You can dress me up, but you can't dress me down

Boy, it's been a fantastic week!  My summer job is a constant reminder of how lucky I am, and this past week once again proved that I work with an amazing group of people.  Looking forward, the weekend will be a good one too!  While I'll be attending the city's biggest festival of the year with my parents tomorrow, and reconnecting + fine dining with a long-time friend, I kicked off the weekend today with a leisurely, relaxing shopping session with my mom.  A long-awaited visit to Holt Renfrew resulted in, not bags of clothing, but a bag of popcorn and a sparkling lemon drink in my hands.  I tried on quite a few things during my shopping trip, but I'll spare you the boredom and narrow it down to all the dresses I whipped off the hook today:

H&M Diamond Print Dress

I took a liking to this dress the second I saw it on the rack.  After being unable to find a size 2, I dejectedly picked up a size 4.  As I zipped up the dress in the dressing room, to my surprise (or horror?), it fit fabulously around the torso.  I can either rejoice over the fact that I'm not a walking stick anymore, or cry over the fact that my stomach is not as flat as it used to be (I'm planning an exercise regime as we speak).  Anyway, back to the dress.  Although the torso area fit, the shoulder and back area were still loose.  That, along with the cheap quality of the dress and the $30 price tag, kept me from taking it to the cash register.  Shame, because that diamond print is really unique!

H&M Floral Dress

Another dress I instantly took a liking to, even though I knew the straight waist wouldn't look good on my frame.  It did end up being more flattering that I thought, but I would still have to wear it with a belt, and I'm tired of cinching everything that's too large for me.  So while the placement of the floral is so pretty and fresh, the dress' lack of versatility was a key reason why I put it back where it came from.  It stood at a cheaper $15, but its cheap fabric made $15 seem expensive.

Topshop Botanical Floral Bodycon Dress

The print on this dress is interesting, and it sure doesn't deserve the fabric it's printed on.  Pulling this dress over my head, I may as well have been wrapping myself tightly in one-ply toilet paper.  The fabric was so thin that e-v-e-r-y-t-h-i-n-g was accentuated to exaggerated degree.  Why does it feel like I've lost my decency, despite everything being covered up?  I imagine this is what girls wear clubbing, minus a couple inches off the bottom.  Ridiculous.  That's all I have to say.

Alice+Olivia Lora Drop Waist Pleated Dress

Here I am again, trying on yet another piece from Alice+Olivia!  I'm a huge fan of the '20s revival we've been having (hey there, Great Gatsby), so I was eager to test out this drop waist dress.  Unfortunately, I couldn't fill out the torso well enough (I thought flat chests were all the rage in the '20s...) and the metallic gold was unforgiving in showing me how my hips just couldn't support the pleated skirt.  My mom disliked the mesh back, saying it instantly cheapened the entire thing, but by then, I had already planted a big "NO" on this dress.

Image Source: H&M, Topshop, Alice+Olivia