As you all know, when it comes to shopping I love to get a good deal. Typically that means that I stalk deals at Nordstrom Rack or take advantage of Anthropologie’s ‘everything on sale is an extra % off’ sales, but sometimes that means I peruse thrift stores and eBay.
I’ll have a thrift store score post up super soon (maybe even by the end of the week), but I just scooped up a dress online and wanted to share a couple of my secrets.
Item #1: Anthropologie Bretin Dress by Maeve
Every so often I browse eBay for some of my favorite Anthropologie brands, because you never know what you’re going to find. I saw this dress listed and it combined a bunch of my favorites – a dark pattern, knee-length skirt and fitted waist. The dress is by Maeve, one of my favorite Anthropologie brands and was marked as ‘new with tags’. The problem is that as much as I love Maeve and Anthropologie, sometimes their sizes are kind of weird. So, before committing to buy this dress, I did a little sneaky sleuthing.
Tip #1: Google the exact name of the item and check ‘images’
I googled “Anthropologie Bretin Dress by Maeve” and clicked over to images to see if I could find other real people wearing the dress. Obviously the dress is going to look great on a super tall size 0 model, but will it still look good in a larger size on a curvy girl? Sometimes when you are searching images you can find the item listed on other people’s sale pages (like Poshmark) and they will leave comments on fit. Other times, you can see the exact item on a blogger who may be closer to your size. After checking the images I saw a couple different ‘real people’ wearing the dress and it still looked really pretty.
Tip #2: Visit (or google) the website of the store that originally sold the item and check for reviews
With this particular dress, I got lucky because it was still on Anthropologie’s website. The oldest review was from November 2015, which helped me figure out when the dress came out. If you can find reviews, it really helps determine any sizing or fit issues. In this case, there were 6 pages of reviews and most of them said that the dress fit true-to-size or even a little large. There were also a few reviews that said how beautiful the fabric was in person and how the quality was really great.
The review that helped me push the ‘buy’ button was one left by a woman who was my same height (5’7”) and of a similar body type (listed as ‘curvy on bottom’). She said “I’m normally a solid size 12/L but the medium fit perfect. It’s a beautiful design that can be dressed up or down. Paired with a belt, this will be a great fall transition dress.” I also tend to be a size 12/Large at Anthropologie, so the fact that she felt that she could size down was great. I prefer a looser fit, so I went ahead and bought the large listed on eBay.
You can never really fully guess if an online purchase will fit you perfectly, so if possible buy from a seller who offers free returns. However, if that is not available and you really, really want the item anyways… keep my two tips in mind and hopefully they will help you decide!
So, did my dress work out for me? Check it out:
The tags were attached when I opened the package and the dress is in absolutely perfect condition. Even better, I think that the large fits consistent with what I was expecting and even gives me a little wiggle room for a more comfortable fit. The colors are so pretty too!
I tried it with a blazer for a more office appropriate look:
So all in all, I’m calling this one an eBay score!
Do you have any eBay scores you’d like to brag about? How about any online shopping tips to add?
This article is great and you look terrific. I shop eBay a lot and before bidding, I ask for the chest measurement, especially when the item is not returnable or I have to pay for return shipping. The chest is the hardest part of my body to fit.
It can be so difficult to guess at chest measurements. I know that some sellers will answer questions super quickly and you can ask them to measure the armpit-to-armpit distance, which should help! =)
That dress looks fabulous on you, I like it on you waaaay more than the model. When I saw the picture from Antro I thought it looked kinda eh. But now I love the detail by the hem, the bow/embellishment at the neck, everything. Great buy!!
Thank you so much! I really do love all the little details on it!
I’m so impressed by your eBay search skills. It looks great!
Thanks! I’m like an internet shopping ninja!
Oh wow that dress is GORGEOUS! I do still check eBay for old Anthro stuff from time to time but we only have a handful of shops in the UK (three I think, maybe four now) so a lot of the stuff I remember from my Anthro heyday wasn’t even on sale over here in the stores.
Thanks so much! I’m always so jealous of your Boden finds!