Shop: Banana Republic Patio Dress(es)

I am, what I consider to be, average height. 5 foot 4 inches. I've lied and said I was 5'5 a few times in my life for reasons I can't explain. Perhaps it was because it lead to a better BMI (sneaky, sneaky). Due to my vertically challenged nature, the whole maxi dress trend that been popular for the last few summers is discouraging to me. Long (weighed down by tons of material) dresses have a tendency to make a short, ample booty'd gal look dumpy/frumpy/lumpy (you pick). But I love the idea of a flowy summer dress. Seeing all the girls in Montreal during the summer looking so awesomely boho chic gives me maxi dress envy.

I'm going against my own advice here by purchasing some thing that I know doesn't flatter my body type. I know better but I still succumbed to my retail impulse and bought two long summer dresses on BR's online summer sale. In my mind, I envision the perfect summer outfit complete with a cool pair of dangley earrings and a well paired purse or belt. I just hope it doesn't end up looking like a muumuu instead!

These are the ones I ended up getting. I am hoping the structure of the dresses will flatter my physique, and the darker colours will help keep things looking slim. I'm thinking the t-shirt styled one (BR Heritage Jersey Patio dress in Chocolate) will work better on me than the one in navy (BR Draped v-neck Patio Dress) but I just had to have the navy one once I saw it in the store, the pleating is so nice. Here's hoping. I'll post pictures if I think the results are good; otherwise you'll never hear about them again (banished to the back of the closet forever!)

Photo courtesy of BR

Photo courtesy of BR