ever seen, identical to Gap, their parent company.) But at Ann Taylor I am a Size 0??!? How is this even possible? I purchased a jacket from Ann Taylor recently at a consignment shop. The jacket was hanging in the “Women’s Large” section. The tag size though was – you guessed it – a SMALL. (I have a 40D chest, by the way! And, that jacket was a bit loose on me too. Yes, Ann Taylor is a massive case of vanity sizing. I have a stepdaughter who is a size XS or 00 in the junior’s stores. if she wanted to shop at Ann Taylor, she couldn’t. I gave her an XS top from Ann Taylor once and it hung on her like a paper bag. It boils down to this: If you want to be a size 0 even if you’re close to a size 10, you can be a Zero or even a DOUBLE ZERO if you are willing to pay the high price!
Elizabeth H. says
Here we are five years after the most recent post, and things have not changed as far as the “vanity sizing” and the disparity in brand sizes, overall. The last sentence from Maggiesays is hilarious, and so true! That’s why it’s also called, “insanity sizing.”
I don’t know how anyone manages to shop online with any sort of confidence unless they already know how a brand fits them. Maggiesays is right in her observation that there is a HUGE difference in Ann Taylor sizing, and that for a very small woman it is impossible to find anything there that fits. I am, by the way, 5 ‘6″ , a 34B, and 115 lbs. at my heaviest. I am not tiny or petite, and I have different brands of clothing from assorted stores and online shops, wearing everything from a 2 all the way up to size Large in a couple of winter sweaters.
Recently, when shopping for a dress to wear to a Christening, I found a size 2 Ann Taylor sheath dress at a designer consignment shop. I was so happy to have found something in my size (I thought) so effortlessly, until I took a better look and realized how much larger it was than the typical (or what should be — or used to be — typical) size 2 dress.
Maggiesays is also spot on about junior sizes being numbered higher. A person who takes a size 0 or 2 in misses sizes would take a 5 or 7 in juniors.
One thing that would be helpful to customers who shop online would be to include sizing charts for each brand -some manufacturers and sellers include this, but many only provide a general size calculator. Also, when people leave reviews, along with indicating whether the item is true to size, or not, it would be helpful to know their weight, height, and general body shape (pear, busty, curvy, not curvy, etc.) so as to give potential customers a more specific picture of the way the clothing fits.
Pamm says
Can someone help me understand Ann Taylor sizing and why their pants loose their shape after a few hours of wearing . The clothes are amazing but the pants always loose their shape even when I buy them 2 sizes smaller