More spring 2021 online shopping hauls! Can you tell I’m going a bit COVID stir-crazy?

I ordered a couple of items from Next, which is yet another UK brand I’ve previously reviewed before on this blog. Conveniently, Next localizes its pricing and shipping to Canada, includes all taxes and duties in the final price, and even makes affordable flat-rate returns possible to a Canadian address. It takes a lot of the pain out of overseas online shopping. The clothes themselves can be a bit hit-or-miss, and I still find it frustrating that the petite versions of items tend to cost a few dollars more than their regular-sized counterparts. But anyway.

This time, I bought two cute dresses in petite sizes. First up, this black tiered mini-dress in a lightweight viscose-linen fabric:

Dress: Viscose/Linen Mixed Tiered Mini Dress, size 4P US / 8P UK, $46 CAD

This is the kind of button-front, cool and casual lightweight dress that I always thought would be practical to have in my wardrobe, both to wear at home and for travel. It’s versatile enough to dress up or down, and it’s a classic style that looks cool and breezy. Here it is on me:

I’m in love with this dress! It’s comfy, casual, and has a very 90s vibe that appeals to my inner Xennial. I bought it in my usual size of US 4P, and it was a bit loose at the waist and top half. I might’ve been better off sizing down to a 2P. But I was able to fix that pretty easily by taking in the side seams a bit on my trusty sewing machine, and now it fits perfectly. The length is a little shorter than I’d expected, too, hitting mid-thigh as opposed to right above the knee. But I still think it works.

I don’t tend to wear a ton of black, since as a pale-skinned redhead, it often washes me out. But I can easily pair this with a flannel shirt, a denim jacket, or some sort of colourful accessory at the neck to give it some colour. This dress has so many functions and uses. I feel like it will quickly become a summer wardrobe staple.

The other dress I gambled on was this navy floral button-front minidress with a sweetheart neckline and ruffled sleeves:

Dress: Navy Floral Button-Front Mini Dress, size 4P US / 8P UK, $58 CAD

And in person, on me, here’s what it looks like:

While not as good as the black dress, I actually like this one. The print is cute and the colour is good on me. In my usual size of 4P US, it fit pretty well. The neckline is a bit wide on my narrow shoulders — a common problem for me with dresses, even ones ostensibly cut for petites — so the sleeves keep slipping off my shoulders. This sweetheart neckine with puffed sleeves look is very on trend right now, but as a pear-shaped petite with narrow shoulders, I really struggle to wear it. I’ll have to take it in or add a criss-cross ribbon strap or something to keep them in place.

A couple of caveats: The dress is quite mini. The listing said 33″ from side neck to hem, but that counts the extra material for the puffy sleeves; the centre back to hem is only about 30″. The fabric is thin and flimsier than it looked like it would be on the site, and the bottom half is clingier at my hips than I’d hoped for with a supposedly a-line dress. I’ll definitely feel more comfortable wearing this with a pair of shorts underneath.

Still, it’s a cute little summer dress that adds one more option to my wardrobe. So why not, eh?

So, two new dresses for summer wear. Bring on the hot weather; I’m ready.

Related posts:

The floral midi dress Spring 2023 haul review: Old Navy Petite Hats for small heads: Wallaroo Petite review