The Annie Dress by Dolly & Dotty

Lately, I've been seeing Dolly and Dotty everywhere - and on everyone! The more I spotted my fellow blogger gals in a Dolly and Dotty dress, the more I my wishlist grew. So you can imagine how tickled pink I was when they reached out to me and asked if I would be interested in a collaboration. I don't think I waited more than a nano-second before I replied with an excited "YES!"

After scouring their site for what felt like hours, I knew Dolly and Dotty would quickly become dangerous if I let it. They have so many different styles - not to mention multiple colors for each style! My favorite? Definitely the Cindy dress in either peacock blue or yellow. Unfortunately, these dresses are out of stock in my size - a great thing for Dolly and Dotty but a sad thing for me.

It was all right in the end, though. I stumbled upon the Annie dress and fell in love with her as well. I decided to get the Annie in dark blue. I don't often pick florals so I decided it would be fun to try something a bit new.

Dolly and Dotty are in the UK but the dress arrived in only one week - gotta love it when items arrive from Europe that fast! I've ordered from other places and had to wait 2-3 weeks for my item to arrive so it's always amazing to find brands who have speedy international shipping.

It also helps that Dolly and Dotty's prices are so fair. The Annie dress goes for $49.99, which is not bad at all compared to others! It definitely helps me fall for a brand when purchasing their totally cute dresses doesn't totally hurt my bank account.

Like the Cindy mentioned above, the Annie has multiple colorways. I considered getting a brighter color to celebrate Spring but there was something about the dark blue that stood out to me. I am glad I went with my gut - I just love these colors on me!

As for the fit, I'm sad I cannot report a perfect fit, but it's always a challenge to find that when you're 5'2". A lot of dresses tend to be a bit big on the torso for me - either I get an inch of space between my shoulders and the top of the dress or I pull it down and then the waist/bust falls too low on me.

For the Annie, I ordered a US 8/UK 12, my usual size, and it fits pretty good on the shoulders but the darting definitely falls a bit under my natural bust and it's a bit roomy in the chest. It's all minimal so it's not going to take away from how awesome I feel in the dress and I certainly don't think it's even noticeable unless I point it out so, in the end, it's still a success. Someday, though, it'd be great to see brands have petite versions of their styles!

The Annie dress comes with its own matching fabric belt but I swapped it out for a sturdier maroon belt. While I don't mind matching the belt to the dress, I don't like fabric belts all that much and much prefer the contrast of a solid color belt on a print dress.. Fabric belts are fun, but they don't cinch your waist as much as I prefer when wearing full skirts/dresses.

Perhaps, though, I could find a way to use the fabric belt as a headband next time I wear it...now we're talking!

The Annie dress was sent to me by Dolly and Dotty in exchange for my honest thoughts and opinions.